When the founder of the world’s leading hedge fund says something, it has to be taken seriously. In a tweet during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US, Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Associates noted, “…He [Modi] and India are in an analogous position to Deng Xiaoping and China in the early 1980s—i.e., at the brink of the fastest growth rates and biggest transformations in the world…”. The 1979 visit by the late Chinese premier saw China and the US agreeing to co-operate in the areas of science and technology, education, commerce, space and culture as well as the opening of consulates. Forty-four years later, Modi may have far surpassed Deng’s record by inking over 30 agreements in areas ranging from high-end technologies to advanced telecommunications, and defence to education, to diplomacy, sustainable development and global health, among others. “…I believe that Modi has what it takes to have the greatest impact on the largest number of people in the world at a time that the risks of harmful impact are greater than at any time in our lifetimes,” Dalio had tweeted.
PM Modi set the tone for this new chapter between the world’s two leading democracies when he told a joint session of the US Congress, “In the past few years, there have been many advances in AI—artificial intelligence. At the same time, there have been even more momentous developments in another AI—America and India,” to a standing ovation from the house. Giving a thumbs up to Modi’s state visit—the third by an Indian leader—India Inc. says that among other things, it has helped to highlight the two countries’ commitment to pursue common goals and address global challenges together. It is also timely, as it is happening at a time when global economic and geopolitical realities are in a state of flux.
“There is not one but many defining features of the outcomes this time, which is rather unique… Sectors like biotechnology, space, semiconductors, telecom, AI, quantum, and defence would get a huge fillip through this arrangement of cooperation,” says R. Dinesh, President of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and Executive Vice Chairman of TVS Supply Chain Solutions. He is particularly delighted with the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) picking up traction. Dinesh also commends the laying down of an institutionalised framework for trade talks “since the potential for augmenting bilateral trade, including in hi-tech areas is huge”.
These agreements are particularly being seen as providing a fillip to Modi’s Make in India push in electronics and defence manufacturing, evident in the deal between the aerospace unit of GE and state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics to manufacture F-414 fighter jet engines in India for use in the indigenously developed Tejas Mk2.
The two countries will also be enhancing co-operation in the space sector. India became the 27th country to sign the Artemis Accords, a multilateral agreement between the US and other countries to return humans to the moon by 2025. “With India’s participation in the Artemis Accords, we can expect more active dialogue and agreements to lay a comprehensive framework of regulations to guide our trajectory in space. The increasing technological collaboration between the US and India will also help growth in the global space economy enabled by innovation, talent, and technology from India,” New York-based Elizebeth Varghese, People in Space-Leader at Deloitte, tells Business Today.
During his engagements with US lawmakers, CEOs of American companies, and members of the Indian diaspora, Modi highlighted the country’s achievements in the delivery of social welfare schemes to the poor, infrastructure creation and telecommunications. “He [Modi] has been a role model for many of us around the world with Digital India, and how he brings those benefits to every citizen across the country,” John T. Chambers, Chairman of US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, and Chairman Emeritus of Cisco, said in a statement. Further, Boeing—that recently finalised an order for 290 passenger jets with Air India—has reiterated its support for the rapid expansion of the country’s commercial aviation market and modernisation of the defence forces. “We support PM Modi’s Make in India initiative, with more than 5,000 people in India pursuing high-quality careers doing innovative work on the Boeing team. Our growing investments in India underscore not only the strength of Boeing’s partnership with the nation, but also the positive trajectory of the broader US-India economic relationship,” said CEO Dave Calhoun in a statement shared with BT. The PM also discussed investments with a number of CEOs, including Sanjay Mehrotra (Micron Technology); Tim Cook (Apple); Sundar Pichai (Google and Alphabet); Satya Nadella (Microsoft); Gary E. Dickerson (Applied Materials); H. Lawrence Culp, Jr. (GE); and Elon Musk (Tesla).
At the height of the Cold War in the 1970s, the Richard Nixon administration—which had adopted a hawkish stance towards a democratic India then—was cosying up to communist China by deploying what came to be known as ping-pong diplomacy. On the first day of his visit, Modi led a session with participants from 135 countries on the occasion of the 9th International Day of Yoga on June 21, 2023, at the UN headquarters in New York. This exercise in yoga diplomacy serves as an apt metaphor for the ongoing geopolitical shift, where the US sees India as a strong bulwark against an increasingly belligerent China in the Indo-Pacific.
@manishpant22