Background:

• India and the United States enjoy a comprehensive global strategic partnership covering almost all areas of cooperation, driven by shared democratic values, convergence of interests on a range of issues, and vibrant people-to-people contacts. 
• The relationship is based on the strong foundations of commitment to democracy and rules based international order.
• From the period of mistrust in the pre 1991 years, both the countries have come together to create a mutually beneficial relationship.

Social and Economic Relationship:

• The value of bilateral trade between the countries stands at US $ 191.43 Bn(2022), with the balance of trade in India’s favour.
  • Indian exports were valued at  US $  118.5 Bn and US exports were valued at  US $  72.9 Bn in the same period.
• About 4.4 million Indian Americans/Indian origin people reside in the US and in this around 2.8 million Persons of Indian origin have become naturalised citizens in the US. 
• The U.S. is one of the most favoured destinations of Indian students for higher education. As of September 2023, there are 320,260 Indian students, mostly in graduate (Masters) programs.
• Programs highlighting Indian cultural heritage and initiatives such as International Day of Yoga, International Year of Millets, Mission LiFE, Ayurveda day are organised with participation of Indian Diaspora and Friends of India. 

Defence Cooperation:

• In 2016, India was designated as a Major Defence Partnership (MDP) of the US.
• Important defence agreements which provide the framework for interaction and cooperation are: 
  • GSOMIA(General Security of Military Information Agreement) was the first of the foundational agreements to be signed in 2002 which essentially guaranteed that the two countries would  protect any  classified information or technology that they shared. 
  • LEMOA: Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (2016); 
  • COMCASA: Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (2018); Industrial Security Agreement (2019); and 
  • BECA: Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (2020).
• Defence Exercises: India has the largest number of military exercises with the USA, which are growing in scale and complexity. Important bilateral exercises include Yudh Abhyas (Army), Vajra Prahar (Special Forces), Cope India (Air Force), and Tiger Triumph (tri-services). 
• Defence procurements from the USA are growing and amount to almost US$20 billion. Major US-origin platforms in use include C-130J, C-17, Apache, Chinook, MH60R helicopters and P8I.
• The India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS X), a network of universities, incubators, corporates, think tanks, and private investment stakeholders was launched to further the defence cooperation.

Science and technology Cooperation:

• In 2008, India and the USA signed the “Agreement for Co-operation between the Government of India and the Government of the United States of America concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy”, which  ended technology denial regimes against India that have been in place for three decades and ended India’s nuclear isolation. 
  • It opened the doors for India to have civil nuclear cooperation as an equal partner with the USA and the rest of the world.
  • This agreement gave India a full waiver in the Nuclear Security Group(NSG) to access its partners without signing the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty(NPT).
• India and the U.S. have a long history of cooperation in the civil space arena in Earth Observation, Satellite Navigation, Space Science and Exploration. 
• Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has robust civilian space cooperation with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); US Geological Survey (USGS) and academic institutions. 
• ISRO and NASA are developing a microwave remote sensing satellite for Earth observation, NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR). 

Recent Challenges in India-US relations:

• Tariffs and Trade Barriers: Both countries have imposed tariffs on each other’s goods. The US has raised concerns over India’s high tariffs and trade barriers, while India has objected to US tariffs on steel and aluminium.
  • Generalised System of Preferences (GSP): The US terminated India’s designation as a beneficiary developing country under the GSP program, affecting duty-free access for certain Indian goods.
• Data Localization: India’s push for data localization laws, which require data to be stored locally, has been a contentious issue. US tech companies have opposed these regulations, arguing that they create barriers to digital trade.
• Human Rights and Democratic Values: The US has expressed concerns over human rights issues in Kashmir, especially following India’s revocation of Article 370, which granted special autonomy to the region. 
  • Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA): The CAA and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) have been criticised internationally, including by some US lawmakers and human rights organisations, for discriminating against Muslims.
• Defence and Security: India’s emphasis on strategic autonomy sometimes leads to divergences in foreign policy, particularly regarding Russia and Iran, which complicates its partnership with the US.
• Climate Policy: Differences in climate policy approaches and commitments have occasionally caused friction, although both countries have recently sought to cooperate more closely on climate action.
• IPR Issues and Pharma Pricing: The US has often criticised India’s intellectual property regime, especially concerning pharmaceuticals, arguing that it does not provide adequate protection for US companies.
  • India’s regulation of drug prices and compulsory licensing for essential medicines have been points of dispute.
• H-1B Visa: Changes in the US H-1B visa program, which many Indian IT professionals rely on, have caused concern in India. Restrictions and uncertainties around these visas affect the Indian IT sector and professionals.
• Sikh Separatism issue:  The US Department of Justice filed a case in a federal court in New York saying that it had unearthed a plot to kill a US national on American soil. 
  • Though the separatist Sikh leader was not named, media reports identified him as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the leader of the Sikhs for Justice, an organisation banned in India.
  • On the US indictment, India has instituted a high-level commission to probe the allegations.
  • India is concerned with the inability of the US to take action against those responsible for the attack on the Indian consulate in San Francisco and openly letting separatist Sikhs organise and propagate anti-India and Khalistani movements in the country.

Way forward: 

• While India’s embrace with the U.S. is getting stronger, deeper and more comprehensive, India is also aware of the need to maintain its strategic autonomy. India’s desire to protect its borders and sovereignty aligns with U.S. interests(against China). This is a new era of mutual trust between the two countries, and it should act as a force for stability in the region.

Source: 

https://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/Bilateral_Brief_as_on_09.10.2023.pdf