One day before Trump's impeachment, India and US agreed on the following
Sharing confidential information to reach $26 billion
Live demonstration by the Indian Army during the Defence Expo 2018 (Source: BCCL)
The newly established framework between the US General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) and the Industrial Security Annex (ISA) will the countries to share classified military information within a secure structure.
Access to information exchanged between the two will be restricted to the governments. This means no participation from private players — but it will be used by the government for their benefit.
The aim is to make India’s defence industry hit $26 billion by 2025, and the information exchange will help bolster the Make in India initiative for companies within the defence sector.
"We are also working to encourage greater collaboration between defence manufacturing sectors in India and in the US," said India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
In addition, the two countries finalised three new projects, and the standard operating procedure (SOP) for them, under the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI). Unlike the ISA, the proposed framework will allow for industry-to-industry exchange of information — which means Indian companies will have the opportunity to learn from the more advanced defence manufacturers in the US.Tiger Triumph with all three branches of defence
US Marines have a gala time playing Tug-of-War with the inmates of a girls hostel as part of India-US rri-services HADR Exercise named Tiger Triumph near Yendada in Visakhapatnam (Source: BCCL)
Defence cooperation for technology is only one part of the story. After the success of Humanitarian and Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Exercise in November 2019 — the first-ever tri-exercise — the two countries have decided to make it an annual event.
‘Tiger Triumph’ calls in all three branches of the defence — army, navy and the air force — from both sides to develop synergies between the countries.Founding member of the Modi’s CDRI
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 16th East Asia Summit (EAS) in Bangkok (Source: Narenda Modi official website)
The US agreed to be one of the founding members of the Coalition of Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) — an initiative launched by Modi during the East Asia Summit (EAS), which will be headquartered in New Delhi. “We are working together more closely than many thought possible only a few years ago,” Alice Wells, a US diplomat for South Asia, told AFP.
Having enough water to go around
Water being released from the Nagarjuna dam in Hyderabad after heavy inflows from upstream (Source: BCCL)
The exchange of technology isn’t restricted to defence cooperation — US and India also agreed on a new water project to help with water resource management in the face of rising water demand.
The US Geological Survey and India’s Ministry of Jal Shakti will share information on how river basins can be supervised, forecasting floods, improving water quality and other such measures.
Unlike ISA, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for water resource management doesn’t restrict information to government players — the data will also be shared with universities and private industry players.
Avoiding explosion in space
ISRO's launch of 104 satellites abroad Polar Launch Satellite Vehicle (PLSV) C-37 (Source: ISRO)
Environmental issues aren’t just restricted to the planet anymore — space is now categorised as Earth’s largest garbage dump. The tens of thousands of pieces of space debris are flying, at over 100 times faster than cars, can cause severe damage to anything that gets in their way— including satellites.
Cooperation in sharing information in Space Situational Awareness (SSA) will allow both countries to manage space traffic. More information means, having a better understanding of potential space debris that could get in the way of a space launch. A collision won’t only destroy the rocket and its cargo, but it would result in a loss of millions of dollars.
It’s one of the reasons why India’s set up its own Network for Space Object Tracking and Analysis (NETRA) to monitor space debris rather than rely exclusively on the data from the North American Defence Command (NORAD).And, avoiding wars at sea
Indian Navy's INS Shakti (Source: BCCL)
It’s just space that’s getting crowded, but the world’s oceans as well. And, everyone wants a piece of the pie. In order to keep things peaceful in the maritime domain, Modi announced the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) at the East Asia Summit in November 2019.
The US, in turn, has expressed its interest in expanding cooperation on issues related to the open seas — especially since China looms close by and has already started expanding its domain over contested territories in the South China Sea.
The two counties are also planning to execute a joint training and capacity building programme for UN peacekeepers from Indo-Pacific countries.
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