


The US focus on India is evident as it invested more in India than China. The investments increased dramatically from May 2014, when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi -led government.The friendship between Modi and US President Barack Obama also elevated both the leaders made strides in improving trade and investment ties."The high-level engagements between our two countries since May of 2014 include six at the leader-level, including the Nuclear Security Summit this week, and we could well see more before the end of the administration," said US Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Desai Biswal."Much of the focus has been on the economic partnership, and while there continue to be challenges, we have seen a dramatic rise in USinvestment in India, which today outpaces US investment in China ,” added Biswal.Around 30 American companies have invested over $15 billion in the past year and a half, with over 50 US firms expected to ink more than $27 billion worth of deals over the next year, as per the US-India Business Council.According to India's official statistics, the cumulative FDI inflows from the US from April 2000 to September 2014 amounted to about $13.19 billion, accounting for nearly 6 per cent of the total FDI into India, making US the sixth largest source of foreign direct investment into India.The bilateral relationship also forayed into maritime security."Nearly 90 per cent of global trade relies on maritime shipping and the Indian Ocean is the super-highway for much of this commerce. In the two decades from 1992 to 2012, the average number of ships in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea increased by more than 300 per cent.As the economies of Asia continue to rise, so to will the need for greater maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region," saidBiswal.India's defence trade with the US has increased substantially from a mere $300 million just over a decade ago to close to $14 billion.