US and India: Old friends in a changing world

General Studies Paper 2

Context

• Recently India Prime minister had official visit to USA and during the visit new pacts were signed that shows the strengthen relation between both the countries.
• As, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the US Congress a second time, and talking to the Indian diaspora represent that US-India relations are deepening and widening.

Factors which shape the relations of both the nations

• China factor: China factor may be the most important one for the current affability.
• China’s meteoric rise on the economic front over the last four and half decades, with accompanying military power, is being seen as a threat to global security by many nations.
• And the QUAD comprising Australia, Japan, India, and the US is one such forum for the process. The current US-India friendship is only an extension of that at a bilateral level.
• This makes one thing clear: As nations become rich, they need to be responsible towards global peace and welfare.
• The growing economy of India:
• There is no doubt that the US has been a superpower both in economic terms as well as in its military might for quite some time.
• As per the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the US economy in April 2023 stood at $26.6 trillion with a per capita GDP of $80,000 at current prices. In comparison to that, India is way behind with an overall GDP of $3.74 trillion and a per capita GDP of just $2,600
• In PPP terms, however, India’s GDP improved to $13 trillion and its per capita GDP to about $9,000.
• Thus, the dollar-to-PPP conversion factor is roughly 3.5, which in simple terms means that a dollar in India can buy roughly 3.5 times more goods and services than in the US.
• Therefore, the difference between the US and Indian economies and the welfare of their people narrows when we look at these indicators in PPP terms rather than current US dollars.

A healthy trilateral relation is good for world peace and prosperity

• For world peace and prosperity, it would be best if the three countries can work together. But the foundation of any friendship and working together is trust, which requires transparency in behaviour and actions as per the agreed rules of the game.
• And it is here that the political system of democracy wins over authoritarian regimes. Not that democracy is without its flaws, be it in the US or India, but it is certainly better than military or authoritarian regimes.

Balancing the relation between Russia and USA

• After the Ukraine-Russia conflict, global powers are realigning into new groupings.
• India has a tough task of walking a very tightrope between Russia and the US. One can only hope that Prime Minister Modi can calibrate this balancing act and bring dialogue and diplomacy to resolve strong differences, and not be part of the ever-widening chasm which can be suicidal to the existence of humanity on this planet.

India-US has wide areas of cooperation

• Both the nations have cooperation in defence, space and high-tech chip-making may just be the beginning. The potential in many other sectors is enormous.
• India’s pitch for inclusive and sustainable growth has to be seen in that context. As India’s voice for the growth that has to be pro-people and pro-planet is clear and commendable. Therefore, it includes the African Union in the G-20 grouping.
• In defence and technology
• Recently, India and US signde $3 billion deal for 31 High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) UAVs
• Another major announcement that came was an MoU signed between GE and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to jointly produce fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force.
• Climate change and food security:
• Along with it, for the eight billion people on this planet, food and nutritional security is of equal importance, if not more. This is being threatened by climate change with increasing temperatures.
• India is given its large population of 1.4 billion. The US is at the forefront of technologies not just in defence, space, and semiconductors but also in agriculture.
• One may recall that in the 1960s when India was struggling to feed its fast-growing population, several state agricultural universities were opened with the support and mentoring of their counterparts in the US.
• These universities were instrumental in shaping India’s Green Revolution, although the initial seeds of high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice came from outside
• Both the nations can further rejuvenate agricultural universities with cutting-edge technologies and policies to cope with climate change and produce more nutritious food with less land, less water, and less GHG emissions

Way forward

• US-India collaboration, there will be a special attempt to include food and agriculture as one of the core areas of cooperation. It has the potential to do good to the maximum number of people in the developing world, be it in Asia or Africa.
• Therefore, India-USA stand at a new dawn of relationship that will not only shape the destiny of two nations but also that of the world.