U.S.

-INDIA RELATIONS
Introduction

 The U.S.-India partnership is founded on a shared commitment to

freedom, democratic principles, equal treatment of all citizens,
human rights, and the rule of law.
 Both countries have enjoyed Comprehensive Global Strategic
Partnership
 The United States and India have shared interests in promoting global
security, stability, and economic prosperity through trade,
investment, and connectivity.
 The United States supports India’s emergence as a leading global power
and vital partner in efforts to ensure that the Indo-Pacific is a region of
peace, stability, and growing prosperity.
 The strong people-to-people ties between our countries, reflected in a
four million-strong Indian American diaspora, are a tremendous source
of strength for the partnership.

Defense and Security

 Russia's share in India's arms market has dropped significantly from a
whopping 62 per cent in 2017 to a mere 45 per cent in 2022.
 The US is India's third-largest arms supplier with an 11 per cent share,
below France's 29 per cent.
 Two multilateral strategic dialogues that have gained prominence in
recent years is the Quad of India, Australia, Japan, and the US,
revived in 2017, and a new India-Israel-UAE-US quadrilateral
dialogue, announced in 2021

 Both the countries underscored the importance of cooperation in space

and welcomed plans to conduct an inaugural Defense Space Dialogue
in 2022.
 They welcomed the second Defense Cyber Dialogue held in 2021 and
look forward to the next round this year.
 They decided to hold an inaugural AI Dialogue this year to harness
opportunities for joint innovation and cooperation in new domains.
 The Ministers welcomed progress made toward full implementation of
the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) to support
the exchange of geospatial information.
 The United States also welcomed India’s decision to join the Combined
Maritime Forces Task Force as an Associate Partner to expand
multilateral cooperation in the Indian Ocean.
 In support of the Indian military’s expanding operational reach and
emerging opportunities for cooperation in the Indian Ocean and the
wider region, the Ministers welcomed regular bilateral logistics
operations such as replenishments at sea, air-to-air and ground-
refuelling and committed to increasing such cooperation, including
through the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement
(LEMOA).
  Both sides reaffirmed the importance of regular bilateral and
multilateral exercises, including the MALABAR exercise with inclusion
of Australia, the tri-service TIGER TRIUMPH exercise, the multilateral
MILAN naval exercise, the bilateral YUDH ABHYAS and VAJRA
PRAHAR Army exercises, the bilateral COPE India air exercise, and
Indian participation in RED FLAG.
 Recognizing the importance of building robust private industry
collaboration, both the countries comes up with auspices of the U.S.-
India Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI), including a
project agreement to co-develop Air-Launched UAVs.
 Acknowledging India’s focus on developing its domestic capabilities
and helping to ensure reliable defense supplies, US committed to work
closely across their respective governments on co-production, co-
development, cooperative testing of advanced systems, investment
promotion, and the development of Maintenance Repair and Overhaul
(MRO) facilities in India.

What is INDUS-X?
 INDUS-X stands for enhanced strategic and defence partnership
between India and the US.
 It is aimed at deepening the partnership between the US and Indian
defence innovation sectors.
 INDUS-X will focus on advancing high-tech cooperation and fostering
joint research, development, and production opportunities in the
defence sector.
 The initiative aims to explore possibilities for co-producing jet
engines, long-range artillery, and infantry vehicles. Secretary Austin
highlighted the importance of this initiative and announced that its
 formal launch would be undertaken during Prime Minister Modi’s
state visit to Washington.
 With India and US coming together under the INDUS-X initiative,
India will be in a better position to achieve the $5 billion target in the
upcoming two years.
 This will pave the way for US companies to invest massively in India
and build a defence ecosystem.
 India has already undertaken such a defence partnership with Russia.
 For instance, the BrahMos joint venture, which saw India and
Russia co-produce medium-range
 Ramjet Supersonic BrahMos Cruise Missile that can be launched
from submarines, ships, airplanes or land.
 The US support for the modernisation of India’s defence
industrial base — including joint production of the F414 fighter jet
engine in India and the supply of advanced armed drones — is part
of the effort to strengthen India’s military capabilities and thereby
enhance its deterrence against China.

Counterterrorism and Counter Narcotics

 India-U.S. Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism

 They called for concerted action against all terrorist groups, including
groups proscribed by the UNSC 1267 Sanctions Committee, such as
al-Qa’ida, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), and Jaish-e-
Mohammad (JeM), and Hizb ul Mujahideen.

 Both the countries committed to continued exchange of information

about sanctions and designations against terror groups and
 individuals, countering violent radicalism, use of the Internet for
terrorist purposes, and cross-border movement of terrorists.
 Both countries also reaffirmed their support for the early adoption
of a UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism
(CCIT) that advances and strengthens the framework for global
cooperation and reinforces that no cause or grievance justifies
terrorism.

Economic relationship

 The United States seeks an expanded trade relationship with India that
is reciprocal and fair.
 In 2022, overall U.S.-India bilateral trade in goods and services reached
$191 billion.
 Bilateral trade is more consequential for India, for whom the United
States is a top trading partner, representing about 17% of India’s
exports and 7% of its imports
 During Prime Minister's visit to the U.S. in September 2014, the two
sides set a target to increase bilateral trade in goods & services to
$500 billion
 India and the US have set up a bilateral Investment Initiative in
2014, with a special focus on facilitating FDI, portfolio investment,
capital market development and financing of infrastructure.
 American companies have invested at least $54 billion in India —
from manufacturing to telecommunications.
 Indian companies have invested over $40 billion — in IT,
pharmaceuticals and more — supporting 4, 25,000 jobs from
California to Georgia.
 This February, Air India announced the historic purchase of more
than 200 Boeing aircraft that will support an estimated one million-
plus jobs across 44 States
 U.S.-India Infrastructure Collaboration Platform has also been set
up to deploy cutting edge U.S technologies to meet India’s
infrastructure needs
 U.S. firms will be lead partners in developing Allahabad, Ajmer and
Vishakhapatnam as Smart Cities
 There are several dialogue mechanisms to strengthen bilateral
engagement on economic and trade issues, including a Ministerial
level Economic and Financial Partnership (last met in
Washington D.C. in April 2016) and a Ministerial Trade Policy
Forum (last met in New Delhi in October 2016).
 For greater involvement of private sector in discussion on issues
involving trade and investment, there is a bilateral India-U.S. CEO's
Forum.
 India has joined three pillars of our new Indo-Pacific Economic
Framework — committing to build more resilient supply chains,
seize clean energy opportunities and combat corruption
ECONOMIC DISPUTES

Tariff policies.

 India’s tariff hikes on a range of labor- intensive products and

on mobile phones, televisions, and other electronics and
communication devices under its “Make in India” campaign
remain a particular U.S. concern.
 The average Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) applied tariff rate
in India is 17.6 per cent — 14.1 per cent non-agriculture
products and 38.8 per cent agricultural products which is
highest among major economies.
 US has also issues with government procurement, weak
intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement,
restrictions on FDI in the retail industry etc.
 IPR continues to be one of the most long standing and
contentious issue between India and the US.
  As a result, India remained on the Priority Watch List in the
2021 Special 301 Report of the USTR.
 Some of the key issues pertaining to India Patents Act for the
US include potential threat of patent revocations, lack of
presumption of patent validity, trademark counterfeiting
and the narrow patentability criteria.
 Continuous engagement between the two countries though
India-US TPF’s Intellectual Property Working Group is the
way forward.

Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)

 The idea of granting developing countries preferential tariff rates in

the markets of industrialized countries was originally presented at
the first United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) conference in 1964.
 There are currently 13 countries which grant GSP preferences to
developing and least developed countries:
 India had been the largest beneficiary of GSP, under which around
10% of U.S. imports from India previously entered duty-free.
 The sectors which could face the impact of withdrawal of GSP
regime are gem and jewellery, leather and processed foods.
 The GSP criteria includes, among others, respecting arbitral awards
in favour of the US citizens or corporations, combating child labour,
respecting internationally recognised worker rights, providing
adequate and effective intellectual property protection, and
providing the US with equitable and reasonable market access.

Digital Trade
  The DST is aimed at ensuring that non-resident, digital service
providers pay their fair share of tax on revenues generated in
the Indian digital market.
 India’s 2% DST is levied on revenues generated from digital
services offered in India, including digital platform services,
digital content sales, and data-related services.
 India was one of the first countries in the world to introduce
a 6% equalization levy in 2016 but the levy was restricted to
online advertisement services
 Ustr argued it discriminates against US businesses and
contravenes settled principles of international tax law. Because it
excludes from its ambit domestic (Indian) digital businesses.

New Model of Digital Taxation:

  The core problem that the international tax reform seeks to address
is that digital corporations, unlike their brick-and-mortar
counterparts, can operate in a market without a physical presence.

 To overcome this challenge, countries suggested that a new basis to

tax, say, the number of users in a country, could address the
challenge to some extent.

 The EU and India were among the advocates of this approach.

DIGITAL REGULATION

New guidelines for social media, including requirements to remove

content deemed by the government a threat to national security, public
order and “decency or morality,” with imprisonment for non-
compliance, have also raised concerns.

DATA LOCALISATION

 Data localization is the act of storing data on any device that is

physically present within the borders of a specific country
where the data was generated.
 India’s restrictions on the business activities of e-commerce
platforms and requirements for data localization of certain financial
flows.
 For securing citizen’s data, data privacy, data sovereignty,
national security, economic development of the country, law
enforcement to have easy access to data, to prevent foreign
surveillance, to build an artificial intelligence ecosystem in India
  Recommendations by the RBI, the committee of experts led
by Justice BN Srikrishna, the draft ecommerce policy and the
draft report of the cloud policy panel show signs of data
localisation.
 Digital technologies like machine learning (ML), artificial
intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) can generate
tremendous value out of various data. It can turn disastrous if
not contained within certain boundaries.

Issues with the H-1B visa system

 The most sought-after H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that

allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty
occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.
 An immigrant visa allows a qualified applicant with an approved
petition to reside in the US permanently.
 A non-immigrant visa is granted to individuals visiting the US for
purposes such as business, vacation, medical treatment and more.
 Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of
employees each year from countries like India and China.
 Nearly 70 per cent of the around 80,000 H-1B visas issued
each year go to Indian nations, as per 2017 data cited by a US
official.
 The highly sought-after visa, used by Indian professionals who are
working in the US, is used by many as a precursor for permanent
residency.
 A common problem faced by Indians seeking to immigrate to the
US is the country-cap on H-1B visas: Only up to 65,000 visas
may be issued to Indians in a single year.
 Their spouses (if under H-4 visas) cannot work in the US; H-
1B holders cannot vote in US elections (by contrast, Indian
and likewise Commonwealth citizens on any visa in the UK
are eligible to vote in UK elections), the visas last only for
three years following which they require an extension (after
which the entire visa must be renewed).
 A huge chunk of the nearly 85,000 H-1B visas issued every year is
used by Indian IT services companies such as Tata Consultancy
Services Ltd, Infosys Ltd and Wipro Ltd.
 Trump had termed the H-1B visa program a "cheap labour
program".
 Due to the uncertainties in the H-1B visa regime, a number of large
IT companies have increased local hiring in the US to reduce visa
dependence.
 However, this was impacting their margins as the cost of hiring US
nationals is higher.
 According to estimates, operating margins for the sector can fall
by up to 80 basis points as local hires cost 25-30% more than
their H-1B counterparts.
 There was no credible evidence that the visa holders do harm to
the US labour market.
 Quite the contrary, these individuals are a vital part of the US
workforce and their presence enhances and helps enable the US
economy, innovate, and grow jobs across the country.
  Nasscom believes this will help US businesses access talent critical
to the economic recovery phase in the post-covid world.

Green card

 A green card is a permanent resident card that is issued to

immigrants to the US as evidence that the person has been
granted the privilege of residing permanently in the US.
 At present, Indian IT professionals who come to the US on the H-
1B work visas are the worst sufferers of the current immigration
system which imposes a 7% per country quota on allotment of
the coveted Green Card or permanent legal residency
(140000).
 Currently, 10.7 lakh Indians are caught up in the backlog
Waiting periods for the employment-based green card can stretch
into decades—the Cato Institute estimated that Indian nationals in
the EB-2 category alone (for those with advanced degrees) would
have to wait for about 151 years.

L1 Visas

 L1 Visa is an Intra-Company Transferee Visa. It is a non-immigrant

visa which was mandated by the US Congress in 1970.
 The purpose of L1 visa is to allow large multinationals - with
operations across various countries - to shift employees in
specialized positions on a temporary basis to the United States.
 Workers who can be transferred to the United States can be
categorised into two specific types of visas - L1A and L1B.
  Managers and executives come under the category of L1As while
L1Bs encompass workers with specialized knowledge.

F-1 Visa-

 The F-1 student visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows

international students to enter the US and study at
institutions.

Bilateral investment treaty (BIT)

 BITs impose obligations under international law on host states to

protect foreign investment from the other state.
 India and the U.S. started negotiating a BIT in 2009.
 However, these negotiations lost steam because both countries were
busy updating their model BITs.
 The U.S. adopted one in 2012 replacing the 2004 model.
 India adopted a new model BIT in 2015 as a reaction to foreign
corporations suing the country under different BITs, and perhaps
with the objective to immunise itself from claims of foreign
corporations under international law.
 Paradoxically, the Indian model BIT came at a time when Prime
Minister Modi was and is busy convincing the U.S. and other foreign
corporations to ‘Make in India’.
 Negotiating a BIT the moribund BIT negotiations between the two
sides got a fresh lease of life during President > Barack Obama’s visit
to India .
 The India-U.S. joint declaration of January 25, 2015 recognised the
significance of moving forward on high-standard BIT negotiations,
 which would help in creating a predictable investment climate and
boost bilateral investment flows.
 Mr. Modi, during his U.S. visit in September 2015, again emphasised
that working towards negotiating a BIT is integral to the two sides
developing stronger bilateral economic cooperation.
 A balanced BIT that protects foreign investment without unduly
compromising the host state’s right to regulate will benefit both India
and the U.S.
 It will send a positive signal to U.S. investors who are concerned
about legal certainty in India. It will also protect Indian investment in
the U.S. According to a 2015 report prepared by the Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII) and Grant Thornton, 100 Indian companies
such as Tata, Wipro, Cipla, Tech Mahindra and Infosys have invested
more than $15.3 billion in the U.S.
 However, there is a yawning gap between the two sides on core
foreign investment protection standards, as reflected in their
respective model BITs, which makes BIT negotiations really difficult.
Let us look at some of these differences.
 First, the U.S. model BIT contains a Most Favoured Nation (MFN)
provision — a cornerstone of non-discrimination in international
economic relations — which is missing in the Indian model.
 It will be very difficult for India to convince the U.S. to have a BIT
without a MFN provision.
 From the U.S.’s perspective, this would mean that American
businesses would have no remedy under international law, if the
latter were discriminated against in India.
 The same argument would apply for Indian investment in the U.S.
 Second, the Indian model completely excludes taxation from the
purview of the BIT — a direct response to Vodafone and Cairn
Energy bringing BIT claims against India for imposing taxes
retrospectively.
 However, in the U.S. model, foreign investors can assert claims that
taxation measures, such as confiscatory taxation, involve an
expropriation of foreign investment.
 Given India’s recent record in administering its taxation laws that has
made foreign investors jittery, it will be quite difficult for it to
convince the U.S. to agree to completely exclude taxation from the
BIT.
 Third, the Indian model completely excludes issuance of
compulsory licenses (CLs) and revocation of intellectual
property rights (IPR) from its purview.
 On the other hand, the U.S. model BIT excludes issuance of CLs and
revocation of IPR only from the purview of the expropriation
provision.
 In other words, while the foreign companies, including
pharmaceutical companies, cannot challenge issuance of CLs and
revocation of IPR as expropriation, they can surely challenge it as
violation of other BIT provisions such as fair and equitable treatment
(FET) — a pretty stretchable investment protection provision that
has often been abused by foreign corporations.
 Complete exclusion of issuance of CLs and revocation of IPR from the
purview of the BIT might not be acceptable to the U.S. for two
reasons: first, it would not allow U.S. companies to sue India directly
for issuance of CLs or revocation of IPR; second, the U.S. continues to
place India, along with China and Russia, on a ‘priority watch list’
 for IPR violations, and thus would not like to foreclose opportunities
for challenging India’s IP laws internationally. India’s recently
unveiled IPR policy has cut no ice with the U.S.
 Fourth, the major difference between the two models is on the
issue of investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions.
 ISDS provision in BITs allows foreign investors to directly bring
claims against the host state under international law, without the
approval of the investor’s home state.
 The Indian model BIT, unlike the U.S. model, mandatorily requires
foreign investors to litigate in domestic courts for five years before
pursuing a claim under international law.
 This is not at all an attractive proposition for U.S. companies in India
because of the overstretched Indian judicial system where more than
three crore cases are pending.
 One is unsure to what extent the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, aimed
at speedy resolution of commercial disputes, will be able to restore
investor confidence in the Indian judicial system.

International Cooperation
 India and the US have often found themselves at odds at the United
Nations General Assembly.

 According to one account, since the turn of the century, Australia and
Japan have voted with the US roughly 80 percent of the time on
significant UNGA votes; India, for its part, has voted with the US
only 20 percent of the time.
  In recent years, however, the India–US strategic partnership has
evolved, expanding in scope from the bilateral to the multilateral and
embracing a wider range of issues that include: civilian nuclear
cooperation and nuclear non-proliferation; infrastructure
financing; the production and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines;
humanitarian aid and disaster relief; peacekeeping and
education; space and cyber security; countering terrorism and
extremism; governance of the oceans; and promoting a free and
open Indo-Pacific and the rules-based order
 India and the United States cooperate closely at multilateral
organizations, including the United Nations, G-20, Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum, International
Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization.
 The United States welcomes India joining the UN Security Council in
2021 for a two-year term, and supports a reformed UN Security
Council that includes India as a permanent member.
 India is also a member of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA),
at which the United States is a dialogue partner.
 In 2019, the United States joined India’s Coalition for Disaster
Resilient Infrastructure to expand cooperation on sustainable
infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific region.

Energy relationship

 The U.S.-India Energy Dialogue was launched in May 2005 to

promote trade and investment in the energy sector
 Investment by Indian companies like Reliance, Essar and GAIL in
the U.S. natural gas market is ushering in a new era of India-U.S.
energy partnership.

 The Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center

(JCERDC)-2011.
 November 2014, an MoU between U.S. EXIM Bank and Indian
Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) was concluded
to provide US$ 1 billion in financing for India’s transition to a
low-carbon economy
 U.S. energy exports are an important area of growth in the trade
relationship. In 2018 India purchased 48.2 million barrels of
U.S. crude oil, a significant increase from 9.6 million in 2017
 India and the U.S. have agreed to expand their energy
partnership by adding emerging fuels to the list of areas of
cooperation that previously included
 power and energy efficiency,
 oil and gas,
 Renewable energy and sustainable growth
 This followed a Ministerial meeting of the U.S.-India Strategic
Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) -2018
 “The SCEP was launched in accordance with the U.S.-India
Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership
announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe
Biden at the Leaders’ Summit on Climate held in April Last year.
 “The U.S. Secretary lauded India’s renewable energy target of 450
GW by 2030 and offered to closely collaborate in realisation of
this target by India,” the statement said.
  “Both sides will strengthen the electric grid in India to support
large-scale integration of renewables, including through smart
grids, energy storage, flexible resources, and distributed
energy resources, and ensure reliable and resilient grid
operations, as well as promoting energy efficiency and
conservation measures,” it added.
 The two sides also announced rechristening of Gas Task Force
to India-U.S. Low Emissions Gas Task Force, which would
continue to forge collaboration between the U.S. and Indian
companies on innovative projects to support India’s vision of a
gas-based economy.
 Both sides have initiated institutionalisation of India Energy
Modelling Forum with the constitution of Six Task Forces for
carrying out research and modelling in different areas
 Joint Committees have been set up to deliberate on Energy Data
Management, Low Carbon Technologies and Just Transition in
the Coal Sector.
 In Tamil Nadu, the U.S. International Development Finance
Corporation provided $500 million to help a leading U.S.
company build a solar manufacturing facility. This project will
power roughly 30 million light bulbs in homes, schools, and
businesses across India,

Indo-US nuclear deal:

 India’s first nuclear power plant at Tarapur was built by General

Electric
 NSG Waiver: A major aspect of the Indo-US nuclear deal was
the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) gave a special waiver to India
that enabled it to sign cooperation agreements with a dozen
countries.

o Separate Programmes: It enabled India to separate its

civilian and military programmes and placed its civilian
nuclear facilities International Atomic Energy Agency
safeguards.

o Transfer of Technology: It refrains India from transfer of

enrichment and reprocessing technologies to states that
do not have them and India should also support
international efforts to limit their spread.

Why the Indo-US Nuclear deal holds significant importance to both

India and the U.S.?

The Indo-US nuclear deal holds significant importance to both India and
the U.S. The reasons are as follows:

 Fissile material:
The best way to get access to the requisite fissile material for India
would be through uranium imports, which was not possible without
ending India’s nuclear isolation by US and the Nuclear Suppliers
Group (NSG).

 Energy security concerns:

This deal would partially ease India’s energy security concerns.
 Growth under the Make in India scheme:
Access to uninterrupted reliable power would aid in industrial
growth under the Make In India scheme and would bring in foreign
investment.

 Access to better technologies:

India also gets access to better technologies in the civilian power
generation ambit.

 Recognizes India as a de-facto nuclear power:

Strategically, this deal recognizes India as a de-facto nuclear power
and has taken Indo-US relations (in all matters including political,
economic, military, etc.) to the next level (the N deal has turned into a
flag-point for Indo-US relations).

 India as a possible counter to China:

The US views India as a possible counter to China in the Asian region
and this is good for India.

 Nuclear ties will other NSG signatories:

By getting the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) waiver, India can now
look to have nuclear ties will all the other NSG signatories.

 Development of a strategic reserve of nuclear fuel:

 The Agreement provides for the development of a strategic reserve of
nuclear fuel to guard against any disruption of supply over the
lifetime of India’s reactors.

 Bringing India closer to Non-Proliferation regime:

The US wants to bring India closer to the Non-Proliferation regime by
placing most of its nuclear capabilities under IAEA safeguards.

 Boost India’s economic growth:

Financially, the U.S. also expects that such a deal could spur India’s
economic growth and bring in $150 billion in the next decade for
nuclear power plants, of which the U.S. wants a share.

 Allow Uranium sale to India:

It also was under pressure from other nations to allow Uranium sale
to India as India is one of the largest buyers of Uranium and everyone
wants a share of this market.

 Benefit from Indian technology:

The US may also benefit from Indian technology, especially the
Thorium based research, as India had to develop its capabilities in
isolation, and it may well have developed novel techniques.

 Counter to China:
  India can be a useful counter to China in Asia and the US does not
want to let go of this opportunity

Education:

The Higher Education Dialogue

 The Higher Education Dialogue, which has had four meetings since
2011 (last in November 2014 in New Delhi), laid out the road map for
promoting strategic institutional partnerships, deepening
collaboration in research and development, fostering partnerships in
vocational education and focusing on junior faculty development..
 Under the Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN)
launched by India, up to 1000 American academics will be invited
and hosted each year to teach in Indian universities at their
convenience
 Last year, Indian students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities
contributed over $8 billion to the U.S. economy.
 The total number of Indian students in the United States has more than
doubled over the last decade, from 81,000 in 2008 to a record high
of 202,000 in 2019.

Peace keeping missions

 Acknowledging India’s distinguished history of leading peacekeeping

missions, the United States welcomed India’s commitment to
participate in multilateral peacekeeping training in 2022, expand
 joint-capacity building efforts with third-country partners, and
launch a new joint National Investigation Officers Training of Trainers
course in partnership with the United Nations.

Guiding Principles on Triangular Cooperation for Global Development

 Leveraging the recently extended U.S.-India Statement of Guiding

Principles on Triangular Cooperation for Global Development,
 In this regard, the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) and India’s Development Partnership Administration
(DPA) have decided to expand triangular development activity with
third countries.

Climate change and green energy

 The United States welcomed India’s announcement at COP26 to

intensify its climate action including its long-term vision to achieve
net-zero emissions by 2070.
 Both sides looked forward to further cooperation to support
negotiations on ocean plastic pollution launched by the UN
Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) in February 2022.
 India welcomed the United States’ signing of the Framework
Agreement of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and looked
forward to supporting projects to expand the availability of reliable and
affordable solar power including the $500 million investment by the
DFC in First Solar’s facility to produce solar panels in India
 The Ministers commended ongoing engagement under the two main
tracks of the U.S.-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030
 Partnership – the Climate Action and Finance Mobilization
Dialogue (CAFMD) and the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership
(SCEP) – to explore and identify low carbon pathways to develop and
undertake joint research and development projects, mobilize finance,
develop and promote green technologies, and enhance technical
collaboration aimed at building on complementarities for facilitating
energy transition.

Science, Technology, and Space

 In a joint statement issued after the talks at the White House, the two
leaders committed their governments to “facilitate greater
technology sharing, co-development, and co-production
opportunities between U.S. and Indian industry, government, and
academic institutions.”
 They also directed the two bureaucracies to make “regular efforts to
address export controls” and “enhance high technology commerce”
between the two nations.
 Reflecting on the positive science and technology cooperation between
the two countries, they welcomed the announcement of a Joint
Commission Meeting on Science and Technology in 2022, to discuss
future science and technology collaboration.
 The on going development of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture
Radar (NISAR) satellite, planned for launch from India in 2023.
 The NISAR mission will collect data vital to tackling the climate
crisis.
 The continued cooperation between the U.S. National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and India’s Ministry of Earth
Science (MoES) and ISRO in areas such as ocean and fisheries
 science, meteorology, and earth observation to better understand
climate change and save lives through improved weather and
ocean modelling and information sharing.
 As part of that work, MoES recently launched a joint data portal
providing near-real-time public data from the NOAA Research
Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and
Prediction (RAMA) and the MoES Ocean Moored Buoy Network for the
Northern Indian Ocean (OMNI).
 The data supports improved monsoon prediction capabilities and
sub-seasonal weather forecasting including for the United States, whose
weather and atmosphere are impacted by systems that develop in the
Indian Ocean.
 The expansion of collaboration between NOAA and MoES under
EKAMSAT program (Enhancing Knowledge of the Arabian Sea Marine
Environment through Science and Advanced Technology).

 The Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) is an

international initiative to support responsible and human-centric
development and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

 The GPAI is the idea of G7 and launched in 2020 with 15 members.

 It is a first-of-its-type initiative for evolving better understanding of

challenges and opportunities around AI.

 GPAI is a multi-stakeholder initiative working with leading experts

from science, industry, civil society, international organizations and
government.
 In his typical fashion, Modi turned the abbreviation for Artificial
Intelligence, AI, into a metaphor for the technological moment in
 bilateral relations in his address to the joint session of the US
Congress; for him, AI is “America and India”.

Education and People-to-People Ties

 Lauding the vibrant educational linkages between India and the United
States, the Ministers reiterated their support to further strengthen
cooperation in the field of education and skill development through
joint collaborations and promote student and scholar mobility to build
people-to-people linkages between the two countries.
 In this regard, a new U.S.-India Education and Skills Development
Working Group has been established
 The Ministers underlined the importance of continued engagement on
visa issues, welcomed the December 2021 meeting of the bilateral
Consular Dialogue, and resolved to continue efforts to facilitate the
reciprocal movement of professionals, businesspersons, skilled
workers, experts, and scientific personnel.
 Both the countries also acknowledged the importance of continued
discussions on a Social Security Totalization Agreement and
welcomed the opportunity to further engage on pursuing such an
agreement.
 Recognizing the importance of protecting cultural heritage, the
Ministers committed to work toward negotiating a Memorandum of
Understanding that will deepen cooperation in this area and assist
authorities in combatting the trade in cultural artifacts and
facilitating their repatriation.

The US on India’s Human rights:

  Recently the US state department released its 2020 Human Rights
Report.
 The report mentions India has several human rights issues such as
restrictions on freedom of expression and the press, Crimes
 Involving violence and discrimination targeting members of minority
groups, etc.

Previous years upsc questions

1. In what ways would the ongoing US-Iran Nuclear Pact

Controversy affect the national interest of India? How should
India respond to its situation?
2. What introduces friction into the ties between India and
United States is that Washington is still unable to find for India a
position in its global strategy, which would satisfy India’s
national self-esteem and ambitions’. Explain with suitable
examples.
3. What is the significance of Indo-US defence deals over Indo-
Russian defense deals? Discuss with reference to stability in the
Indo-Pacific region
4. Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD)’ is the transforming
itself into a trade bloc from a military alliance, in present times –
Discuss