Modi gets the goods in America

Once in school a teacher grandly declared that the annual turnover of the American General Motors company was greater than the Union Budget of India. I am not sure whether that was right or not, but the 1980s was full of such anecdotes relating to India’s poverty and economic backwardness.

How things have changed in a lifetime! America then was the world’s No. 1 economy and military power and still continues to do so. But India has undergone a sea change. We are now the largest population in the world and in a position to reap demographic dividends; the most advanced and largest Digital Democracy in the world. The fourth most powerful military and the fifth largest economy. It is inevitable that we will leave Germany and Japan behind and soon the Top 3 will be America, China and India.

It was in this context that the meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden was one of equals. While the US is in decline having peaked some years back, for India the sky is the limit.

There were partnerships announced between NASA and ISRO; for 5G & 6G; tie-ups in the field of AI, quantum and atomic energy. Micron will invest up to US$825 million to build a new semiconductor assembly and test facility. The combined investment is valued at US$2.75 billion, creating 5,000 new direct and 15,000 community jobs opportunities over five years. Also of importance was the MoU between General Electric and HAL for fighter jet engines.

Modi met prominent industry leaders like Elon Musk along with famous astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. It’s not just about IT services anymore. India is a growing tech and economic power and every country in the world wants to collaborate and get a piece of the pie, with America being no different. You may remember that after the landmark Air India Boeing deal, Biden Tweeted his thanks that the deal would create up to 1 million jobs across 44 states.

In the Big 3 of US, China and India, you could say that even China peaked in the 2010s. Their domestic demand has gone down and pre-Covid China used to be the supply chain of the world but now faces trust issues.

India has a vibrant Digital Democracy, ICT industry and startup ecosystem. Once we sort out R&D and skilling problems, we will be unstoppable.