India and USA to hold annual innovation forum

“We have set a goal called Mission 2022, which is to have a series of dialogues with the diaspora over the next seven years as India turns 75”, entrepreneur M R Rangaswami said during a reception hosted by CII and Indian diaspora, which among others was attended by US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. In the wake of the ongoing wave of optimism and promising developments surrounding US-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue as well as Modi’s anticipated second visit to the U.S. , major stakeholders joined in the reception to celebrate the flourishing Indian diaspora and to place them front and centre within the context of the overall bilateral partnership.

In addition to jobs, investments and taxes paid, the report estimated that philanthropic activities by Indian IT companies touched more than 120,000 American lives in 2011-2013.

Indian IT companies are providing for more than four lakh jobs in the U.S. of which around three lakh are held by either USA citizens or permanent residents, according to a latest report by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom).

Speaking at the 40th leadership Summit of US-India Business Council (USIBC), she said the Indian Government had taken several measures, both executive and legislative, to ease business environment.

Sitharaman applaud Obama, Modi’s vision. For many years, NASSCOM has advocated for more open markets for US companies in India, as well as for USA policies that permit temporary high-skilled workers from India to support their hundreds of American customers.

Union Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj similarly echoed positive sentiments regarding the expanding scope of bilateral cooperation which, she said, now extended economic engagement into the realms of “investments in technology, defence and security cooperation… civil nuclear cooperation, science and technology, air and space, energy and trade”. Pritzker said the two countries are also putting together an innovation competition.

David Cote, CEO of electronics firm Honeywell, said during the event that he is “pretty bullish” on India’s efforts to cut red tape that impedes doing business, but he also griped about his past dealings with the “stultifying” bureaucracy in that nation. “All projections indicate that the global shortage of workers is only going to increase, so it’s important to make sure this issue is not lost in the larger discussion about immigration”.