Barack Obama arrived on Sunday for his second state visit to New Delhi as president of the US, receiving a resounding welcome from the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Much has been made of India's relationship with the US, with Obama describing it as one of the "defining partnerships of the 21st century".

While the trip is largely symbolic, both India and the US have a number of policy matters to discuss and resolve.  The following points will stand to prove the beneficial for the country. 

1. Nuclear Deal breakthrough: India and the US broke the deadlock and committed themselves to a deal which would see a power-hungry nation satisfy its insatiable desire for power. If India wants to grow at a rate of 10% for the next 30 years, we need modern agriculture, modern industries and modern institutions of development.

It is possible only if we have an abundant, clean and perennial source of energy. Here comes US and gives us just that. India traditionally blamed to put the liability of a nuclear disaster on the suppliers of the equipment under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, which put off the US manufacturers.

However now an insurance pool of $120 million is set up to help the investors, and which might be recovered from the people by charging higher. However it remains to be seen if the manufacturers are convinced after Mr Obama said that they have got a "breakthrough" in the talks.

2. Defence Agreements: Indo-US partnership can be hoped to foster a long-term defence co-operation. A renewal of the 10-year defence framework agreement between the two countries will help in the long-term. And Ashton Carter, the administration’s nominee for defense secretary, is arguably one of Washington's most enthusiastic champions of a deep U.S.-India security relationship. 

The four products to be co-produced are the next-generation Raven unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), "roll-on, roll-off" intelligence-gathering and reconnaissance modules for C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, mobile electric hybrid power sources and "uniform integrated protection ensemble increment-2 (chemical, biological warfare protection gear for soldiers)". 

Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) has been operationalized with focus on co-development and co-production in India not only for India, but the global market. If this could someday result in a technology transfer from the US to India, it will be a big boost to Narendra Modi's "Make in India."

3. Talking of the Dragon's maritime aggression: 

The US-India Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region notes, 'Regional prosperity depends on security. We affirm the importance of safeguarding maritime security and ensuring freedom of navigation and over flight throughout the region, especially in the South China Sea. We call on all parties to avoid the threat or use of force and pursue resolution of territorial and maritime disputes through all peaceful means, in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.'

 

This is the second time Indo-US joint statements have mentioned China, and this time in a way it can not ignore.

4. Supporting India to become a global power: China has been trying a lot to contain India to the "South Asia pocket" in its talks in the recent years. However the US in the same document states the below to anchor India's situation in the Asia-Pacific context.

It says, 'In order to achieve this regional vision, we will develop a roadmap that leverages our respective efforts to increase ties among Asian powers, enabling both our nations to better respond to diplomatic, economic and security challenges in the region. As part of these efforts, the United States welcomes India's interest in joining the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, as the Indian economy is a dynamic part of the Asian economy.'

5. Efforts towards clean energy: After a renewed focus on clean energy, it can be hoped that the US will help India realise its dream of a sustainable economy using cleaner sources by sharing its experience on innovative financing mechanisms and transferring cutting-edge technology. There has been no solid work done on this footing but hopes are running high.

This includes broadening the areas for undertaking research in clean energy; addressing urban air quality; expanding policy dialogues and technical work on clean energy and low greenhouse gas emissions technologies; undertaking demonstration and pilot clean energy projects; and developing cooling solutions to replace hydrocloroflurocarbons (HFCs), which contribute to global warming.

6. Bilateral Investment Treaty: We also saw the two sides commit themselves to renewing talks on the Bilateral Investment Treaty and taking forward the much desired Social Security Agreement. Current bilateral trade stands at around US$ 100 billion and the trade target that has been set by two sides is US$ 500 billion. The decisions taken by the two sides and the progress made across key areas will move us in the direction of strongly enhancing our bilateral trade.

Obama committed a sum of $4 billion in investment and loans to unleash the untapped potential of the Indian market and boost business. India accounts for 2% of the US imports and 1% of exports and the total trade is one-fifth of US-China trade.

Obama said that U.S. Export-Import Bank would finance $1 billion in exports of 'Made-in-America' products. The U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation will lend $1 billion to small- and medium-sized enterprises in rural areas of India.

Regarding renewable energy, a key focus for Modi, $2 billion will be committed by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency for renewable energy, Obama said.

7. Everything else: There have been assurance from the US regarding the modernisation of the Jan Dhan Yojana which aims at providing every family with a bank amount, which tackles corruption and provides insurance to every citizen. A high level Indo-US strategic group to encounter bureaucratic hurdles in decision making gives further thrust to Make in India. Also India discussed H-1B Visa issue.

Also the US has signed MoU to develop 3 smart cities: Ajmer, Vishakhapatnam and Kolkata even before India's plan started. Also a plan for a social security fund for the Indian workers is on cards. 

Conclusion:

Although a warm hug, long friendly talks, cool atmosphere pave the way for the actual work to be done by the deputies, there is much more to what we see. Narendra Modi's telling we are an independent country on the issue of climate change and carbon dioxide emission and Barack Obama's criticising India's natural ally Russia and Putin over Crimea issue while standing next to Narendra Modi certainly show that there is something to overcome before we have a long defining partnership as superpowers of the millenia.