November 23, 2022 | New Delhi

November 2, 2022 | New Delhi

December 8, 2021 | New Delhi

USISPF hosted Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for a series of one-on-one interactions and roundtable meetings with investors in Boston, New York City, and Washington, DC. The strong participation was a sign of the ongoing interest in India as a potential investment destination, including for manufacturers seeking to diversify their global supply chains.

Finance Minister Sitharaman took the opportunity to inform U.S. investors about India’s post-pandemic economic rebound and new incentive programs in place to facilitate foreign investment, and to hear from participants about various policy and regulatory challenges still to be addressed in the country. In her remarks, the Minister discussed the ways tech-enabled systems had enabled people to survive during the worst of the pandemic by using digital means to collect direct financial support, conduct government transactions, and receive critical market information. She outlined the budget measures taken to boost the recovery, highlighting reforms in insurance, banking, capital market regulation, and privatization.

Many of the participants spoke of large current investments in India and plans for substantially more, particularly if the government’s privatization and asset monetization plans move forward quickly. Several also said they are looking to incorporate India more fully into their global supply chains. They commended the pace of reform to date and urged the Minister to work with partners to increase regulatory consistency and transparency throughout the economy. Several also expressed concern about productivity losses from data localization and urged the government to consider a safe harbor policy for data with the United States.

Investors agreed India would benefit from measures to deepen its domestic capital markets and reduce the costs of debt and equity financing in the country. Reducing the size of public sector holdings in the financial sector is a critical first step. Other concrete measures include making it easier for foreign investors to register as Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) in the country and to hedge their currency risks. They noted additional incentives and support for public private partnerships would support the government’s ambitious infrastructure investment goals.

On the issue of climate, several participants expressed eagerness to help finance India’s transition to a green economy, while the Minister noted India’s deep commitment to the issue, it being one of only a handful of countries to have met its climate goals.

All participants agreed the U.S.-India financial partnership is strong and will benefit from further tangible successes. They remain committed to working together on these issues to support India’s economic recovery and boost economic growth, jobs, and investment.

November 30, 2021 | New Delhi

The second wave of COVID-19 in India led to a pause in high-level engagements between the United States and India. However, US efforts to support and assist India in its battle against the pandemic took forefront and both sides witnessed an unprecedented cooperation on the healthcare front. It is expected that healthcare cooperation between the two countries will continue both bilaterally as well on multilateral platforms like the Quad and the UN General Assembly.

After a successful trip by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to India in March, and India External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s recent trip to Washington, D.C., working level engagements have begun for the next round of the 2+2 Dialogue expected to be hosted in October in Washington D.C.

Both sides are working on a potential agenda, although it is unlikely that any high-level deliverables will be announced. Additionally, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai remains engaged with her counterpart, Ministry for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal. While there is less likelihood that the stalled mini trade deal under the Trump administration will be addressed, a prospective broader trade deal with additional components is under discussion. The U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum has not convened since 2017. However, both USTR Tai and Minister Goyal are committed to holding the TPF and the CEO Forum this year.

On the defense relationship, the next round of the U.S.-India Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) and a visit by officials of the Indian Defense Acquisition Council is also likely to take place in the coming months. On the energy and climate change front, U.S. Special Envoy on Climate Change John Kerry undertook a visit to India and met with the leadership to deepen ties and efforts on tackling climate change. Both sides are committed to remaining engaged on the issue and more high-level interactions are expected to take place.
June 9, 2021

November 8, 2020 | New Delhi

On July 24, USISPF and HSBC collaboratively hosted a webinar on “Global Supply chain Opportunities in India,” featuring NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, Invest India Managing Director and CEO Deepak Bagla, and USISPF President and CEO, Mukesh Aghi.

In his opening statements, Dr. Mukesh Aghi highlighted the shift in U.S. businesses towards a “China plus one” strategy and investment in high ESG (environmental, social, and governance) geographies. He also pointed to the energy and pharmaceutical sectors as areas where U.S. companies are interested in investing in India.

Amitabh Kant, CEO of think tank NITI Aayog, spoke on the opportunities for India to become a global manufacturing hub, as COVID-19 has accelerated a trend towards diversifying global supply chains. Although other countries have benefited from U.S. companies seeking alternatives to China-based supply chains, he argued that India is the only sustainable option in the long term, since it has the “capability for large-scale production of export-ready goods and a large-scale domestic market.” He also highlighted the efforts of the Government of India to enact reforms on the ease of doing business and opening automatic-route foreign direct investment (FDI) across sectors, and to pursue a strategy of “make in India for the world.”

Deepak Bagla, Managing Director and CEO of Invest India, spoke on India’s goal of achieving a $5 trillion economy by 2025 and its advantage as an investment destination. He provided insight into Government of India initiatives such as the Empowered Group of Secretaries and project development cells, as well as state-level reforms and ‘single window’ processes to improve the experience of setting up business in India. He also spoke on the “cluster approach” and shortening of supply chains, in response to which India has developed a “plug and play” model for industrial clusters and industrial townships.

November 8, 2020 | Delhi

On July 16, USISPF hosted a virtual roundtable with Ambassador Nicholas Burns, senior counselor at the Cohen Group and former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. Speaking with members of USISPF’s Board of Directors, Ambassador Burns shared his insights on the shifts in the U.S.’s foreign policy frameworks, the role of global institutions in the post-COVID world, and the importance of deepening U.S.-India relations.

Speaking with USISPF President and CEO Mukesh Aghi, Ambassador Burns outlined the challenges faced by the U.S. and India as a result of the ongoing pandemic, global economic crisis, and the actions of an increasingly aggressive China. He emphasized the importance of the U.S.-India relationship to addressing these challenges, both in a bilateral and multilateral context.

During a period of discussion with USISPF’s Board of Directors and other participants, discussion focused on U.S.-India relations in the context of broader regional dynamics and opportunities for defense and economic cooperation with Japan and Australia through the ‘Quad’ framework.
Ambassador Burns also assessed the impact of turning points in the bilateral relationship, such as the Civil Nuclear Deal and 2017 declaration of strategic defense partner status.

November 8, 2020 | Virtual

On May 12, Rahul Ghosh, Senior Vice President of Global Emerging Markets, Credit Strategy & Research, at Moody’s, joined USISPF members on a webinar to share high-level views on the credit outlook of emerging markets.

Overall, Mr. Ghosh highlighted that the pandemic’s economic and financial fallout will heighten credit risks for emerging market issuers. While external and fiscal buffers vary across regions, low-rated sovereigns with large external repayments are most vulnerable to prolonged stress. Additionally, the fallout from the pandemic will increase the corporate default rate in emerging markets over the coming year. Finally, he noted that future challenges, as the world recovers from COVID-19, include lower rates and higher government debt, changing consumer habits, climate risks, protectionism, tech disruption, and income inequality.

His presentation focused on emerging markets more broadly, but during the Q&A session with USISPF members, Mr. Ghosh evaluated India’s ongoing fiscal response to the economic impact of COVID-19, including the RBI’s measures to increase liquidity, as well as some proposed or hypothetical steps the Government of India could take in the future. He also provided his insight on the impact the current global economic challenges could have on India’s banking and non-banking financial company (NBFC) sectors.

November 8, 2020 | Delhi

On May 5, Javier Piedra, Deputy Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Asia, USAID, and Ramona El Hamzaoui, Deputy Mission Director for India, USAID, joined USISPF members on a webinar to discuss USAID’s COVID-19 response in India. Other colleagues from USAID were also on the webinar including Public Health Program Specialist Sangita Patel and Nahel Sanghavi, Senior Advisor for Innovation & Partnership, to share insights into efforts related to their specific expertise.

Javier Piedra began the discussion by highlighting that, since the outbreak of COVID-19, the U.S. government has committed more than $775 million to aid in more than 120 countries. In India, he pointed to the importance of addressing ‘second order effects’ of COVID-19, such as supply chain issues, as well as its immediate impact.

Ms. El Hamzaoui spoke on shift in USAID’s relationship with India, highlighting the agency’s current partnership-based initiatives to support not just India’s development but India’s role in the region and globally. So far, to address COVID-19 in India, USAID has provided $6 million in aid to support the Government of India’s response efforts. Interagency teams have supported initiatives ranging from helping female textile workers shift to mask production to training health care workers in contact tracing. USAID has also been assisting with initiatives to ensure that other health issues are not ignored during the COVID-19 crisis, from developing an app to support mother and infant health to facilitating the export of vital HIV/AIDS medication from India to Laos.

During a Q&A period with USISPF members moderated by USISPF Senior Advisor Vikram J. Singh, Ms. El Hamzaoui, Mr. Piedra, Ms. Patel, and Mr. Sanghavi spoke on topics ranging from India’s health care infrastructure and medical supply and pharmaceutical industries, to innovative solutions from the Indian technology sector and the CSR contributions of private-sector partners.