India and the United
States on January 25 announced policy resolution on two key issues paving the
way for a nuclear trade within the ambit of domestic laws and international
obligations. The pact ends a six-year old stalemate in operationalizing the
path-breaking civil nuclear agreement. The agreement was signed in New Delhi by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the visiting US President Barack Obama, who
was the chief guest at the 2015 Republic Day parade. The
123 or civil nuclear deal was inked between India and the United States in
October 2008. The pact, however, failed to deliver business for US companies.
Breakthrough
in Civil Nuclear Deal
There was a “breakthrough”
in civil nuclear agreement and both countries have sorted out the two pending
issues. The American companies were concerned over the Indian nuclear liability
laws that apply to the equipment suppliers in the event of an accident.
They have also demanded tracking of fuel supplied by the United States and
other nations for the proposed nuclear power plants. While India will create an
insurance pool to tackle the nuclear liability issue, on tracking it stated the
matter will be dealt with under the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.
The civil nuclear deal was
the centerpiece of our transformed relationship, which demonstrated new trust.
It also created new economic opportunities and expanded our option for clean
energy.
Primary among these is the Defense Technology Trade
Initiative (DTTI) which not only intensifies military-to-military cooperation
but also puts the spotlight on technology transfer and joint production, which
India has been seeking with almost all its military partners.
The January 25 deal builds on the first plan that was
signed in 2005 and provides the blueprint for India-US defense cooperation for
the next 10 years. If the 2005 DTTI was historic for breaking the ice and
laying the groundwork for an unprecedented partnership, the 2015 version marks
a definite shift from a transactional relationship to a more organic one. In
other words, if the past decade saw India sourcing an increasingly large
proportion of its defense needs from the United States —
by some estimates, India bought $10 billion worth of military hardware from the United States — the next decade will see the two
countries sharing technology and co-producing weapons.
Delhi
Declaration of Friendship
In addition to the major
civil nuclear deal, both the Indian prime minister and the US president issued
a 59-point statement encompassing the entire gamut of relationship, decided to
renew the decade-old defense framework agreement for another
10 years and within it
opened the defense technology and trade initiative. Both India and the United
States issued a Delhi Declaration of Friendship — Shared Effort, Progress for
All — in keeping with national principles and committing to hold regular
summits with increased periodicity, elevate strategic dialogue, establish
hotlines between the Indian prime minister and the US president and national
security advisers, besides cooperating to develop joint ventures on
strategically significant projects.
On clean energy, Washington
is keen to work with New Delhi on the ambitious project of 100 gigawatt of
solar energy by 2022 and air monitoring for megacities.
On Climate Change, the
Indian prime minister said there was an urgent need to address the issue. He,
however, said there was no pressure to work out an arrangement that the United
States has with China.
Focus
on Bilateral Ties
Noting that the
multifaceted partnership between Washington and New Delhi is rooted in shared
values of democracy and strong economic and people-to-people ties, the Indian
prime minister and the US president elevated the bilateral relationship through
their endorsement of a new India-US Delhi Declaration of Friendship, which
builds on their September 30 Vision Statement by articulating tangible
principles to guide ongoing efforts to advance mutual prosperity, a clean and
healthy environment, greater economic cooperation, regional peace, security and
stability for the larger benefit of humankind.
Joint
Strategic Vision for Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region
India and the United
States also issued a joint strategic vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian
Ocean Region to support regional economic integration by accelerated
infrastructure connectivity, safeguard maritime security in ensuring freedom of
navigation and over flight throughout the region, especially in the South China
Sea.
Terrorism
Menace
Prime Minister Modi
President Obama stressed the need for
joint efforts to disrupt terror entities, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT),
D Company and the Haqqani Network, and asked Pakistan to bring the perpetrators
of 26/11 attack to justice. Pakistan-based terror
outfits that are not just a threat to India, but also spawn the jihadi network
worldwide, are on the joint target list.
Obama said there should be
no distinction between terror groups and pressed for countries to fulfill their
commitment to wipe out terror safe havens.
Finally, the establishment of two hotlines — one
between the two heads of Government and another between the two National
Security Advisors — also speaks volumes about deepening cooperation between the
two countries.
Agreement
on Smart Cities
India and the United
States signed three Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) on January 26 to give a
boost to the Center's flagship “smart cities” scheme. Washington has agreed to
partner with Indian in developing three smart cities in Allahabad, Ajmer, and
Visakhapatnam.
Three MoUs were signed by
the representatives of United States Trade and Development Agency and the
respective Chief Secretaries of State Governments of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan
and Andhra Pradesh in the presence of Union Urban Development Minister M.
Venkaiah Naidu.
As per the agreements, the
United States will assist the cities in project planning, infrastructure
development, feasibility studies and capacity building.
Trade and Business
The US president has announced
a slew of initiatives that included $4 billion in loans from US banks, $2
billion in financing for renewable energy projects in India and $1 billion from
the Exim Bank of the United States for project financing. Executive action to
help Indian techies who currently have to undergo a painful and agonizing
process of obtaining H-1B visas, to get legal permanent status (LPR), was also
on the cards
India and the United
States were moving in the right direction and there was untapped potential to
be realized. Bilateral trade between the two countries had increased 60 percent in the past couple of years to a record $100 billion, but India’s exports
to the United States were still less than 2 percent of all US imports, he said
welcoming the Modi government’s reforms agenda for making it easier to do
business in India.
This has been made possible, of course, by
smartly balanced laws that fully comply with India’s World Trade Organization
(WTO) obligations on intellectual property while incorporating protections that
support public health. These laws have ensured a strict review of patent
applications to avoid spuriously granting monopolies on drugs that are not
actually new or innovative or whole new patents on minor changes to existing
drugs. India has also focused on its WTO obligations rather than implementing
excessive IP rules that undermine health, such as “data exclusivity” which, in the
United States, makes clinical trial data private to create a whole additional
monopoly separate from patents that prevents approval for generic drugs for
periods of time.
Needless
to say, the major multinational pharmaceutical companies oppose India’s finely
balanced intellectual property system and are trying to topple it. What is less
understandable is why the Obama administration would be backing their drive.
Religious
Freedom
Unveiling his sweeping
vision for the future of the India-US ties, President Obama, at the conclusion
of his three-day trip on January 27, suggested his country could be the “best
partner" while underscoring the importance of religious freedom and tolerance
for India's success.
Citing the Indian
Constitution on the right to freedom of religion, he said: "Your Article
25 says all people are equally entitled to the freedom of conscience and have
right to freely profess and practice and propagate religion. In both our
countries, in all countries upholding freedom of religion is the utmost
responsibility of the government but also the responsibility of every person...
Every person has the right to practice his faith without any persecution, fear
or discrimination. India will succeed so long it is not splintered on religious
lines," Obama also said. The importance of the message strikes
when seen in the backdrop of the controversy over "Ghar wapsi" program run by the
RSS-Sangh Parivar as also complaints of attacks on a church in the city. Obama further said, “Around the world we have seen intolerance, violence, and terror
perpetrated by those who profess to be standing for upholding their faith
stating that all have to guard against any efforts to divide people on
sectarian lines or any other things.”
The US president said, "In
both our countries, in India and the United States, our diversity is our
strength... your Constitution begins with the pledge to uphold the dignity of
the individual. Our Declaration of Independence proclaims that all men are
created equal.”
Characterizing the
qualities of countries being world leaders, Obama added, was not about the size
of the economies or the number of weapons but the ability to show the way and
how they work together.
