News

PM state visit to USA

Context

5. PM Modi is on an Official State Visit to USA. This is his first state visit to the country.
5. On the first day of his visit, PM led the celebrations of the 9th annual International Day of Yoga at the United Nations Headquarters on June 21.
5. In December 2014, the UN General Assembly had adopted a resolution proclaiming June 21 as the International Day of Yoga.
5. On the second day of his visit, PM Modi will meet President Biden to continue their high-level dialogue;
5. attend a State Dinner hosted by President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden;
5. address a Joint Sitting of the U.S. Congress on June 22.

State visit

5. State visits are the highest-ranked category of foreign visits to the US, where the head of a state visits the US on the formal invitation of the US President.
5. Before PM Modi, the only two state visits under President Joe Biden have been by France’s President Emmanuel Macron and South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol.
5. Invitation for a state visit signifies that the US considers the guest nation an important friend and ally.

Key events that mark a state visit

5. A state dinner is a crucial part of such a visit.
5. The state dinner is held at the White House, the residence of the US President.
5. It has the symbolic value of a visiting dignitary sharing a meal at the host’s home.
5. The other key events that mark a state visit include:
5. a 21-gun salute White House arrival ceremony and
5. an invitation to stay at the Blair House (the US President’s guesthouse across Pennsylvania Avenue).

India-US Bilateral Relations

Trade & Economic Relations between India and US

5. The U.S. has emerged as India's biggest trading partner in 2022-23 on account of increasing economic ties between the two countries.
5. In 2022-23, the bilateral trade between India and the USA stood at a record US$ 191 billion as against US$ 119.42 billion in 2021-22.
5. In 2021-22, India had a trade surplus of US$ 32.8 billion with the US.
5. In FY 2020-21, India received the highest ever FDI amounting to US$ 81.72 billion.
5. USA became India’s second largest source of FDI during 2020-21 with inflows of US$ 13.82 billion.
5. US is one of the top 5 investment destinations for Indian FDI.

Defence Cooperation between India and US

5. India-US defence cooperation is based on “New Framework for India-US Defence Cooperation”, which was renewed for a period of ten years in 2015.
5. In 2016, the defence relationship was designated as a Major Defence Partnership (MDP) to build a comprehensive, enduring and mutually beneficial defence partnership.
5. In July 2018, India was moved into the Tier-1 of the US Department of Commerce’s Strategic Trade Authorization license exception.
5. In August 2022, a U.S. Navy Ship (USNS) Charles Drew visited in Chennai for repairs and allied services. This was the first ever repair of a U.S. Navy ship in India.

Several defence agreements have been signed:

5. Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Association (2016);
5. Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (2018);
5. Industrial Security Agreement (2019);
5. Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (2020).
5. Bilateral exercises include: Yudh Abhyas (Army); Vajra Prahar (Special Forces), a tri-services exercise– Tiger Triumph (inaugurated in 2019).
5. In November 2022, Australian Navy joined the U.S.-India-Japan MALABAR annual Naval Exercise. U.S. participated in India’s multilateral Exercise Milan 2022.

S&T and Space Cooperation between India and US

Space cooperation

5. ISRO and NASA are working together to realize a joint microwave remote sensing satellite for Earth observation, named NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR).
5. ISRO availed NASA/JPL’s Deep Space Network Antenna support for its Chandrayaan-1, Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) and Chandrayaan-2 mission.
5. Both sides are currently exploring the possibility of availing similar support for Chandrayaan-3 satellite.
5. On commercial front, ISRO has launched more than 200 satellites from US, on-board Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), as co passengers.
5. Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) –
5. NSA Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan launched a new US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies in January 2023.
5. These emerging technologies include artificial intelligence, quantum computing, semiconductors and wireless telecommunication.

Challenges in India – US relation

Ukraine war and Indian stand

5. The United States worries about the India-Russia relationship, especially that India’s reliance on Russian military imports will continue.
5. Recently, India’s oil imports from Russia have displaced Iraq as its top supplier.

Challenges in trade and technology relationships

5. The US still has significant export controls on India (instituted after the 1998 nuclear test), which inhibits the free transfer of technology.
5. In 2019, USA terminated India's designations as a beneficiary developing country under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme.
5. GSP is the largest and oldest US trade preference programme.
5. It is designed to promote economic development by allowing duty-free entry for thousands of products from designated beneficiary countries.
5. The United States is concerned about India’s turn towards protectionism.
5. India makes up only two percent of the United States’ merchandise trade due to policies that protect domestic industry from foreign competition.

United States is concerned about the state of Indian democracy

5. Many members of Congress and officials in the Biden administration are following reports on civil liberties and minority rights in India.
5. Furthermore, questions are being raised surrounding data protection in India and what the implications are vis-à-vis surveillance and censorship.

Protracted delays in the processing of visas for the United States

5. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, protracted delays in the processing of visas for the United States have been a persistent irritant in bilateral relationship.
5. Data published by the US embassy in India shows that the wait for B1 and B2 work visas still stretches beyond 400 days in many instances.