Relevance: GS-2 : Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora

Key phrases: India-USA Partnership, India-USA Trade Policy Forum, Cooperative Approach

Context

• As per Editor’s opinion Democracy is under strain. Social tensions within open societies intensify as citizens question whether their system can deliver for them during this pandemic.
• Competitors sense discord and the opportunity to challenge the relevance of democratic nations on the world stage.
• The prospect of global conflict is rising, and strategic competition is heating up; the free world feels beset.

Key Highlights

• Editor (currently president of US-India Business Council) says that we find ourselves at a critical moment of geostrategic and geoeconomic convergence that demands the US and India embrace closer economic cooperation.
• He believes these two democracies can demonstrate to the world that they can, proverbially, deliver the goods for their people.
• He further says that to pursue shared interests and advance a positive vision of a freer and safer world predicated on fundamental human rights and to succeed in these efforts, we must demonstrate to our people and the world that democracy can secure their well-being and dignity, create a fair and innovative marketplace, and deliver economic growth and good jobs.
• Through the pandemic, the US and India have shown remarkable things which can be accomplished when they work together.

Challenges

• This pandemic recovery, however, presents new trials.
• Inflation and supply chain woes are shrinking consumers’ buying power, leading them to question the direction of economic policies.
• Americans are seeing a dire workforce shortage, shipping delays, and in some cases, empty store shelves.
• At the same time, Indians are seeing the prices of essential commodities like fuel, cooking oil, and produce skyrocket.
• Some of this is temporary, as the Omicron wave results in many sick workers in crucial fields.
• Other root causes, however, are structural and require urgent attention.

Cooperative Approach

• To prove that democracies can lead in the post-pandemic world, the US and India must work together to increase supply, bring prices down, and improve economic confidence.
• Delhi and Washington need to work together to remove unnecessary barriers to trade and seize the vast opportunities of their commercial relationship — aspiring to achieve $500 billion in bilateral trade in goods and services.
• As strategically aligned partners facing shared challenges, the US and India can work to make the free world’s supply chains more robust and resilient through closer cooperation across a range of sectors — including defense, energy, healthcare, and agriculture.

Benefits of the Cooperative Approach

• This cooperative approach could lead to widespread and impactful benefits for citizens.
• We could see lifesaving medical innovations reach patients faster and at a better price point by protecting innovation and avoiding unnecessary regulatory divergence.
• Both nations could better secure their borders through a stronger defense partnership and accelerate the energy transition.
• In the immediate future, both nations ensure more affordable and reliable access to the goods their people need every day, stretching paychecks for their 1.7 billion consumers and citizens.
• Delhi and Washington came to each other’s assistance at moments of crisis, and cooperated to airlift hundreds of millions of free doses of vaccines to low-income countries — generosity that reflects the values and compassion of their people.

Deepening the U.S.-India Partnership

• The United States and India cooperate on a wide range of diplomatic, economic and security issues, including defense, non-proliferation, regional cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, shared democratic values, counterterrorism, climate change, health, energy, trade and investment, peacekeeping, the environment, education, science and technology, agriculture, space, and oceans
• The United States supports India’s emergence as a leading global power and vital partner in efforts to ensure the peace, stability, and growing prosperity and economic inclusion in the Indo-Pacific region.
• The United States and India are working to expand cooperation in international organizations.
• The United States welcomed India joining the UN Security Council in January 2021 for a two-year term.

Way Forwards

• With a reinvigorated Quad and a reopened Trade Policy Forum, India-USA has the government channels to pursue these goals.
• Now is the time for both governments to begin the hard work of removing the stumbling stones in the commercial relationship and prepare the way for a bilateral trade agreement. That road will be long, and some will call the goal unrealistic.
• Leaders can embrace the goal of a bilateral trade agreement as a powerful tool to deliver greater prosperity and opportunity that improves citizens’ lives and proves the case for democracy around the world.

Conclusion

• The remarkable history of India and the USA demonstrates that democracies can secure the liberty, safety, and dignity of their people.
• Combined with free enterprise, these commitments can build a more prosperous and exciting future for the world.
• Politicians, bureaucrats, and companies must work together to prove that democracies continue to deliver and show that the free people of America and India can lead the 21st-century world to even greater opportunities for the pursuit of happiness.

Source: Indian Express, US Department of State

Mains Question:

Q. “Through the pandemic, the US and India have shown the remarkable things they can accomplish when they work together”. Discuss.