“Innovation: Fueling the U.S. – India Commercial Partnership†featured the US and Indian companies.
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with the Hudson Institute hosted a luncheon panel session Innovation: Fueling the U.S.-India Commercial Partnership on June 26, 2017, in Washington, DC, that coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic Washington visit.
Congressman George Holding, Co-Chair of the CII, delivered the opening address and invited the attention of the packed think tanks to the critical need to bolster the business-to-business ties between US and India during a panel discussion held on Monday.
Stating that “politics has ebbs and flows, but business ties endureâ€, Congressman Holding also made a strong case for the role of the Indian diaspora in helping shape the narrative of the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
The keynote remarks came before a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)-Hudson Institute panel discussion “Innovation: Fueling the U.S. – India Commercial Partnership†featuring the US and Indian companies.
During the panel discussion, A. Amarnath, Senior Vice President of Wipro, Ltd., listed the numerous innovation centers his company has established in the United States from New Jersey to Atlanta, and detailed expanding operations in the US to respond to clients on a real-time basis.
James Shapiro, who is the Resident Director, North America, of Tata Sons, discussed the Tata Group’s successful history of partnering with the US companies and the expansion plans of Jaguar Land Rover’s Portland incubator and research center.
Danny O’Brien, Government Relations Leader for Transportation, Global Government Affairs and Policy of GE cited both the “GE Garage†located in Bangalore that has yielded 3,200 US patent applications and the $2.3 billion contract with Indian railways that will result in the manufacture of 1000 locomotives in USA and India where they can be adapted innovatively to local needs.
Pratyush Kumar, President Boeing, India, reiterated that innovation is driven by competitiveness and that while Boeing has been involved in many of the recent, high-profile defense sales between the US and India, his company maintains its R&D center in Bangalore to not miss any opportunities.
The company representatives also discussed the ways in which their integrated business operations help create jobs in both India and the US given the reality of global supply chains.
All the companies represented on the panel emphasized the need to operate locally in order to respond to community needs innovatively, and also acknowledge that more, not less trade is needed for a truly win-win economic and commercial partnership.
Education was also a major theme, and the industry representatives cited STEM education initiatives their companies are funding throughout the US and India to stave the skills gap and accommodate the new jobs that will inevitably be created with the rise of automation.
United in their conviction that innovation lies at the heart of the US-India two-way flow of investment and job creation, the participants concluded with optimistic words for Prime Minister Modi and President Trump’s initial meeting today, and acknowledgment that real, tangible outcomes of corporate innovation are solidly growing the U.S.-India partnership.
Dr. Kenneth Weinstein, President and CEO of the Hudson Institute, also spoke at the session while Ambassador Husain Haqqani, Director for South and Central Asia at the Hudson Institute, moderated the program and Sumani Dash, Director and Country Head-North America, CII offered closing remarks.