Washington, DC
September 25, 2008

FACT SHEET

The High Technology Cooperation Group(HTCG), created in 2002 , seeks to address two broad agendas: i) to promote strategic trade i.e access to dual use items through easing of controls on exports of such goods to India, this has to be accomplished while meeting the US concerns on valid end use , diversion and proliferation, and ii) to promote and facilitate bilateral high technology commerce in its broadest sense, inter alia, through steps to be taken by the two Governments to create an appropriate environment for successful high technology commerce in partnership with private sector. 

High Technology Cooperation Group: 
· Since the commencement of the HTCG dialogue in 2003, six plenary meetings have taken, alternatively in the USA and India. The VI High Technology Cooperation Group meeting took place in New Delhi in Feb 2008. 
· The HTCG format involves active participation of the private sector of both sides and works through four working groups; one each on Nanotechnology , Defence and Strategic Trade, Information technology and Biotechnology and Life science. 

High Technology Exports to India : The dialogue under the HTCG has led to easing of restrictions on high technology exports to India. High Technology imports from the US increased from US$1.3 billion in 2003 to US$ 8.06 billion in 2007. The licensed exports to India increased from US$56 million in 2003 to US$ 364.1 million in 2007 with the value of application denied declining from US$ 11 million to about US$ 6 million. Average processing time for licenses have come down from 39 days in 2004 to 33 days in 2007. Exports to India requiring a license today account for less than .02% of US exports to India (compared to 24% in 1999).

Defence and Strategic Trade

End Use Visit Arrangement (EUVA): The EUVA Agreement signed between India and the US in 2004 to promote trust and confidence among the two partners, with a view to expand high technology trade while ensuring that national security concerns of the US including proliferation and diversion of ‘dual use’ technology are adhered to , is being implemented to the satisfaction of the two sides. 

Impact of the US President’ Export Control Directives : The CII and the USIBC are jointly conducting a survey among select Industry on both sides to make an analysis of the impact of the US President’s Export Control Directives announced in early 2008 on exports to India of High Technology products. 

Awareness of new opportunities for high technology collaboration: The Industry partners in the HTCG process have been actively pursuing to explore and generate awareness of new opportunities for high technology collaboration in keeping with the role envisaged for the HTCG. 

· With an objective to educate industry about India’s defence procurement policy and procedures of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, CII has been regularly organizing Defence Acquisition Management Courses since 2003. 
· On 8th August 2008, CII co-ordinated the India–US DPPG Industry Round table meeting, wherein presentations on Defence Procurement Policy (DPP) 2008 and Offset Provisions were explained in details. Representatives of the US Administration had also made detailed presentation on the US Export Control rules and regulations. 

· CII has been organising programmes at regular intervals on Life Cycle Cost (LCC) and procurement process for the benefit of Industry. An exclusive seminar on LCC and Project Management was organized on 5 October 2007 at New Delhi. CII will be organising a workshop on Life Cycle Cost towards mid October 2008 at New Delhi. The USIBC will be supporting this workshop by identifying resource personnel on LCC from US Industry to make presentations to the participants. 

· With an objective to promote Small and Medium Enterprises engagement in defense sector, especially with the US Original Equipments Manufacturers (OEMs) CII will be organising structured Business-to-Business meetings during the Aero India show 2009 to be held in Bangalore in Feb 2009 . 


Biotechnology and Lifesciences 

HTCG Outreach Programme : A meeting of the Biotechnology Working Group was held on the sidelines of the BIO 2008 in June 2008 in San Diego California. At the event FICCI made presentations on opportunities that exist in India for clinical trials, R&D and tie-ups between Small Medical Enterprises on both sides in the pharmaceutical sector. The US side made a presentation on the U.S. Experience with implementing Bayh-Dole Act with the objective of establishing a dialogue on Technology Transfer policies regarding publicly funded research and innovation.

Outcome of the BIO 2008 event: 

· Exploring possibilities of collaborations and tie-ups between US Universities, institutions including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and industry and the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), India in the areas of human resource development and R&D in pharmaceuticals. This would also include exploring partnerships, public-public or public-private, in the setting up of six new NIPERs in India.

· During the HTCG meeting at Delhi on 28-29 February, 2008 and the visit of the Deputy Assistant Secretary, US Department of Commerce in August, 2008 possibilities of price negotiation for patented medicines and differential pricing for select medical devices were discussed at length. US side indicated they could suggest possible models in this regard which would be further discussed before a final view is taken.

· A delegation led by the Deputy Assistant Secretary, US Department of Commerce visited India during 23-27 Aug 2008 for strengthening cooperation in the field of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. A roundtable on Technology Transfer was organized by the Department of Commerce and USIBC on the occasion

· A new Department of Pharmaceuticals has been created in India in July, 2008 with a view to put greater focus on the pharmaceutical sector. During the visit of Deputy Assistant Secretary, US Department of Commerce to India in August, 2008 meetings were held with senior officials of this Department. It was suggested that US side may indicate such schemes where Government in US and other developed countries play a supportive role for the pharmaceutical sector. 

· Engagement between the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) and USFDA. DCGI and USFDA jointly held a workshop in India to train the trainers for strengthening clinical research regulation in the country. 

US-India BioPharma Summit: A US-India Bio Pharma Summit 2008 was organized in Boston in June 2008 with a view to facilitate cross border investments, create industry and public-private-academic partnerships, open new opportunities and improve the regulatory framework to take the US-India Life Sciences and Healthcare business to a higher level of engagement. 

BIO-ABLE Partnership event in 2009: The biggest industry organization in the world in the field of Biotechnology – US based BIO (Biotechnology Industry Organization) – has begun to engage substantively in this HTCG Working Group. As a direct result, they would be organizing a first-ever BIO Partnership event in Hyderabad in September 2009, with the collaboration of ABLE (Assoiation of Biotechnology-Led Enterprises) which would be bringing together investors, venture capitalists and large as well as emerging pharma/bio companies from US and India. 

Nanotechnology 

· A panel discussion on Initiating India US Nanotechnology Projects was organized on 30th November, 2005 under HTCG in New Delhi.

· An Indian delegation from the Department of Science and Technology participated in the meeting of OECD Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) as an observer country held in Paris in October 2007. The Indian delegation also engaged with the US delegation to further nanotechnology collaboration under HTCG. India has again been invited by the USA to attend the next OECD WPMN meeting in Dec 2008 in Ankara as an observer. 

· The first Indo- US Advanced Studies Institute on Nano scale Science and Engineering was organized at Chennai during January 10-18, 2008. The Institute was jointly sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology, GOI and The National Science Foundation, USA. In total, 54 experts from both sides presented their work and actively participated in the institute. The US delegation members also visited IIT, Chennai, University of Madras and Kalapakkam. 

Information Technology

Interaction between the IT industries and markets of the two countries is huge. 60% of Indian software and services exports are destined for the US (approximately US$ 24bn in 2007). The IT Working Group under the HTCG is playing an important role in pushing this relationship forward.