NEW DELHI, JANUARY 26: India has to raise the foreign direct investment cap in Defence manufacturing to 51 per cent to get US companies to think seriously about investing in the country and share technology, said US India Political Action Committee (USINPAC) chief Sanjay Puri.
USINPAC represents the political views of Indian-Americans, encourages their political participation, and works on issues that concern the community.
Puri said the interest of the Defence sector was big for Obama as US is now India’s largest supplier of Defence equipment. “US wants India to buy more, produce more and become a hub. The only challenge is whether US companies are going to share technology,” he said, adding that technology sharing can happen only when foreign companies own at least 51 per cent of the company (instead of the present 49 per cent).
A global agreement on climate change is another issue very important for President Obama who wants it to be part of the legacy he leaves behind, Puri said.
“He managed to get the Chinese on board. He would want India too to agree to take on commitments before the Paris Accord Convention in December.”
Puri, however, admits that it would not be an easy task to get the same levels of commitment from India as it is at a different stage of evolution than US or China and has to balance its economic agenda with political agenda.
LNG export
On what Obama could give India, Puri said that preparing the ground for LNG export to India was well within his reach. “He just needs to pass an executive order to waive India from the requirements of a Free Trade Agreement. There could be a real opportunity this time around,” he said. A totalisation or social security agreement was another deliverable, he said.
“This is something that should happen, if the US wants to show that it wants to do something for India. It is a $3”-billion issue for India,” he said.
The Indian IT industry operating in the US has nothing to fear from the ‘New Immigration Bill’ in the works, as it is not going to be turned into legislation any time soon. “Now Republicans control the house in the Senate. They are not going to let any Immigration Bill come till the US Presidential elections because it gets lapped in with the sensitive issue of illegal immigration,” he said.
There may, however, not be any change in the existing provisions of higher visa fees for companies employing more foreigners than locals.
Source: The Hindu BusinessLine
