Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'All eyes on PM’s visit to US' that was published in Newsband

All eyes on PM’s visit to US

All eyes are on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ongoing visit to the United States. His primary challenges in this phase relate to improving India’s overall relationship with the U.S. while furthering his country’s global ambitions. It remains to be seen whether he will manage to clear defence purchases worth $3 billion from Boeing. Another thing is that the Prime Minister has vigorously pushed for the reform of the UN Security Council.

Calling of the summit of the Group of Four nations was a wise movie by Modi. In this meeting, while backing one another’s bid for permanent seats in the UNSC, India, Germany, Japan and Brazil have collectively called for urgent reforms of the Security Council within a time-frame.

Modi rightly invited U.S. companies to step up investments in India. While the overall message from New York is positive, the government has to work hard to bring to fruition the goodwill established. Though American companies are keen to invest in India, they remain wary of “complicated regulations, confusing bureaucracy and poor infrastructure”. Modi government should accelerate the pace of reforms at home and build quality infrastructure.  It is quite easy to say that the government should accelerate the pace of reform and build quality infrastructure. Quality infrastructure will require massive investment and expert personnel - two areas that have hindered progress in this sector. Another job of government should to remove procedural roadblocks and bureaucratic lethargy.

Washington’s continuing support for Pakistan is something that is worrying the Indians to a great extent. Can Modi or any other leader leader from India get a promise from US not to help Pakistan in any way? Pakistan is more a reliable ally for US. But US is not ignoring India. In fact, India is USA's major business partner and ally. America's technology is driven by India's brain drain. Yes, it is home to thousands of Indians, their employment hub. American companies setting shop in India would be a major source of employment. With so much of brainpower already settled down in the US, and more younger ones heading that way, it's no wonder that we talk more of a drain than of a gain. Google, Microsoft and Facebook are all supported by an army of Indian software engineers and programmers in the US head-offices and in India as well.

Starting from the first term of the UPA government headed by Dr. Manmohan Singh, the tone of economic reforms and the gradual closeness in access cautiously established between India and the US, have positively energized the climate for a healthy Indo-American relationship in matters of trade and defence. That Modi has continued to travel on this track, in spite of his earlier VISA related issues with the US, shows his national interests apart from his political sagacity, in clinching issues for the speedier growth of India.  If the 'bureaucratic confusion, complicated regulations and infra structure defects' are settled with speed and conviction, the second visit of Modi to America will certainly become a real achievement, in terms of hitting the anticipated goals. In the long run, India's aspiration to find a permanent place in the United Nations Security Council will also see the light of the day. Let us wish Modi all the best!