Smart cities project offers immense opportunities for Indo-US ties
A trade mission from the United States will visit India in February next year to explore business avenues, especially in infrastructure, technology and services sector, a US administration official said. Bruce Andrews, Deputy Secretary of Commerce, said that he will lead a Smart Cities Infrastructure Business Development Mission to India from February 8-12, 2016, with stops in Mumbai, Chennai, and Delhi. Andrews was speaking at the US-India Infrastructure Roundtable held in Washington on Tuesday. The event was organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in collaboration with US International Trade Administration and 32 Advisors. The trade mission will help US companies launch or increase their business in India, focusing on technologies, systems and services in the safety and security, intelligent transportation, water, wastewater, and power sectors, Andrews said, according to a FICCI press release. He said that the smart cities agenda is a great opportunity for US and it offers immense opportunities of cooperation between US and India. The roundtable was aimed at exploring areas of cooperation in infrastructure sector and to identify opportunities for developing partnerships between financial institutions, governments, as well as the industry. Amitabh Kant, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), who was also present at the roundtable, said that the Indian government has taken several steps to ease difficulties in business. India has recently enhanced the FDI cap in crucial sectors like insurance and defence manufacturing and permitted 100% FDI in railways infrastructure. The US has the ability to create world-class infrastructure and possess liquidity to finance long term projects, Kant said, adding that the US industry could also bring its cutting edge technology for building intelligent transport systems in India.
September 23, 2015 | 3:41pm IST.
to success.