Indian Council of World Affairs

One of the important foreign policy elements for the United States, which continues to attract bipartisan support, is deepening relations with India. Whether it was under Republican presidents like George W. Bush and Donald Trump or under the Democratic Administrations of Barack Obama and now Joe Biden, successive American governments have invested in building closer strategic and economic relations with India. In India too, the steady growth in the relations have found cross-party support with successive governments continuing the momentum through high-level political interactions. The State visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United States in June 2023, highlighted a partnership that is “…anchored in a new level of trust and mutual understanding and enriched by the warm bonds of family and friendship that inextricably link the countries together.”[i] The visit led to substantial announcements by the two leaders outlining cooperation, especially in defence and high technology sectors, clean energy, space cooperation and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, with India welcoming the United States’ decision to join India’s Indo-Pacific Ocean’s Initiative (IPOI) Pillar on Trade, Connectivity and Maritime Transport. This momentum continued with President Biden’s visit to India for the G20 Summit in September 2023. 

India and the US have widespread common interests. The paper highlights four emerging areas of importance that are increasing by becoming critical for the bilateral partnership. 

India and the United States: Priorities for the Future 

India and the United States are comprehensive strategic partners, and cooperation between the two extends across multiple areas such as trade, defence, multilateralism, intelligence, cyberspace, civil nuclear energy, education, and healthcare. As this multifaceted and diverse partnership looks at the future, it is articulating a new agenda for cooperation that would ensure that the relations become future ready. Some of the sectors that will play a pivotal role in shaping the future arc of the relationship are (a) emerging technology for both civil and defence sectors including in cyber security and digital transformation and space cooperation, (b) the need for more innovation in green technology and renewable energy transitions, (c) health security, and (d) cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. 

Emerging technology 

Technology will play an important role in the India-US partnership. This includes establishing ecosystems that are free, open, and secure based on mutual trust and confidence in each other. The two nations launched the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) in January 2023 to build a strategic technology partnership. In the sphere of defence technology, both sides announced an “Innovation Bridge” to connect Indian and American defence startups. Collaboration in this sector is not limited to exchanges in defence technology but in use of technology that would help in the day-to-day lives of the citizens. The initiative covers key technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), quantum technologies, advanced wireless, high-performance computing, space technologies, biotech, and next generation telecommunications. The two nations are looking at the development of trusted and secure telecommunication systems including providing 5G/6G technologies, facilitating access to chipset for system development, and establishing joint research and development facilities as well as investments in each other’s businesses. The two nations are also looking at funding computer and information science and engineering with a focus on building secure cyber space networks. Apart from this, the two partners are also cooperating on earth and space sciences including on human spaceflight cooperation. With India signing the Artemis Accords[ii] there is more scope for cooperation in this sector. The extent of tech collaboration is expected to not just demonstrate the Indian tech prowess but also create a tech value chain partnership between the two countries. This represents the confidence that the US government has in the Indian tech which has pioneered advanced but affordable tech innovations like the digital public infrastructure.[iii] India and the United States are also looking at exploring enhanced commercial collaborations between businesses of the two nations, including Indian companies participating in the value chain of the space economy, which would help in addressing export control bottlenecks and is expected to contribute to facilitating transfer of technology. 

Working together on clean energy transitions 

As a leader in climate mitigation efforts, India has committed to reducing its emissions and transitioning to renewable energy sources. In August 2022, India updated its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) according to which India has an enhanced target to reduce emissions intensity of its GDP by 45 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels, and achieve about 50 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030. India has launched international coalitions such as International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS), and Green Grids Initiative—One Sun One World One Grid (GGI-OSOWOG).[iv] Together with the United States, India has launched the India-US Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (2021). The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Indian Railways are also working together to develop sustainable solutions that enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon footprints, and ensure a greener future for railway operations and achieve India’s target of making its railways net-zero carbon emitter by 2030. As one of the largest railway networks in the world, India aims to advance energy efficiency and sustainable practices for public services along with private sector businesses. Reiterating the importance of decarbonising the transport sector, the governments are working towards collaborations to expand electric mobility in India, including joint support for a payment security mechanism financed through both public and private funds. The climate cooperation between the two nations is not limited to sharing of climate technology and investments but includes cooperation on enhancing renewable energy funding, building green infrastructure, and exploring new models of economic development that avoid the carbon-intensive approaches. 

Prioritising healthcare security 

India and the United States have collaborated with each other in the healthcare sector before through programmes for small pox and polio eradication, HIC/AIDS control, and tuberculosis control. While the pandemic has brought focus on the need to have robust healthcare facilities to cater to the needs of the people, it has also showed that there is a need for more cooperation within nations in research and development in vaccine development and enhanced collaboration on pandemic preparedness, supported by epidemiology training, laboratory strengthening, etc, to identify and contain similar outbreaks in the future. With its enhanced vaccine production capacity, India’s contribution would be vital to the availability of vaccines and the overall success of vaccination drives across the world, especially for its partners in the Global South who require affordable yet quality medicines. The two nations are working towards “…deeper collaboration to secure, de-risk, and strengthen pharmaceutical supply chains, with a focus on active pharmaceutical ingredients, key starting materials, and key vaccine input materials.”[v] The upcoming India-U.S. Health Dialogue, to be held in October 2023 in Washington, D.C., underscores their joint commitment to strengthening and facilitating scientific, regulatory, and health cooperation.[vi] The joint statement at the bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit also highlighted the joint research on cancer. 

Within their national visions, both India and the United States are committed to providing accessible quality healthcare services to people at affordable prices. India has initiated process to provide healthcare insurance to its population through the Ayushman Bharat scheme. It has also engaged both the public and the private sector to form partnerships through its National Health Policy. The Biden Administration is working towards lowering the cost of most common drugs, especially those used by senior citizens, such as to prevent diabetes, heart failure, etc. Creating innovative products will require large reservoirs of data, which in turn would require regulation on medical data use and privacy protection. Digital health technologies provide a significant opportunity for US-India cooperation. On its part, India will benefit from more intensive use of technology in healthcare, in terms of both expanding access to public health services and reducing the cost of prevention and treatment of common diseases. At the same time, US companies can have access to India’s highly skilled technical personnel, as well as domain knowledge of appropriate health services in emerging markets. 

The Indo-Pacific: Sustainable Maritime Resources Development 

India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) aims to promote a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific by bolstering partner nation’s capabilities and maintain regional stability through a cooperative framework. The United States has joined the IPOI pillar on trade, connectivity and maritime transport. With the majority of the world’s trade dependent on the sea lines of communication maintaining their safety remains critical. Since trade is largely carried through the ocean, stronger maritime transport cooperation will lead to strengthening the shipping networks, both within and between countries in the Indo-Pacific. This would assist not only in trade promotion but deepen cooperation between countries to check illegal shipping and other activities in the waters of the Indo-Pacific. With increased trade and container movement, another area of cooperation that provides opportunities is building sustainable maritime infrastructure such port facilities, improving supply chain communications, building improved submarine cable lines which will help in the exchange of data etc. Greater cooperation among governments, private sector, security forces may help designing a regional programme to protect the digital infrastructure, sharing information among service providers and governments, conduct training and capacity building, etc.[vii]

Beyond the above areas, the two nations are also working on other key ocean issues such as marine protected areas, sustainable fisheries, marine pollution, and climate-related impacts on the ocean. As more and more States are to explore the use of marine resources, there is a need to build plans for sustainable development of maritime resources, ecological and environmental protection of maritime space and mitigation of climate change. Sharing of expertise on development of the ocean based economy could help promote ocean and coastal sustainability while providing economic benefits to the citizens, especially those inhabiting the coastal areas. Cooperation in the maritime space including the development of blue economy may become an important pillar of India-US relations in the near future. 

Conclusion 

India and the United States have pursued a strategic partnership that has today expanded to include a range of issues from traditional defence and security matters, military exercises, increased trade and investments to include non-traditional areas of security and cooperation such as health, climate, energy, building resilient supply chains and sustainable development of maritime resources. Today the relationship is not limited to addressing challenges that emerge from geopolitical rivalries in the region but addressing concerns that emerge from misuse of technology, exploitation of natural resources, safety for the movement of people, etc. There are divergences in the partnership; nonetheless, the two nations are finding new areas that help them strengthen their relationship for the future.

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*Dr. Stuti Banerjee, Senior Research Fellow, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi
The views expressed are personal.

Endnotes

[i] Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, “India-USA Joint Statement during the Official State visit of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi to USA, 23 June 2023,” https://mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/36711/IndiaUSA+Joint+Statement+during+the+Official+State+visit+of+Prime+Minister+Shri+Narendra+Modi+to+USA, Accessed on 21 August 2023.

[ii] The accords are a NASA-led international partnership for the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes. The accords are available at https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-accords/index.html

[iii] Sameer Patil, “Tech cooperation defines India-US strategic alignment,” https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/tech-cooperation-defines-india-us-strategic-alignment/, Accessed on 24 August 2023.

[iv] Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, “India is part of the solution and is doing more than its fair share to address climate change, thirty-four States/Union Territories (UTs) have prepared their State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) in line with NAPCC taking into account the State-specific issues relating to climate change, India has launched international coalitions such as International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) to address climate change challenges,” 02 February 2023, https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1895857, Accessed on 24 August 2023.

[v] Ministry of External Affairs, “India-USA Joint Statement during the Official State visit of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi to USA,” 23 June 2023, https://mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/36711/IndiaUSA+Joint+Statement+during+the+Official+State+visit+of+Prime+Minister+Shri+Narendra+Modi+to+USA, Accessed on 31 August 2023.

[vi] The White House, “Joint Statement from India and the United States,” https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/09/08/joint-statement-from-india-and-the-united-states/ Accessed on 26 September 2023

[vii] Prabir De, “Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI): Trade, Connectivity and Maritime Transport Suggested Action Plans,” December 2021, https://aseanindiacentre.org.in/sites/default/files/Publication/AIC%20Working%20Paper%20No%208%20December%202021.pdf,  Accessed on 03 October 2023