India Inc Eyes Easing of Export Control Norms.

New Delhi: With the focus of the forthcoming visit of US President Barack Obama to India is to showcase what the two countries can do together, especially in trade, defence and climate change, and the bilateral trade expected to touch $50 billion, India Inc is looking forward to the visit to help realise the true potential of their economic relations.

The visit is scheduled from November 6-9.

According to senior US government officials, “The US had projected its bilateral trade with India to touch record levels of $50 billion this year.”

“Between 2004 and 2008, our two-way trade doubled to $43 billion. There was some drop in 2009. But the way ahead is encouraging.” A senior US government official said among the issues that top on Obama’s agenda are defence, climate change, science and technology, education, health, clean energy, trade, market access, and high-tech exports.

“What concerns the US today, concerns India as well. And what concerns India, concerns the US. if we move ahead on these issues, it will be a big push forward,” the official said.

The US President will address a large meeting of the US and India industry captains in Mumbai jointly organised by Ficci and CII.

Ficci said it was keenly looking forward to significant relaxations in the export control regime of the US for dual usage technologies.

“India was being denied 10 of the 16 nomenclatures, including chemicals and biological materials (for fear of weaponisation ), technologies which fall under ‘non-proliferation’, under ‘national security’, under ‘missile technologies’, and under ‘crime control”, said Amit Mitra, secretary general, Ficci.

“During this visit four companies of India who are under the ‘entities list’ today would be freed. Within a decade Indo-US relationship has climbed new trajectories from a ‘natural partners’ to a ‘strategic partners’ to the level of a ‘global partners’,” Mitra added.

As a backdrop to the US leader’s visit, the industry body is also hosting a Track II strategic dialogue with the leading think tank of the US, Brookings Institution, on November 2—the US delegation being led by Strobe Talbott, former deputy secretary of States and President of Brookings. The National Security Advisor of India and the foreign secretary would be speaking at this Track II engagement.

Source : financialexpress.com