By Lalit K Jha
Washington

US Secretary of State John Kerry had a “very successful” India trip and has instituted follow up mechanisms on the country to strengthen ties, a top Obama Administration official has said.

Noting that the United States is ready to collaborate with India to deliver a truly digital country to realise “shared goals”, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Charles Rivkin said this is a huge priority for both US President Barack Obama and the Secretary of State Kerry.

“Secretary Kerry had a very successful trip (to Ahmedabad). He had a fantastic meeting with the Prime Minister. He has instituted follow ups in the State Department,” Rivkin said in his address to the ‘Digital India Roundtable’ organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Chase India.

“US fully embraces this transformational agenda” of Digital India of the Narendra Modi-led government, he said.

However, to achieve this would mean allowing participation of outside firms on equal terms and without any restrictions.

“By removing these barriers, India’s IT industry would have direct access to the global supply chain. There is so much that our IT sector can bring to the table. It has resources, it has expertise,” Rivkin said.

America’s IT sector is also ready to support Indian initiative in the manufacturing sector.

“The stakes between the two countries are too high,” he said while praising the India’s commitment to building a business friendly environment.

“I believe that if this goes well we can help India realise its goals and to even greater economic growth,” Rivkin said.

India and US agree to collaborate on Digital India initiative

India and the US have agreed to collaborate on implementing the ambitious Digital India initiative ahead of American President Barack Obama’s Republic Day visit to New Delhi.

During the two-day meeting of the US-India Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Working Group, the Indian delegation led by R S Sharma, Information Technology Secretary, raised its concerns over H-1B visa and rejection of large number of visas of Indian skilled workers.

According to a joint statement, India and the US agreed to continue to explore the opportunities for collaboration on implementing ambitious Digital India initiative with the goal of enhancing digital infrastructure, deploying e-governance and e-services.

They also agreed to expand the diffusion and use of ICT as a tool to expand economic opportunity, boost productivity, create jobs and empower citizens.

American delegation was led by Daniel Sepulveda, State Department Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy.

The two delegations held extensive discussions on ICT and telecommunication policy issues, focusing on accelerating broadband deployment, aligning spectrum policy for the mobile era and exchanging views on internet governance and best practices in ICT and telecommunications regulatory policy.

They also discussed issues relating to international mobility of Indian skilled professionals.

Indian officials expressed concerns with regard to mobility of skilled Indian professionals, and agreed that the US government will continue to engage on visa issues for skilled professionals.

The Indian side also noted the US concerns relating to equipment testing and certification, it said.

Broad agreement was reached on the importance of policies that promote innovation in the ICT sector, facilitate the flow of data across borders and foster the global and open nature of the Internet as a platform for economic growth.

The joint government-and-industry discussions included panels on promoting manufacturing and investment, IT and telecom policy developments, Internet governance, mobility of skilled professionals and other issues related to trade, investment and the ease of doing business.

A panel of non-government experts also shared insights on strategies that may help India achieve the goals outlined in the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ initiatives.

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