Embassy of India

Washington DC

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Brief on India-US relations

India-US bilateral relations today not only encompass the major pillars of our strategic partnership - including security, energy and technology - but have deepened with greater bilateral economic engagement and ever increasing people-to-people contacts. In the last few years, the bilateral relationship also has expanded into a global partnership with greater convergence of views on a number of issues such as international terrorism and shared approach to rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region.

Visit of Prime Minister

Following the assumption of office by President Trump, PM visited Washington DC on 26-27 June 2017. This was the first opportunity for the two leaders to meet and exchange views. PM also had a meeting with Vice President Pence. The then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and then Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis separately called on PM. PM’s programme included an interaction with US CEOs and address to the Indian community.

Among the important outcomes of the visit were the decision to initiate 2+2 meeting of the External Affairs and Defence Ministers with their US counterparts, agreement on principles for the Indo-Pacific region and a decision to further advance our security and defence relationship. It was also decided to establish a new consultation mechanism on domestic and international terrorist designation i.e. a Terrorist Designation Dialogue.

Meetings/Interactions of PM with President Trump

PM met with President Trump again in Manila, Philippines in November 2017 on the margins of the 31^st ASEAN Meeting. Both the leaders have also been in contact with each other, holding telephone conversations to discuss issues relating to bilateral cooperation and international developments. More recently, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi also met with President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan on 30 November 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which was also the first trilateral leaders’ meeting of the three countries. The trilateral meeting was held on the side-lines of the 2018 G20 Leaders’ Summit.

Ministerial 2 Plus 2 Dialogue

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and then Secretary of Defence James N. Mattis visited India on 6 September 2018 for the inaugural India-U.S. Ministerial 2+2 Dialogue with Minister of External Affairs [EAM] Sushma Swaraj and Minister of Defence/Raksha Mantri [RM] Nirmala Sitharaman. During the visit, Secretary Pompeo and Secretary Mattis jointly called on the Prime Minister. They also held separate bilateral meetings with EAM and RM, respectively. The launch of the 2+2 Dialogue is a reflection of the shared commitment by Prime Minister Modi and President Trump to provide a positive, forward-looking vision for the India-U.S. strategic partnership and to promote synergy in their diplomatic and security efforts. During the visit, the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) was signed that will facilitate access to advanced defence systems and enable India to optimally utilize its existing U.S.-origin platforms. The two sides agreed to the creation of a new, tri-services exercise and to further increase personnel exchanges between the two militaries and defence organizations. It was also agreed to start exchanges between the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and the Indian Navy, underscoring the importance of deepening their maritime cooperation in the western Indian Ocean. A Memorandum of Intent [MoI] between the U.S. Defence Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Indian Defence Innovation Organization – Innovation for Defence Excellence (DIO-iDEX) was also concluded on the eve of the Dialogue.

Further, at the Dialogue, it was agreed to increase information-sharing efforts on known or suspected terrorists and to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2396 on returning foreign terrorist fighters. Both sides also agreed to enhance their ongoing cooperation in multilateral fora such as the UN and FATF. Further, both sides reaffirmed their support for a UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism that will advance and strengthen the framework for global cooperation and reinforce the message that no cause or grievance justifies terrorism.

High Level Exchanges

Hon’ble Vice President of India Shri Venkaiah Naidu visited the United States of America on 8-9 September 2018 to deliver an address at the 2^nd World Hindu Conference held in Chicago. During his visit, he also interacted with members of the Indian community in the United States.

As part of worldwide implementation of Passport Seva Project, the Hon'ble Minister of State for External Affairs Gen. V.K. Singh (Retd.) inaugurated the launch of this project at the Embassy of India in Washington, DC on 24 November 2018. The Passport Seva Project is part of the flagship Passport Seva Programme of Ministry of External Affairs. The event was attended by members of Indian community as well as several passport applicants, who received their passports issued under the new project directly from the Hon'ble MOS. Speaking on the occasion, MOS highlighted the efforts of the government in making passport services more accessible and user friendly. MOS pointed out that with the implementation of the Passport Seva Project in the USA, there would be a further improvement and streamlining of the passport services rendered to Indian citizens living abroad. In addition to inaugurating the Passport Seva Project in Washington DC, Hon'ble MOS had earlier launched the project at the Consulate General of India in New York on 21 November 2018 and launched the project at the Consulate General of India in Atlanta on 25 November 2018. During the visit, he also held separate interactions with members of the Indian community in New York, Baltimore and Washington, DC.

National Security Advisor Shri Ajit Doval paid an official visit to the United States on 14 September 2018. During the visit, he held separate meetings with US National Security Advisor Mr. John Bolton and Secretary of Defence Mr. James N. Mattis. A wide range of bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest were discussed in the meetings.

Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary together visited USA on 14-16 March 2018 and held discussions with a number of senior US Administration officials. Both Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary jointly met with the then National Security Advisor Mr. H.R. McMaster, Deputy National Security Advisor Ms. Nadia Schadlow, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Mr. Thomas Shannon and Under Secretary of Defence for Policy John Rood, and Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration Mira Ricardel. Foreign Secretary also held a separate meeting with the United States Trade Representative Mr. Robert Lighthizer and the Defence Secretary met with Under Secretary of Defence for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Ms. Ellen Lord.

Foreign Secretary again visited the United States on 8-10 August 2018 to hold preparatory discussions for the Ministerial 2 Plus 2 Meeting. During the visit, Foreign Secretary held separate meetings with Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs Ms. Andrea Thomson, Under Secretary of Defence for Policy Mr. John Rood and Deputy National Security Advisor Ms. Mira Ricardel.

Extensive interactions at the level of State Governments, cities and business organisations are also a regular feature. These are marked by the visits of Chief Ministers, Governors, Ministers, business delegations, etc., from both sides which take forward and deepen the engagement between the two countries.

Foreign Secretary visited the United States on 10-13 March 2019 and held discussion with senior US Administration officials. During the visit, he held separate meetings with US National Security Advisor Mr. John Bolton and Secretary of State Mr. Micheal Pompeo. He also meet Senator and Congressmen at the Hill.

Defence Cooperation:

India-US defence cooperation is based on New Framework for India-US Defence Cooperation, which was renewed for a period of ten years in 2015. Bilateral dialogue mechanisms in the field of defence include Defence Policy Group (DPG), Defence Joint Working Group (DJWG), Defence Procurement and Production Group (DPPG), Senior Technology Security Group (STSG), Joint Technical Group (JTG), Military Cooperation Group (MCG), and Service-to-Service Executive Steering Groups (ESGs).

India US defence cooperation is marked by high level exchanges at Ministerial and official levels. Raksha Mantri Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman met with Secretary of Defence James N. Mattis on the margins of the 5^th ASEAN Defence Ministers Plus Meeting [ADMM Plus] on 19 October 2018 in Singapore. Both the leaders reviewed the progress in the bilateral defence cooperation and discussed a wide range of bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest.

Raksha Mantri Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman paid an official visit to the United States of America from 02-07 December 2018, at the invitation of Secretary of Defence James N Mattis. In Washington DC, she had a meeting with Secretary Mattis where discussions were held on the growing partnership between India and US in the defence sphere. Views were also exchanged on a broad range of bilateral and international issues of mutual interest. Both sides agreed to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation, building on the discussions and outcomes of the ‘2 + 2 Dialogue’ held in September 2018. Raksha Mantri highlighted the steps taken by Government of India to promote defence sector manufacturing, under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's ‘Make in India’ flag-ship programme. Following her engagements in Washington DC, Raksha Mantri visited Reno, Nevada on 4 December where she held interactions with select leaders of Indian community in the US. On 5 December, she visited the Defence Innovation Unit (DIU) of the US Department of Defence in San Francisco and interacted with start-ups and venture capitalists associated with this unit. From 5-7 December 2018 Raksha Mantri visited Honolulu, which is the headquarters of the US Pacific Command (PACOM), recently renamed as INDO-PACOM. During the visit, she held meetings with Commander of INDO-PACOM, Admiral Philip S. Davidson. She also visited Joint Base Pearl Harbour Hickam, where she boarded a US Guided Missile Destroyer and was briefed on the INDO-PACOM activities.

Defence Trade and Technology Initiative:

In 2012, with a view to increase the pace and quality of defence cooperation, the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative [DTTI] was launched. The DTTI is led at the level of US Under Secretary for Acquisition and Secretary Defence Production. It includes a DTTI Task Force and seven Working Groups, including those on ISR(development/ production of ISTAR aircraft); Air Systems; Other System Mobile Electric Hybrid Power Source (MEHPS) anNext Generation Protective Ensemble (NGPE) The last meeting of DTTI was held in New Delhi on 18 July 2018. 

Defence Trade:

Defence procurements from the US has been an area of remarkable growth in the last decade. India has procured around $ 18 billion worth of defence items from the US since 2008. India already has several US military platforms and equipment and many such proposals for new acquisitions are in the pipeline. The defence procurement activities are monitored through the Defence Production and Procurement Group (DPPG), the last meeting of which took place in Washington DC on 7-9 June 2018.

Defence Agreements:

Apart from the agreements signed during the inaugural 2+2 Dialogue, other agreements signed in the recent past include Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Association (LEMOA) (August 2016); Fuel Exchange Agreement (November 2015); Technical Agreement (TA) on information sharing on White (merchant) Shipping (May 2016) and the Information Exchange Annexe (IEA) on Aircraft Carrier Technologies (June 2016). The most significant of these is the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA). LEMOA is a facilitating agreement that establishes basic terms, conditions, and procedures for reciprocal provision of logistic support, supplies, and services between the armed forces of India and the U.S. As mentioned above, the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) was signed during the inaugural Ministerial 2 Plus 2 Dialogue held on 06 September 2018 in New Delhi. A Memorandum of Intent [MoI] between the U.S. Defence Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Indian Defence Innovation Organization – Innovation for Defence Excellence (DIO-iDEX) was also concluded on the eve of the Dialogue.

Mil-to-Mil cooperation:

The two countries now conduct more bilateral exercises with each other than they do with any other country. Bilateral exercises held annually include Malabar (between the two Navies and also include Japan; the last Malabar exercises were held in June 2018 in Guam), Cope-India (Air Force), Yudh Abhyas (Army) and Vajra Prahar (Special Forces). India also participates in annual RIMPAC exercises as well as in Red Flag exercises which are US led multinational exercises. It was agreed to add a new bilateral tri-service exercise during the Ministerial 2 Plus 2 Dialogue held in September 2018 in New Delhi.

Major Defence Partner [MDP]: During the visit of the then US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter to India in December 2016 an understanding was reached regarding US export control policy towards India and on recognition of India as a “Major Defence Partner” of the US. This US government designation, a status unique to India, is intended to elevate defence trade and technology sharing with India to a level to similar to its closest allies and partners. The most important element of MDP was also implemented on 30 July 2018 when US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced the US Government’s decision to move India into Tier-1 of the US Department of Commerce’s Strategic Trade Authorisation license exception.

Maritime Security Dialogue: The third round of the India-US Maritime Security Dialogue was held on 30 April-01 May 2018 in Goa. The Indian delegation was led jointly by Dr. Pankaj Sharma, Joint Secretary (D&ISA), Shri Munu Mahawar, Joint Secretary (AMS), Ministry of External Affairs and Smt. Richa Misra, Joint Secretary (Navy), Ministry of Defence. Mr. David Helvey, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs and Mr. Daniel Rosenblum, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs led the US side. During the Dialogue, the two sides discussed developments in the maritime domain in the Indo-Pacific Region and exchanged views on ways to further strengthen bilateral maritime security cooperation. They also reviewed the implementation of the decisions taken during the previous Maritime Security Dialogues.

Counter Terrorism Cooperation

Cooperation in counter-terrorism has seen considerable progress with intelligence sharing, information exchange, operational cooperation and sharing of counter-terrorism technology and equipment. India-U.S. Counter-Terrorism Cooperation is carried out through the India-U.S. Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism which held its 15^th meeting in March 2018 in New Delhi.

Terrorist Designation Dialogue: To take this process of CT cooperation forward, it was agreed during PM’s visit to the US in June 2017 to launch a new consultation mechanism on domestic and international terrorist designations listing proposals [Terrorist Designation Dialogue]. The first Terrorist Designation Dialogue between India and US was held on 18-19 December 2017 in Delhi. There was an understanding to designate terrorists based on each other’s requests and on which detailed dossiers had already been exchanged.

During the last one year, US has designated Hizbul Mujahideen as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on 16 August 2017 following the designation of its leader Syed Salahuddin as Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) on 26 June 2017. Subsequently on 4 April 2018, it also designated Milli Muslim League and Tehreek-e-Azadi Kashmir as aliases of LeT and its seven leaders as SDGT. US has also worked closely with India in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for the grey listing of Pakistan.

Home Land Security Dialogue

The Homeland Security Dialogue [HSD], at the Home Minister/Homeland Secretary level that began in May 2011 has six [06] Joint Working Groups on megacity policing, global supply chain of trans-national crime, countering illicit financing and counterfeiting, cyber security, capacity building and application of S&T in homeland/internal security. The Second HSD was held in May 2013. The third meeting, scheduled twice in 2016, had to be postponed due to unrelated circumstances and efforts are on to reschedule them at the earliest. In a significant development, India and the US signed the Homeland Security Presidential Directive-6 (HSPD-6) understanding on 2 June 2016. A Senior Officials Meeting [SOM] of the Department of Homeland Security and MHA was held on 18 July 2018 in New Delhi.

Trilateral Dialogue and QUAD

Cooperation on Indo-Pacific issues is carried out in the trilateral format between India, USA and Japan and in the QUAD format, where Australia also joins. Sharing perspectives on security threats ranging from maritime challenges to counter terrorism and non-proliferation are part of these dialogues. Yet another focus area is building consensus on basic principles for the Indo-Pacific and working jointly in ensuring greater acceptance of these by the countries in the region. More recently, a new facet of cooperation on infrastructure and connectivity has been added to the trilateral mechanism. The QUAD format has met only twice at the DG level in November 2017 and in June 2018. The trilateral has met twice at Ministerial level in 2015 and 2017 in New York on the sidelines of UNGA and holds regular meetings at the DG level.

India, Japan and the United States held the 9^th Trilateral Meeting at Joint Secretary/Director General/Assistant Secretary level in New Delhi on 4 April 2018 to hold consultations on regional and global issues of mutual interest. In accordance with the directions received from their Foreign Ministers, who met in New York on 18 September 2017 on the margins of UNGA, the officials explored practical steps to enhance cooperation in the areas of connectivity and infrastructure development; counter-proliferation; counter-terrorism; maritime security, maritime domain awareness and HADR. The officials reviewed the outcomes of the Trilateral Infrastructure Working Group that met in Washington in February 2018 and agreed to continue to collaborate to promote increased connectivity in the Indo-Pacific.

First Trilateral Summit:

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met with President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan on 30 November 2018in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which was the first trilateral leaders’ meeting of the three countries. The trilateral meeting was held on the side-lines of the 2018 G20 Leaders’ Summit. The three leaders exchanged views on the Indo-Pacific and agreed that a free, open, inclusive and rules based order is essential for the region’s peace and prosperity. The leaders also agreed on the central role of ASEAN and agreed to work on maritime and connectivity issues and to synergize efforts in this regard.

QUAD: Senior Officials from Ministry of External Affairs of India, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and Department of State of the United States of America met in Singapore on 15 November 2018 for consultations on regional and global issues of common interest.

The senior official meet in Bangkok on May 31, 2019 for consultations on regional and global issues of common interest and discussed cooperation in the areas of connectivity and infrastructure development; regional security, including counterterrorism, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief; maritime cooperation; and cyber security issues, with a view to promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. They reaffirmed their commitment towards a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific Region based on shared values and principles. The participants reiterated their strong support for ASEAN-Centrality and ASEAN-led mechanisms in the regional architecture for the Indo-Pacific and in this regard welcomed the initiative of ASEAN towards a common vision for the Indo-Pacific.

Cyber Security Dialogue

The fourth India-US Cyber Security Dialogue was held in Washington in February 2018. The Indian delegation was led by Deputy NSA and included National Cyber Security Coordinator and Additional Secretary (Cyber Diplomacy) from MEA. This dialogue was held after a long hiatus and resulted in reviving our earlier agreement to set up four sub-groups under the dialogue to promote law enforcement cooperation, capacity building, CERT to CERT cooperation and testing and standards. The US and India have also worked closely in multilateral and UN platforms on issues such as norms of state behavior, confidence building measures and capacity building. The basis of our cooperation in cyber is the India-US Cyber Framework signed in September 2016, which was the first agreement of its type for both India and US to sign.

Bilateral Trade Relations

31. US is India’s largest trading partner in goods and services. The overall India-US bilateral trade in goods and services has increased from US$126 billion in 2017 to US$142 billion in 2018. This growing trend continues in the first four months of 2019, which has seen an increase in bilateral merchandise trade of 14% compared to the same period in 2018. A snapshot of bilateral trade from January 2017 to April 2019 is as follows:

 Merchandise Trade (Jan-Apr 2019)

Investment

As per data release by US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, FDI from US to India as on year 2017 amounted to $44.46 billion whereas Indian FDI into the US amounted to $13.12 billion.

As per a report released in November 2017 by Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) titled "Indian Roots, American Soil", Indian investment in US amounts to $18 billion, based on a survey of 100 Indian companies across 50 states in US for this report.

India and the United States held the India-U.S. Bilateral Trade meeting in New Delhi on 6 May 2019. Shri Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Government of India and Mr. Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Commerce, co-chaired. Both appreciated the strong, robust and growing bilateral ties between India and the U.S. across the entire spectrum of trade and commerce. Both sides expressed satisfaction over the progress during the year 2018, with bilateral trade in Goods and Services registering a growth of 12.6% from $ 126 billion in 2017 to $142 billion in 2018. Both sides agreed to deepen economic cooperation and bilateral trade by ensuring greater cooperation amongst stakeholders, including Government, businesses and entrepreneurs.   US Trade Winds Indo-Pacific Business Forum and Mission initiative 2019, was held at New Delhi from 8-10^thMay, 2019.

USIBC's India Ideas Summit: The US-India Business Council (USIBC) held its annual "India Ideas Summit" on 12-13 June 2019 in Washington, D.C. The summit was inaugurated by Ambassador of India, and it featured a robust selection of speakers from senior levels of the U.S. government, U.S. Congress, and the India-US business community, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus Mark Warner (D-VA), and US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster, among others. Dignitaries from both India and the U.S. recognized the progress made in the bilateral relationship and laid out the framework for this relationship to expand even further.

Investment

USA is one of the top 5 investment destinations for FDI from India. A survey done by CII in November 2017 found that 100 Indian companies have invested $ 17.9 billion in the United States creating 113,000 jobs in all 50 states of US. India’s top companies, including Wipro, Infosys, L&T and Mahindra have recently made announcements for increasing their investments in the US. Mahindra became the first company in over 25 years to invest in Detroit investing $230 Million. The first vehicle rolled out from the plant on March 2, 2018. US direct investment in India amounts to about $ 33 Billion across several sectors such as manufacturing, services, pharmaceuticals etc.

Trade Policy Forum (TPF)

The 11^thTrade Policy Forum (TPF) Meeting was held in Washington DC on 26 October 2017. The meeting was co-chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister (CIM) Mr. Suresh Prabhu and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Robert Lighthizer. Discussions were held on issues related to bilateral trade between the two countries, areas of mutual cooperation, market access in agriculture, non-agricultural goods and services and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). At the conclusion of TPF, both Ministers decided that the two countries will continue to work towards building strong trade and investment ties to realize mutual gains from the partnership. Both sides also expressed the desire to reduce the existing gaps and work towards resolution of the outstanding issues before the next round of the TPF. The next round is expected to be held in India.

An important trend in bilateral trade has been the reduction in trade deficit, which has come down by about US$ 1.4 billion in 2017 and with oil and gas purchases along with commencement of delivery of civilian aircrafts, this trend is expected to continue. Significant exports of oil and gas from US to India have begun in the last one year. There is expectation that India will import about US$ 2 billion each of oil and gas from the US every year. If the prices are found to be competitive, this amount may increase significantly in coming years. Indian air carriers have placed orders for more than 300 civilian aircrafts from Boeing which will be delivered over the next 6-7 years. The estimated value of this order is about US$ 39 billion.

Commercial Dialogue

The Commercial Dialogue was created out of the Security and Commercial dialogue in 2017. The first session of the U.S.-India Commercial Dialogue under this new structure was held in Washington DC on 27 October 2017. The Dialogue, co-chaired by Secretary of Commerce Mr. Wilbur Ross and Commerce and Industry Minister (CIM) Mr. Suresh Prabhu focused on promoting joint economic growth, job creation, and prosperity. In the joint statement following the Dialogue, it was stated “During their meeting, Secretary Ross and Minister Prabhu reviewed progress to date under the U.S.-India commercial relationship, including cooperation in the areas of standards, ease of doing business, and travel and tourism. In standards, they noted positive outcomes from holding best practices exchanges between the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), and India’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL).” Both sides also committed to strive for meaningful progress in areas such as Standards, Business Climate and Investment, and Travel and Tourism. A MoU on Standards was signed between CII and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on the side-lines of the Commercial dialogue and another MoU between EXIM bank of US with Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC). The next round is expected to be held in India.

Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES)

India and the US successfully co-hosted the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad on November 28-30, 2017. The theme of GES 2017 was “Women First, Prosperity for All”. Ms. Ivanka Trump, Advisor to the US President attended the Summit. The Summit brought together leading investors, entrepreneurs, academicians, think tanks and other stake holders from India and the US.

Energy Cooperation/Strategic Energy Partnership

India and US have established a Strategic Energy Partnership (SEP) replacing the erstwhile Energy Dialogue. This was done during the last meeting held in New Delhi on 17 April 2018 between Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan and US Secretary for Energy, Mr. Rick Perry. The SEP has four primary pillars of cooperation: (i) Oil and Gas; (ii) Power and Energy Efficiency; (iii) Renewable Energy and Sustainable Growth; and (iv) Coal. As a first step, they also announced the establishment of US-India Natural Gas Task Force to support India’s vision for natural gas. The two sides also reaffirmed their strong commitment to early and full implementation of our civil nuclear energy partnership, including the Westinghouse civil nuclear project in Kovvada.

Diaspora and People-to-People Contacts

The 3-million strong Indian American community is an important ethnic group in the U.S., accounting for about 1% of the total population in the country. It is the 3^rdlargest Asian ethnic group in the US after the Chinese and the Filipinos. The Indian American community enjoys great reputation and significant influence on the American society and polity with its large number of professionals, business entrepreneurs and educationalists marking their positive presence on the national scene. Almost 40% of all Indians in the United States have a master’s, doctorate or other professional degree, which is about five times the national average. With two nationwide well-known Indian Americans having occupied posts of the Governor and several representatives in the Congress and state legislatures, the Indian Diaspora has been a catalyst in cementing closer ties between India and the U.S. In addition, about 1.28 million Indians reside in the United States as Green Card holders, temporary workers, students, etc.

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June 2019