US wants to increase bilateral trade with India to $500 billion annual

[Srinivas_K]

India economic engine for growth in South Asia, says Assistant Secretary of State.

By Deepak Chitnis

WASHINGTON, DC: The Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Desai Biswal outlined likely US policy for increased trade and commerce with India over the next several years, speaking at the Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Biswal, who oversees Central and South Asia for the US State Department, said that the US wants to see bilateral trade with India grow to $500 billion per year, and also urged India and Pakistan to quadruple their bilateral trade from its current $2.5 billion to $10 billion over the next few years.

Calling India the "economic engine" for regional growth in South Asia, Biswal called on the country's political and economic leaders to re-think their tax and finance laws in order to make India more attractive to foreign investors. Biswal blamed the current state of these laws as being the main reason why India is currently 134 out of 189 nations to invest and open new businesses.

"We [the US] believe India's investment and tax policies must be designed to lure – not deter – capital flows," said Biswal. "Timely regulatory approvals and contract enforcement must be embraced; and protection of intellectual property must be enforced."

Biswal applauded India's recent initiative to pledge $1 trillion over the next five years into modernizing and growing its own domestic infrastructure, but said that its policies towards businesses will ultimately negate any goodwill engendered by these improvements. The two must go hand-in-hand if India is to see its economic ties with the US, and the rest of the world, increase substantially.

Saying that the US will "pledge to look forward, and not dwell on the past," Biswal outlined several factors that the US believes will help grow economic ties with India. Among these are: a new Bilateral Investment Treaty, which will "bring even greater investment and innovation to India and stronger partnerships between our two private sectors;" working with India to resolve climate change and energy issues that afflict both nations; and connecting students and researchers at universities based in both countries, so that "hey can together tackle global challenges such as malnutrition and food insecurity."

The two nations are also partnering up for the 2014 Tech Summit and Expo, which will "bring together higher education, industry, policy makers, researchers to engage in policy discussions and explore increased collaboration." Biswal did not elaborate on when and where this summit would transpire.

Biswal stated emphatically that economic growth was tied inextricably with regional security, congratulating the governments of India, Pakistan (which Biswal admitted in her speech she holds no responsibility over), and Afghanistan for holding "successful elections" within the span of just one year.

Biswal also stated that significant progress is being made on the US-India-Japan trilateral talks, and that the US has "expanded [its] regional consultations with India to include South, Central, West, and East Asia. "

US wants to increase bilateral trade with India to $500 billion annually: Nisha Desai Biswal - The American Bazaar

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Re: US wants to increase bilateral trade with India to $500 billion an

The two nations are also partnering up for the 2014 Tech Summit and Expo, which will "bring together higher education, industry, policy makers, researchers to engage in policy discussions and explore increased collaboration." Biswal did not elaborate on when and where this summit would transpire.

If that event is to occur this year, a site should have been selected by now!

 

[thakur_ritesh]

Re: US wants to increase bilateral trade with India to $500 billion an

Calling India the "economic engine" for regional growth in South Asia, Biswal called on the country's political and economic leaders to re-think their tax and finance laws in order to make India more attractive to foreign investors. Biswal blamed the current state of these laws as being the main reason why India is currently 134 out of 189 nations to invest and open new businesses.

"We [the US] believe India's investment and tax policies must be designed to lure – not deter – capital flows," said Biswal. "Timely regulatory approvals and contract enforcement must be embraced; and protection of intellectual property must be enforced."

Unfortunately, over the past few years, India has just taken steps backwards, and even with all the commitments that the UPA kept making, the MMS led government only made doing business in India tougher, and pushed the investments away.

They just focused on two things. Dole outs, creating a parasite generation, where on one hand the NDA had created a pool of talent, where there was significant push on entrepreneurship, significant job creation in the private set up, the UPA stopped all that, and started with welfare schemes, and created a financial mess of the scale that it will at least take, if not more, two years from today just to salvage the situation. The other, they pretty much moved back the policies favouring the industry. Taxation and economic policy making was absolutely pathetic. People dared not raise money in India for businesses, the UPA pretty much squeezed out oxygen on which businesses thrived!

Biswal applauded India's recent initiative to pledge $1 trillion over the next five years into modernizing and growing its own domestic infrastructure, but said that its policies towards businesses will ultimately negate any goodwill engendered by these improvements. The two must go hand-in-hand if India is to see its economic ties with the US, and the rest of the world, increase substantially.

This is one nonsense the UPA has spoken of right from the start of the eleventh five year, and they have nothing to show up on the front, absolutely nothing! And they are still busy spreading the nonsense, and people still buy this absolute trash, unbelievable!!!

If anything, the UPA created the best make believe world, and the Indians loved dreaming this.

The two nations are also partnering up for the 2014 Tech Summit and Expo, which will "bring together higher education, industry, policy makers, researchers to engage in policy discussions and explore increased collaboration." Biswal did not elaborate on when and where this summit would transpire.

This is something I really want to see the Indian education system move to.

Academically we are far better placed than a lot of overseas universities. The practicality of what one studies needs to be imbibed a lot more rigorously, more focus on research, and a much bigger interaction with the industry, also the industry needs to start investing in people by spotting talent early in university, and then nurturing them over the period of their studies. You will end up with a product that is far more employable, also our universities will fare far more better internationally.

 

[abhi_the _gr8_maratha]

Re: US wants to increase bilateral trade with India to $500 billion an

sonia gandhi, mms, rahul gandhi and pranab mukharjee should be blamed for economical setback by india