Boost to Indo-US ties! India to apply US technology to manufacture aircraft carrier

India will build the next aircraft carrier and the Light Combat Aircraft jet engine with the help of US technology, reported the Economic Times.

The decision came after the visit of US Defence Secretary Ash Carter. As both countries prepare for a September round of dialogue in Washington DC, India is going to send a team to the US to speed up the process on manufacturing the aircraft carrier and the Light Combat Aircraft jet engine.

The agenda has been set in the two summits held in September and January, but the key will be checking off the ambitious bucket list of projects.

This will be the first strategic dialogue to be held in the new 2+2 format, including the foreign and commerce ministers. From the US side, it will be John Kerry and Penny Pritzker, commerce secretary, rather than Michael Froman their chief trade negotiator, who is generally believed to take a dim view of India and its trade practices.

The US and India are also expected to take forward earlier agreements on smart cities, which is likely to get priority.

Moreover, India-US relations will be tested this year over climate change as the Paris climate change summit, COP 21 looms. India will be under unprecedented pressure to declare ambitious emission targets. Climate change is a legacy issue for Barack Obama and he's expected to push hard.

India is also scheduled to enter the US' Global Entry program, which is a pre-approval of immigration procedures for travelers to the US. This was agreed during the Indian prime minister’s visit to the US last year. However, the Indian system is yet to collate criminal data records digitally and online, which is a pre-requisite for entering such a programme.

With the NDA government prioritizing "ease of doing business" rules, sources say they are spending a lot of time with investors and private sector to get a better idea of how to simplify processes in India, which are one of the biggest impediments to domestic and foreign business.

But the two countries continue to struggle to find common ground on IPR issues where India is expected to continue to take a diplomatic beating.

(Image: Indiatimes)