Noting that India and America have made tremendous progress in bilateral relationship in a decade after signing the landmark civic nuclear deal, US Vice President Joe Biden stressed on stepping up the effort so as to make the next decade cusp of another sea change.

“It’s on us to step up,” Biden said at a dinner hosted jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a top US-think tank, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.

Biden, who in 2005 was chairman of powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, played a key role in the Congressional passage of the civil nuclear deal. “We are on the cusp of a sea change decade,” the Vice President said as he recounted the tremendous progress made by the two countries in the past one decade after the signing of the nuclear deal.

Citing example of the two countries’ co-operation, Biden said, “India now conducts more military exercise with USA than any other country of the world. Sometimes we forget what we did. It took courage on the part of two leaders to take the steps together.”

“And all of these would go to shape the next century, if we stay the course,” he said as he listed out the progress made by the two countries in wide range of fields. The Vice President reiterated the goal of increasing bilateral trade to $500 billion in the years to come.

The historic civil nuclear deal, he said, was a vote for India not for civil nuclear cooperation. He praised the vision and determination of the leaders of the two countries for this. “Prime Minister (Manmohan) Singh ..

Describing co-operation in the field of climate change as a key aspect of this relationship, Biden exuded optimism about the Paris Summit later this year, with India being on board. He praised the leadership of Modi in this regard.

India, he said, is indispensable part of the Asia-Pacific rebalancing strategy of the Obama Administration. “We are working to make this vision a reality, he said.

The US, Biden added, is also looking to schedule a ministerial level tri-lateral meeting involving Japan and India this fall. What happens in Asia and the Pacific affects the US, he said adding that both India and the US have strong interest in maintaining freedom of navigation in the region.

In his speech, Biden also emphasised on protecting the rights of women, ethnic minorities and human rights.

Source: Focus News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday greeted the American people on their Independence Day and expressed confidence that bilateral ties will get even better in times to come based on the “renewed energy” about which he was “extremely excited”.

“The ties between India and the US are time tested and connected by shared values. We are both vibrant democracies and remain very proud of our democratic framework,” he said.

“I am extremely excited and confident about the renewed energy in India-USA ties. Our economic ties are very strong and our cultural ties are vibrant,”

He recalled his visit to the US last year and that of President Barack Obama here in January this year to become the first ever President of USA to join India’s Republic Day celebrations as Chief Guest. Substantial ground was covered during both these visits as far as strengthening of US-India ties are concerned, he wrote in the message. “Strong India-US ties will benefit people of our nations and the world at large. I am optimistic that our relations are going to get even better in times to come,” he said.

Source: The Indian Express ltd

NEW DELHI: India is likely to sign the inter- governmental pact for the US tax compliance law FATCA on Thursday, a move that will help it fight tax evasion.

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is aimed at combating possible tax evasion by Americans through financial entities of other countries.

Washington: The small but influential Indian-American community provides an important bridge between India and the United States, American lawmakers have said.

“We look forward to building the relationship between India and the United States and we thank the community here for the bridge that they help provide so that these two great democracies can work ever closer together for a common goal,”Congressman Ed Royce said.

Royce, Chairman of the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee, was speaking at a leadership reception organised by the Indo-American Community Services, a Chicago-based Indian community organisation.

The event was attended by a number of US lawmakers.

“What to me is so great about this event is raising new leaders in the Indo-American Community and this community as we can see is definitely expanding politically. I’ve always been impressed by this community that is always ready to fill new roles and responsibilities in our great country,” Senator Dan Sullivan said in his remarks.

“I am so please to be able to say how much we appreciate the Indo-American Community Service that is growing rapidly in its success and its influence in Illinois as well as in DC,” said Congressman Robin Kelly.

Congressman Danny Davis spoke about India being largest democracy in the world and Indians contributions here in US.

He pledged to continue to support Indian-American Interns at his office, a media release said.

Indian-American community comprise about 3.1 million people alone and are the second-largest self-reported single-race Asian ancestry group after Chinese Americans.

Source:  Firstpost

Washington: Ending months of speculation, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is likely to announce his 2016 presidential bid in New Orleans that will make him the first Indian-American to run for the White House even as he terms such categorization divisive.

When he announces his presidential bid, 44-year-old Jindal would join 12 Republican contenders that include political heavyweights like Jeb Bush and Rick Perry.

His expected historic announcement late night Wednesday (US time), however, has failed to generate much enthusiasm among the Indian-Americans –- whose annual family income now crosses 100,000 per annum and is among the richest ethnic communities in the US — because of Jindal’s recent statements in which he sought to distance himself from being an Indian-American.

Repeating his views, Jindal featured on the Federalist Radio Hour on Wednesday, and gave his perspective on the state of the union.

He expressed frustration that President Barack Obama has “been trying to divide us…by gender, by race, by geography, and by religion.”

“We’re not hyphenated Americans anymore. We’re not African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Indian-Americans or rich and poor Americans,” he asserted.

Pointing to his own melting-pot story, Jindal urged Republicans to call for an end to division.

Jindal, an Oxford-educated son of Indian immigrants, said the presidential contest remains “completely open”.

He trumpeted the unifying leadership of South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and Senator Tim Scott in the wake of the Charleston tragedy in which a white gunman claimed nine lives.

“What a contrast with our president going out last week trying to score cheap political points,” Jindal said, adding that Obama was “trying to turn this into a political rather than a healing moment.”

Once a rising star of the Republican Party, the two-term Governor of Louisiana lost most of his shine after his lacklustre performance responding to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address in 2009.

In the past two-years, he has worked on his public appearances and has since delivered some impressive speeches.

In his state of Louisiana where he has ruled for nearly seven years, Jindal is highly popular. Tickets for the venue of his announcement in New Orleans have all been taken.

Over the last one year, Jindal has been making trips across the country, giving speeches and meeting people, listening to their concerns. In fact, he has come out with his own independent policies on almost all major issues including the foreign policy. A vocal critic of Obama, Jindal told PTI earlier this year had sought to improve relationship with India.

Jindal is the vice chairman of the powerful Republican Governors Association.

In the radio show, Jindal slammed Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, saying her presidency would “redefine the American Dream into the European nightmare.”

“If I decide to announce on June 24th that I will seek the Republican nomination for President, my candidacy will be based on the idea that the American people are ready to try a dramatically different direction,” he had said in a statement earlier this month.

“We don’t need just small changes, we need a dramatically different path,” said Jindal, who as a child changed his first name to Bobby, after a character in the Brady Bunch.

Jindal converted from Hinduism to Christianity as a teen, and was later baptised a Catholic as a student at Brown University.

Jindal would join 12 other Republican contenders –former Florida governor Jeb Bush, pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Texas senator Ted Cruz, former CEO Hewlett-Packard Carly Fiorina, South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, former Arkansas governor and 2008 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, former New York state governor George Pataki, Kentucky senator Rand Paul.

The other Republicans in the fray are former Texas governor and 2012 presidential candidate Rick Perry, Florida senator Marco Rubio, former Pennsylvania senator and 2012 presidential candidate Rick Santorum and billionaire real estate developer and television personality Donald Trump.

While 12 Republican candidates have thrown their hat in the ring, just four Democratic candidates have announced their presidential bids — former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Vermont independent senator (caucuses with Democrats) Bernie Sanders, former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley and former Rhode Island governor and senator Lincoln Chafee.

Earlier this month Jindal signed his eighth consecutive balanced budget for Louisiana.

“And we did it without a tax increase,” he told his supporters, indicating that governance and taxation is going to be another major platform to run for elections.

“When I ran for Governor of Louisiana, I made a promise to the people of this state that I would not raise taxes. I kept my promise. If you think it’s time we had leaders in DC who keep their promises to the people that elected them, then stand with me,” Jindal said.

Among the Republican presidential candidates, he figures towards the low end of popularity ratings. But an undeterred Jindal says he would run for the president if he is convinced that this is the best way to serve his motherland.

Jindal, if he decides to go ahead with his 2016 presidential bid, is expected to run on the plank of opposing the foreign policy of Obama, which he claims has given rise to extremism in the Middle East and Africa and made the US more unsafe and insecure.

Source: Firstpost