Here's the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to a joint session of the United States Congress, delivered on Thursday.
The US is taking several measures, such as increasing the number of staffers, to further facilitate the issuance of business visas in India, a senior US government official said on Tuesday. "We have also made significant progress by issuing more H1B and L visas in 2022 than we did even in 2019 before the pandemic. "This is a significant improvement. We are in the process of raising our staff," Arun Venkataraman, US Assistant Secretary of Commerce for global markets, said.
India believes in sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas, sabka prayaas and walks ahead with it, Modi said.
The American platforms at the exercise 'Cope India' that started off Kalaikunda will also include a fleet of F-15 E fighter jets, C-130 and C-17 transport aircraft.
In a tribute, President Joe Biden called him a "born patriot", while Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar hailed him as a thought-provoking global strategist.
The lawmakers from the US State of Washington have urged the Biden administration to help remove or reduce the tariffs on American apples imported to India as the country's fruit industry has incurred significant losses due to New Delhi's retaliatory measures. In a letter to US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, all members of the House of Representatives from Washington State and other two senators said the tree fruit industry suffered losses due to India's retaliation to US tariffs. On average, 30 per cent of the apples, cherries, and pears produced in the Pacific Northwest are exported and India was once a strong market.
The report said that Indian officials believe China is trying to contain India by forcing it to divert more resources into defending simultaneously both its western border with Pakistan and eastern flank with China and by weakening its willingness and ability to challenge Chinese ambitions to dominate the region.
'India-US relations seem to have soured when the US expected India to not only balance China in the Asia-Pacific, but also make concessions to Pakistan as a price for US technological help,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and the US Trade Representative Ron Kirk would sign the India-US Trade Policy Forum Framework for cooperation on trade and investment in Washington on March 17.
"The two delegations engaged in productive discussions on working together to address global challenges. They examined new and expanded areas for India-US cooperation," sources said.
The US is making investments in defence ties with India to uphold a favourable balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, a top Pentagon official told lawmakers Thursday indicating that strengthening ties with New Delhi is one of the key factors to address the pacing challenge from China.
US attorney urged the Los Angeles court that Rana be not released.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee arrived in Washington, DC on Monday to participate in the India-US economic partnership dialogue, during which he is expected to meet US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
He said Indians will reflect on Vajpayee's many contributions that led to India's rise as a global and economic power.
There was a discussion on trade matters, market access, regulatory issues and barriers. Both leaders underlined the importance of free and fair trade
Glimpses from Yudh Abhyas, the India-US military exercise currently being conducted in Tapovan, Uttarakhand, 100 km away from the Line of Actual Control.
"On one hand, broadening and deepening our economic and commercial ties across a range of sectors is critical at this moment, for example in civilian nuclear cooperation. Strengthening our security partnership is also vital," Madeleine Albright said ahead of the fourth India-US Strategic Dialogue in New Delhi next week.
India's relations with China cannot be normal as long as Beijing tries to unilaterally change the Line of Actual Control and continues to build up forces along the border, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday.
Official sources said talks were underway to wrap up negotiations on procurement of a missile defence system by India from the US for $1.86 billion.
India has offered to place 14 of the 22 thermal power reactors under IAEA safeguards in a phased manner between 2006-14, Dr Kakodkar told a media conference, adding the agreement would not affect the country's strategic programme in any respect.
The United States has said it supports a direct dialogue between India and Pakistan as outlined in the Shimla Agreement
Prime Minister Modi will meet President Obama at the White House on September 29 and 30, US officials said.
Issues related with intellectual property rights, including piracy of films and software, figured prominently during the India-US CEO Forum in New Delhi attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama.
Describing it as a "spectacle in Houston", the Wall Street Journal said Trump is hoping to pick up a larger share of this growing voters bloc in 2020 than he did in 2016. Trump understands the benefit of associating with Indian Americans, whose contributions are crucial to the prosperity of both nations in the 21st century, it added.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday conveyed to US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin India's concerns over Washington's decision to provide sustenance package for Pakistan's F-16 fighter jet fleet.
After a gap of nearly six years, the United States and India will hold their first political-military dialogue in New Delhi next week during which the two countries are expected to discuss a wide range of bilateral issues.
Tata Group-owned Air India on Wednesday announced the launch of new flights connecting Mumbai with New York, Paris and Frankfurt, starting February next year. Besides, the full-service carrier also announced the resumption of non-stop flights connecting Delhi with Copenhagen, Milan and Vienna. The Mumbai-New York (JFK International Airport) daily service will commence from February 14 next year, Air India said.
The greatest challenge before India is how to strike a fine balance of its relationship between its neighbour and strategic rival China, and the US.
'Just how strong were the ties between the world's largest and oldest democracies that an incident involving a diplomat and a maid led to anger threatening the relationship itself? Or had the relationship been weakening in the past few years, masked by the empty symbolism of State dinners, asks Devesh Kapur.
'This is the first time the US has formally recognised the threat India faces from terrorist organisations based in Pakistan.'
'A lot of people,' says India's Ambassador to the US, 'are struggling how to define this relationship.' Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com reports from Washington, DC.
Here is the full text of the joint statement issued by India and the US.
'While the US-Pakistan relationship has been stabilised, it's still mired in uncertainty.'
The US remained "watchful" over developments along India's frontier with China as it cannot take its eyes off the regional security issues, a senior American official said on Wednesday against the backdrop of the over 29-month border standoff in eastern Ladakh that has significantly frayed ties between the two neighbours.
"We are ready for an intense and wide-ranging cooperative engagement in all areas of human endeavour," Dr Singh said in his address at the luncheon hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department.
Ease of biz issues to affect investments to India: US Ambassador.
Since 2016, when India was officially recognised in US law as a 'major defence partner', Washington has purposefully upgraded the defence relationship.
The virtual meeting comes in the midst of some disquiet in Washington over India's position on the Ukraine crisis as well as its decision to procure discounted Russian oil.
