Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi’s fruitful visit to the USA

Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi visited the United States of America from June 21- 23, 2023. The visit was a reflection of the vigour, vitality and deepening engagements between the two democracies across several sectors. USA is India’s largest trade partner in goods and services and collaborates closely in science & technology, education, health, defence and security fields. Not only are India and USA collaborating closely in trade, but also possess bilateral cooperation in forums like G20, Quad and IPEF.

His US visit included meeting with thought leaders and business magnates, bilateral meeting with President Joe Biden, addressing a joint sitting of the US Congress, meeting the vibrant Indian-American community and with leading CEOs to discuss opportunities for elevating trade and investment relationship and for building resilient global supply chains.

Some of the key major takeaways from PM Modi’s USA visit are as follows:

1. Prime Minister’s meeting with business magnate Mr. Elon Musk: Prime Minister invited Mr. Musk to explore opportunities in India for investments in electric mobility and the rapidly expanding commercial space sector.
2. Prime Minister’s meeting with Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO, Micron: MoU on Semiconductor Supply Chain and Innovation Partnership was signed. Micron Technology, Inc., to invest up to $825 million to build a new semiconductor assembly and test facility in India with support from the Indian government.  The combined investment valued at $2.75 billion would create up to 5,000 new direct and 15,000 community jobs opportunities in next five years.
3. Prime Minister’s meeting with H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., CEO, General Electric: MoU between General Electric and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited was signed for the manufacture of GE F-414 jet engines in India, for the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Light Combat Aircraft Mk 2.  This trailblazing initiative to manufacture F-414 engines in India will enable greater transfer of U.S. jet engine technology than ever before.
4. Prime Minister’s interaction with Indian community members in USA: Prime Minister congratulated Indian community members for the success in their respective fields in USA and invited them to contribute to India’s growth during Amrit Kaal. Prime Minister also thanked them for playing a significant role in strengthening India-USA ties, and highlighted future areas of bilateral partnership.
5. Prime Minister’s meeting with Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc. and Google: Prime Minister invited Mr. Pichai to explore further avenues of collaboration in the domains of Artificial Intelligence (AI); fintech; cybersecurity products & services; as well as mobile device manufacturing in India. Prime Minister and Mr. Pichai also discussed collaboration between Google and academic institutions in India to promote R&D and skill development.
6. Prime Minister’s meeting with David L. Calhoun, President and CEO of Boeing: The two countries welcomed Air India’s historic agreement with Boeing to acquire more than 200 American-made aircraft.  This purchase will support more than one million American jobs across 44 states and contribute to ongoing efforts to modernize the civil aviation sector in India.  Boeing has announced a $100 million investment on infrastructure and programs to train pilots in India, supporting India’s need for 31,000 new pilots over the next 20 years
7. Pilot on adjudicating domestic renewals of certain categories of work visas: A pilot will be launched to adjudicate domestic renewals of certain petition-based temporary work visas, including for Indian nationals, with the intent to implement this for an expanded pool of H1B and L visa holders in 2024 and eventually broadening the program to include other eligible categories.
8. India (ISRO)-USA (NASA) space research collaboration: NASA and ISRO shall develop a strategic framework for human spaceflight cooperation by the end of 2023. Furthermore, NASA shall provide advanced training to Indian astronauts at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, with a goal of mounting a joint effort to the International Space Station in 2024.
9. Efforts for creating secure and trusted telecommunications: Two Joint Task Forces on advanced telecommunications are launched that focus on Open RAN and research and development in 5G/6G technologies. Public-private cooperation between vendors and operators will be led by India’s Bharat 6G Alliance and the U.S. Next G Alliance.
10. Research Collaborations between USA and India: 35 innovative joint research collaborations in emerging technologies shall be funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Indian Department of Science and Technology (DST).  Under a new implementation arrangement between NSF and DST, both sides will fund joint research projects in computer and information science and engineering, cyber physical systems, and secure and trustworthy cyberspace.
11. India, US decide to end six trade disputes at WTO; Delhi to lift retaliatory tariffs:India and the United States have agreed to settle six trade disputes at the World Trade Organisation, and New Delhi will eliminate retaliatory customs duties on 28 US items. US exporters will benefit from spreading agricultural products within India, while Indian exporters will get key tax advantages. The US and India have also agreed to terminate tariffs on certain steel and aluminium products, respectively, imposed by each nation in response to national security grounds.

During this historical visit, Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi manifested India and USA’s cultural and spiritual leadership, fostered unity, strengthened defence and semiconductor production deals and stressed on strategic engagement between India and the US.