Event Report | Takshashila-Hudson Panel Discussion
The Takshashila Institution and the Hudson Institute held an online panel discussion on the theme of 75 years of India-US partnership on Wednesday, 19th October 2022.
Arun Kumar Singh, Senior Counselor, the Cohen Group & former Indian Ambassador to the US, Atul Keshap, President of USIBC & former US Ambassador to India, Narayan Ramachandran, Co-Founder & Senior Fellow, the Takshashila Institution, and Daniel Castro, Vice President, ITIF & Director, Center for Data Innovation participated as panelists in the discussion. The discussion was hosted by Aparna Pande, Director, Initiative on the Future of India and South Asia, Hudson Institute.
The discussion pertained to the growth and trajectory of the India-US relationship, boosting commercial ties between the countries in trade and investment domains, the scope for cooperation in critical and emerging technological sectors, and the need for strategic partnerships and alliances to counter common adversaries.
In his opening remarks, Amb. Singh highlighted some important indicators of strengthening the India-US relationship in the past two decades, such as growing trade and investment, higher remittances from Indians in the US, higher defense procurement, greater defense cooperation, and a strong Indian diaspora.
Amb. Keshap noted that India and the US are part of a high-trust ecosystem that allows for innovation. This further allows for developing critical tech infrastructure and supply chain resistance. Despite an 8-fold increase in bilateral trade between India and the US amounting to $160 billion, he argued that we must set ambitious targets since there is potential to grow the trade to $500 billion.
Narayan Ramachandran reflected on the difference in performance between the bilateral relationship between India and the US, which has been improving with time and participation in plurilateral arrangements, which has room for further improvement. He added that the frame to look at the current geopolitical scenario is that while we are not in a cold war anymore, we are witnessing a rebalancing with China if not wholesale withdrawal. Apart from the well-understood importance of relationships in trade and investment, India and the US should foster and develop a unique relationship in talent flows between the two countries.
Daniel Castro said that given China’s growth in the tech sector, the US would find it hard to compete with China on its own and must build strategic alliances with like-minded partners such as India. In terms of attracting tech investment from the US, India stands in an advantageous position with respect to the rest of the world. While India pursues strategic autonomy, it must reach common ground with the US, at least over principles on issues like cross-border data flows, IP protections, cloud security, interoperability, and data sharing.
Click here to watch the full recording of the discussion.
