The economic and political relationship between India and the
United states is quite appropriately a global strategic partnership. The world’s two largest democracies have much in common to constitute a comprehensive alliance. Perhaps the United States have many similar things in common with India compared to other Asian nations. The United States has much to acquire with a genial relationship from India. India is the quintessential multicultural country like the US. It is very different from countries like China and Japan, which are proud of their perceived ethnic and cultural purity and homogeneity.

Consistent political visits to India from the United States has provided sustained momentum to bilateral cooperation. President Barack Obama’s visit to India is certainly going to be a seminal moment for strategic ties between the two nations. When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited President Obama to be the chief guest at the Republic day, President Obama personally felt honored and accepted the invitation.

He believes this as a successful summit with PM Modi. Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes mentioned that, “There’s a great affinity between the US and India and our people, but there’s also a history that is complicated and that would have made it seem highly unlikely that a US President would be sitting with India’s leaders at their Republic Day ceremony. And I think he sees this as a potentially transitional if not transformational moment for the relationship because we have a very strong and clear indication from India’s leadership that they want to elevate our bilateral cooperation and our global cooperation”.

President Obama invited Congressman Ami Bera to travel to India with him on Air Force One. Congressman Bera will be a part of the delegation travelling on 24^th January to New Delhi. They will be attending the Republic Day function and meet Indian ministers, government officials and policy advocates  to discuss further strengthening Indo-US strategic partnership. Stating his excitement to be a part of this historic trip, Congressman Ami Bera mentioned that, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to the United States last year was a turning point in relations for our countries, and now this trip will be an important opportunity to continue to move the US-India relationship forward”.

Obama will also be accompanied by Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, Democratic Senator Mark Warner, cabinet members and other lawmakers to New Delhi, where they will attend the Republic Day event followed by the meeting with top policy makers from India on ways to increase investments in the US.

As we entered 2015,  we would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the supporters and friends for getting associated with USINPAC during 2014.  We are extremely grateful for the generosity of our funders, donors, volunteers, partners and sponsors  who  showed active interest in USINPAC initiatives and are continuing to play an imperative role in moving the organization. Your support allows us to continue to set goals, reaching 3.2 million Indian-Americans and work on those issues that concern the community.

With over 12 years of experience working for the Indian American community in the U.S, USINPAC in significant ways supports candidates for local, state and federal office and encourages political participation by the Indian- American community.  In the year 2015, we plan to emphasize more on “fair and balanced policies” and ensure that the concerns of the community are effectively addressed.

This year felt like the future arrived all at once. We witnessed one of the most historic win by Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi not only won the hearts of the people in India but abroad too. His presence at Madison Square Garden was truly a spectacle like no other.  PM Modi in his quintessential style made everyone thrilled by his visionary speech. USINPAC played an integral part in this historic event and we thank the entire community  for their support and presence at Madison Square Garden.

This year USINPAC organized a bi-weekly series of  ‘Leadership Dialogues’, focusing on topics which are monumental both for India and the United States. The series was widely accepted and appreciated from lawmakers and senior policy experts, leaders of Indian American community, and the investor and media communities in the United States.  The series featured eminent experts from the United states and India, including various think tanks, BJP ministers, CEO’s and media professionals. The leadership dialogue sessions have been instrumental to the USINPAC mission of serving as a unified voice of the Indian American community. We thank all our experts and callers for participating is this exceptional webinar and getting involved with the NRI community.

USINPAC in the year 2014 performed phenomenally well. USINPAC organized “US-INDIA: THE ROAD AHEAD”,  a special event in honor of the new incoming Indian Government and Prime Minister  Narendra Modi. The seminar focused on the US- India Post Election Landscape on Bilateral Trade. The Seminar took place in the US Capitol Visitor Center. The speakers for this seminar were a well known congressman and senators, including Congressman Ami Bera, Congressman Joe Crowley and many more. The seminar primarily focused on to build healthy relationships that will be able to rise to a level unseen before in US-India relations.

USINPAC concluded the grassroots campaign to schedule a Joint Session of congress address by PM Modi. Due to the Prime Minister’s brief U.S. sojourn, the intervening U.S. Congressional holiday schedule, and the House of Representatives’ urgency to leave Washington to prepare for the November elections in their home districts, the Joint Session Address by Prime Minister did not take place in September 2014.  However, the USINPAC membership came away with an exceptional understanding that the journey – building a case for an enduring bilateral relationship, has been more important than the destination.  To this end, USINPAC wishes to extend its heartfelt thanks to each and every member of Congress – Senate and House – who have engaged with our membership in this bipartisan effort.

When PM Modi competed the first month of his election victory, he received strong support towards his vision of a Vibrant India by prominent overseas Indians who have received the prestigious Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Award. The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) is the highest honor conferred on overseas Indians. This initiative among the PBSA awardees from various countries was one of the most central aspects of USNPAC.

USINPAC also organized a Congressional Briefing on US Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Exports to India and a conference on US-India Counterterrorism Cooperation. It is the supporters like you who are assisting to bring the services closer to the people. Thank you once again as we continue to scale and reach out to more issues that are still a concern. Twenty fifteen holds a bright future for USINPAC as we are all set to get off to a roaring start with our first delegation of the year, Water and Waste Water Management.

India is regarded as one of the prime importer of arms around the globe. Over the last five years, India has imported approximately threefold of weapons. But the major challenge that India has witnessed is to set up an indigenous defense industry. Besides manufacturing ballistic missiles, India does not manufacture any weapons or equipments.  In order to overcome this issue, India’s Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi struck a cautious note to open the defense manufacturing industry through foreign direct investment. Since the ceiling limit has been increased from 26% to 49%, initiatives like these are definitely a good sign for the modi-fied India.

Despite the defense budget been increased to a new cap, reports have unveiled that the ownership control will be with the Indian partners. The government seems quite positive that this initiative will attract eminent foreign companies on Indian turf. Multinational giants such as EADS, Boeing, British Aerospace, and Rolls- Royce are likely to make a strategic entry in the Indian market. Prominent bureaucrats from the United States, France and United Kingdom are leading delegations to India in the coming days to lobby on behalf of multinationals such as Dassault Aviation and Boeing. 

Many experts have opined that the new government under Prime Minister Modi, are making incessant efforts to strengthen US-India defense ties which was stagnant due to the sluggish Indian economy. With the U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s visit to India clearly signifies that even the United States intends to re-engage on defense trade relationships.

However, if the government takes proactive steps, in the coming days India will be lauded to have vibrant industries, competent enough to meet both domestic needs and global demands. This would eventually give India a higher degree of self dependence towards stronger trade balance and considerable job creation. India is always slated to have the most antiquated military systems. The new FDI limit will change the face of India from being a defense weapons importer to a defense weapons manufacturer.

Arun Jaitley, the Leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha has previously held the portfolios as the Union cabinet Minister for Commerce and Industry, and Law and Justice in the National Democratic Alliance government (1998-2004.) Born in New Delhi into a family of lawyers, social activists, and philanthropists he came into prominence as a leader of the movement against corruption, launched in 1973 by Raj Narain and Jayaprakash Narayan. A year later Jaitley contested and won the election to the post of the president of the Delhi University student union, a prestigious win on sub national level. In an era where Congress Party had a stranglehold over university campuses Jaitley’s election  as an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) candidate marked a watershed in India’s student politics.  He subsequently joined the BJP, having been earlier a member of ABVP, the president of the Youth Wing of the BJP and the secretary of its Delhi unit. During the 1998-1999 General Election, Mr Jaitley became the Spokesperson of BJP wherein he successfully positioned the BJP as the main protagonist against the ruling party.

Mr Jaitley, made his first visit to the United States when he visited Washington from June 2011. He was accompanied by Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Janardhan Swamy and former Rajya Sabha member Chandan Mitra. Mr Jaitley met with several members of the US Congress, think tanks, and key members of the administration during this trip. He started his visit with an address at the Heritage Foundation on “Indian Foreign Policy — Priorities in a Shifting Global Landscape.” He interacted with prominent lawmakers on Capitol Hill and stressed the growing strength of the U.S.-India relationship and its strategic nature, and the convergence on various issues between the two countries especially relating to terrorism and growth of trade. The co-chairs of the India Caucus in the U.S. Congress  Congressmen Joe Crowley and Congressman Ed Royce held a reception on behalf of the caucus for Jaitley in the Rayburn Congressional Building. Representative Crowley welcomed Jaitley, and said, “Mr. Jaitley’s visit represents a great opportunity for the U.S. to continue building a strong relationship with India. In an increasingly globalized economy, it is important for the U.S. to continue to foster friendship with India, which is emerging as a leading growth economy despite the difficult economic landscape.”

In his capacity as the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mr. Jaitley has been credited for his excellent oratory which is matched equally by his intense research into the topic and his ability to succinctly convey the message without being shrill.

However, being in the party since 1980 he never contested any direct election until 2014.He is the BJP’s candidate for Amritsar for Indian general election, 2014. USINPAC wishes Mr Jaitley all the success in the Indian general election and his future endeavors.

National elections in the world’s largest democracy have always been a grand spectacle. The Election Commission of India approximated that about 788 million voters are eligible to vote in 2014, an electorate that’s more than double the population of the United States. Analysts from Election Commission mentioned that almost 90,000 voters, between the ages of 18 to 22 years, will be eligible to vote for the first time in each Lok Sabha constituency this year. Notably, the number of first time voters is more than the winning margin in 226 constituencies. Social media and the birth of latest technological trends have taken politics to a new pedestal amongst the youth. . Therefore it is highly important for all parties to make their presence on the internet effectively so that they can cash in on the phenomenal visibility of the social media. Indian politicians are expected to invest about $5 billion on campaigning for 2014 elections, a sum second only to the most expensive US presidential campaign of all time in a splurge that could mushroom India’s economy. The overall investment in 2014 is all set to be triple the expenditure spent during the last national poll in 2009. This matrix clearly indicates that this year the elections would be a game changer for India and the world.

The upcoming elections are stirring the global audience considerably. Political parties are trying their best to woo Indians abroad ahead of India’s parliamentary elections. The United States and China are the two countries whose opinions matter the most to India. Reportedly in the US, Indian political parties have created a spark amongst Indian Americans. Indians living in the United States understand India’s true potential at a very fundamental level. They care about the role India plays in the US and globally. Supporting this viewpoint Sanjay Puri, chairman of the (USINPAC) US India Political Action Committee, says “This election and a resultant government either incumbent or new can do a lot of good for India and Indian Americans in addressing”. He further remarked that, “Indian Americans take pride in their origins and being an Indian. This election will have an impact on key aspects of India’s foreign policy given that the existing coalition government has been hamstrung due to coalition politics on several issues”. Many Indian Americans believe that more educated professionals need to participate in the political process in India.

The 2014 Indian general election is all set to enhance India’s economy, and at the same time it will also have an intense effect on the United States. This election comes at a time when the relationship between the US and India is getting stronger. This will eventually give a silver lining to both the democratic nations by establishing a strong bilateral strategic partnership through various yardsticks.