Geo-strategically, some of the big issues that confront the United States today, China,

Pakistan, and the shaping of the post-2014 transition in Afghanistan, all happen to be
in Indias periphery. A more rapid expansion of Indias economy can accelerate the
creation of a common economic space in South Asia
Indias weak economic performance, the 2008 financial crisis and the economic downturn in the
United States have all diminished the India-U.S. relationship in recent years, after the two countries
had come a long way together since the 1950s. When I arrived in Philadelphia in early April, Prof.
Surjit Mansingh once an Indian Foreign Service officer and now teaching at the American
University ruefully said, Nothing can be expected from a U.S. government that has relegated
South Asia, India included, to the strategic unimportance it had during the Cold War. While the two
governments remained somewhat somnambulant, business and industry leaders and the IndianAmerican community, the other drivers of the relationship, became dormant too. Extricating it from
the depth it has sunk will be no easy task.
Consonance of interests
Post-election, there has been a visible change in the outlook of experts on India within think tanks,
universities and the beltway in Washington DC. There is a sense that Indias destiny depends not just
on economic progress; it also needs governance that has a social vocation, public institutions that are
accountable, and a society that is tolerant and secular. From Prime Minister Narendra Modis
statements, they hope he might turn out to be different from how he has been portrayed by the
Opposition. They believe it is time to re-engage with an India that is energised, self-confident, and
which will grow faster under a new government.
On his part, Mr. Modi has set aside the personal affront of his visa blacklisting. Declaring that
national interest is higher than individuals, he has committed himself to work for improved IndiaU.S. ties. He fought the election on an agenda of development, for which India needs markets,
investments and technology. For India, the U.S. remains the prime source of all three.
Geo-strategically, some of the big issues that confront the U.S. today, China, Pakistan, and the
shaping of the post-2014 transition in Afghanistan, all happen to be in Indias periphery. A more
rapid expansion of Indias economy can accelerate the creation of a common economic space in
South Asia. Such an India can better contribute to the design of the currently absent security
architecture in Asia and the Indo-Pacific. Indias contribution to stabilising the subcontinent,
underwriting its integration and development through its own growth, and investment in building
regional infrastructure and connectivity, as also Indias growing role in protecting maritime routes in
the Indian Ocean, all benefit the U.S too.
Defence preparedness
Besides the economy, Indias focus externally will be on improving relations with the contiguous
countries, including China. Given our experience since Independence, this also requires better
defence preparedness, for which the relationship with the U.S. will be critical in the years ahead.
So far, Indias major military platforms, including some still being developed, have come from
Russia. The two countries have enjoyed a special relationship for several decades and this must be

preserved and nurtured. The inept U.S. handling of its ties with Russia has cemented Sino-Russian
strategic relations in a way that Indias preferential customer status of Russian defence supplies is
now imperilled. India might not be able to rely indefinitely on exclusive or favoured treatment from
Russiavis--vis China.
During his just concluded visit to Beijing, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia-China
relations were at the highest level in history. The Skovorodino-Mohe pipeline project worth over
$60 billion in investment, and nearly half a trillion dollars in overall value over three decades, is
about to roll. In his phone-in-interview on April 17, available on his website, President Putin said
Russia and China are neighbours and allies, and that, with China, Russia has never had such trust
based relations in the military industry. Earlier, this year, Kommersant, a Moscow trade paper
reported that Mr. Putin had given his assent for a deal to sell China over the objections of his
general staff the state-of-the-art S-400 missile system, capable of shooting down all enemy aerial
targets that are known today. Talks are at an advanced stage for sale of Su-35 fighter aircraft to
China. Meanwhile, Russia itself is buying higher quality military platforms, such as the Mistral
helicopter carriers from France.
India might, therefore, need to diversify its defence procurement further. On offer from the U.S,
among other equipment, is the Javelin, said to be among the best available crew fired anti-tank
weaponry, as also the co-development and manufacture of the next generation of such missiles, longrange surface-to-air missiles, and the next generation naval gun. An even more pressing need for
India is to raise the level of technology domestication in the defence industry, for which a tweaking of
the offset policy and increasing the cap on foreign direct investment (FDI) in defence to nurture joint
ventures might lead to a breakthrough in an area that have confounded Indias efforts at
indigenisation so far.
Another area where constructive India-U.S. ties will have a positive impact is on Indias other
external relationships. Until 15 years ago, India-U.S. exchanges were confined largely to bilateral
issues. When on the Americas Desk in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) between 2001 and
2004, I saw the start of multiple India-U.S. dialogues, on East Asia, the rise of China, the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Indonesia, the situation in the Gulf and the Middle East,
and a range of multilateral and global issues. Other great powers quickly took notice and followed
suit by pursuing similar conversations.
As the India-U.S. relationship gathered momentum, and an accord with the U.S. on peaceful uses of
nuclear energy began taking shape, not perhaps as a consequence of but certainly as a sequel to it
there has been a spate of small successes in Indias interactions internationally. A case in point is the
agreement with China in 2005 on the Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the
Settlement of the India-China Boundary Question. It was arguably the sole, significant success of
the 17th round of talks of the Special Representatives negotiating the India-China boundary. This
came when Indias global importance was at a high point, with flourishing relations with Russia, the
U.S., the European Union, key European countries, and the start of warming relations with Japan.
That traction in Indias external engagement was lost concurrently with India-U.S. relations losing
steam, especially over the past five years.
The instruments of revival

For a revival in relations, the onus is on the U.S. side. The challenge would be how to do it. Mr. Modi
has had the least contact with U.S. leaders, compared to those of Russia, China and Japan, and not of
his own volition. U.S President Barack Obama has reached out to Mr. Modi by doing what other
world leaders have done, but that is not enough.
The right mechanics must be harnessed in cranking up a cold motor for starters, a new U.S.
Ambassador in New Delhi. It appears that the eminent personalities who have been sounded out,
such as the U.S. Exim Bank chairman/president, Fred Hochberg, do not want it with a lame duck
presidency behind them. As of now, there is more than an even chance that in the coming
Congressional elections, the Republicans will gain a narrow majority in the Senate, foreclosing
presidential initiatives that do not have bipartisan support.
Indias well-wishers in Washington DC are urging the President to send out an envoy soon to confer
with Indias new leadership. The obvious choice for this, U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, might
not find enthusiastic resonance in New Delhi. Bill Burns, the Deputy Secretary of State, is leaving at
the end of summer. A more inspired choice, some have suggested, might be Vice-President Biden,
who knows India better than President Obama does. That might also indicate that the White House
is taking back the India account from the State Department.
On Indias side, the most categorical step to revive its global standing, including with the U.S., would
be to get the engine of the Indian economy roaring again. In todays world, economic heft is the
booster rocket of foreign policy.
In discussions in New Delhi, both in South Block and outside, there is often a debate on whether the
India-U.S. story should be strategic or transactional. When times are difficult, there is nothing wrong
with a give-and-take approach, a prudent and practical engagement that looks at the relative costs
and benefits and eschews normative arguments. The congruence of interests of India and the U.S. is
self-evident. So also is the current hiatus in the relationship. There is a window of opportunity to
resuscitate it now.
(Jayant Prasad is a former diplomat and currently a visiting scholar at the Center for the
Advanced Study of India, University of Pennsylvania.)
Keywords: India-U.S. relationship, defence procurement, economic progress, foreign direct
investment, Indian economy