Modi-led Govt. will drag US attention back toward India: CSIS expert.
By The American Bazaar Staff
WASHINGTON, DC: Richard M. Rossow, Senior Fellow and who holds the Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., has said U.S. business can expect a more stable, friendly environment under the new BJP-led government and will be quick to grow too.
“Lots of potential direct investment has been on the sidelines in the last few years, hoping for a more friendly business environment. Institutional investors have already been jumping back into India, with the expectation of a BJP victory,” said Rossow, in a release put out by the CSIS. “But it is unclear if the BJP will roll back some of the specific policies (tax, patents, local manufacturing mandates) that have angered a vocal minority of U.S. companies,” he added.
Expanding on the theme of the U.S.-India bilateral relationship, Rossow opines that the government-to-government relations will start slowly—particularly those involving the U.S. Department of State, due to the visa denial “hangover.”
“But we can expect a renewed interest in defense collaborations, combined with renewed business interests, which will, once again, drag the U.S. government’s attention back toward India,” said Rossow. “The major bilateral forum, the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue—involving the State Department and India’s External Affairs Ministry—typically meets in June; getting a date set for this forum (maybe in July) will be a major priority and set the trajectory of the relationship during the remainder of President Obama’s second term.”
On the UPA government’s performance in the last 10 years in India, Rossow said the party’s “focus has been to create/expand social programs, with much less attention on economic development.”
He added: “Over this period, U.S. strategic interest peaked and waned as India could not deliver on the initial promise of nuclear and military trade (at least in terms of a particularly large fighter jet deal). U.S. business interest, too, has faded as the economy slowed and antibusiness policies were introduced. Voter sentiment surveys ahead of the election pointed toward widespread dissatisfaction with the nation’s economic conditions, even as various studies show that many people directly benefited from the government’s new social programs.”
However, Rossow surmised that since the BJP still hold a very small proportion of seats in the upper house of Parliament (the Rajya Sabha), so legislative reforms will not be possible without the participation of Congress or a wide range of regional parties.
“The BJP is also in charge of a small minority of states—only 5 of India’s 29 states—so its actual reach cannot quite be termed “national,” said Rossow.