Shobhana Bhartia and Indra Nooyi receive USIBC Global Leadership Awards on 40th anniversary of the U.S.-India Business Council

The first India-U.S. Strategic and Commercial Dialogue kicked off in Washington with a high-profile event addressed by U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Union Minister of State for Commerce Nirmala Sitharaman and attended by 400 business leaders from both countries.

Indian sought to reassure U.S. investors that the Modi government was taking measures to ease doing business in India. The U.S. corporate sector continued to flag weak contract enforcement, unpredictable policy and tax regimes, opaque regulatory mechanisms and rigid labour laws.

The dialogue, >established by U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting last year, is taking place even as policy-makers on both sides admit that the bilateral synergy in strategic aspects is not matched in business and commerce. “Since this situation is more because of Indian policies, India must move first and fast,” said Ashley J. Tellis, Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington.

Mr. Biden, Mr. Kerry and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker lauded the Modi government’s efforts to improve U.S.-India relationship, but all of them called for faster economic reforms.

While U.S. officials were upbeat about the Modi government, its drive against foreign NGOs remains an understated sticking point, said a senior Indian business leader who did not want to be named. “Organisations such as the Ford Foundation are highly influential in Washington,” he said. “Both our nations have to resist the forces of intolerance and remain vigilant in our efforts to make our democracies stronger and more inclusive. It’s not just the morally right thing to do, it’s the economic necessary thing to do,” the Vice-President said on Monday.

The dual-track dialogue is expected to come out with a joint statement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in New York on September 24 for a five-day U.S. tour.

Power Minister Piyush Goyal, who spoke at the event, which also commemorated the 40th anniversary of the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), said the Modi government was clear that rather than meeting the individual requirements of particular companies, structural changes were required to form a robust framework that enabled business and commerce.

Ms. Swaraj said the natural synergy of values enabled both countries to have close ties and Mr. Modi’s “creative approach and steady stream of new ideas” had dramatically improved Indo-U.S. cooperation.

Mr. Kerry said: “And while there is always room for improvement, it is very, very clear that the climate for bilateral investment and trade has never been better. And that is true in everything from clean energy to aerospace to financial services and movies, where, obviously, Hollywood and Bollywood reign supreme.”

The USIBC announced the launch of US Business Centres in India, which, council president Mukesh Aghi said, would “support the entry of U.S. small and mid-sized companies, universities, and skills providers into the market.”

Speaking at a panel discussion on “Why Make in India?”, Industries Secretary Amitabh Kant said what India needed was not merely growth but growth that created jobs.

Leadership awards

Shobhana Bhartia, chairperson and editorial director of HT Media, and Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, received the >USIBC Global Leadership Awards at the function. Mr. Aghi said both were honoured for their “contributions and commitment to driving a more inclusive global economy and for their roles as women leaders.” “This is truly a humbling experience,” Ms. Bhartia said.Ms. Nooyi said PepsiCo’s partnership with Indian farmers had been gainful for both and there were tremendous opportunities ahead to work together in new ways.