US will continue to push India on IPR - White House

Sai Nikesh | The Dollar Business A statement from the United States (US) White House on Wednesday said that the US is seeing India as a fundamental provider of security and economic growth across the South Asian region. White House's senior director for South Asian Affairs Phil Reiner made the above statement referring to the growing bilateral relationship between United States and India, post the Obama-Modi meet earlier in January. The above statement from the White House is coming a day after the US Government released its annual budget, giving a plunge to Asia-Pacific re-balance. The White House official, while stating that India and US have also agreed to develop a bilateral road map during the recent Obama-Modi meet, also cautioned with the supposed challenges despite the recent successful summits. The official further said that the US will continue to push for further progress on Intellectual Property Rights, local content requirements, among other key issues. He also said that in the coming days, both the nations will focus on policy crisis or policy difference with the help of senior-level committees. Meanwhile, referring to a breakthrough understanding in the US-India Nuclear Agreement that was  expected to be finalised within a year, the US officials were quoted to have said the sources that the details of an insurance scheme to protect suppliers from crippling lawsuits need to be thrashed out and India still has to ratify a UN nuclear convention. Here, it is noteworthy to mention that the Indian government, followed by a nuclear accident, has held back firms including GE-Hitachi, Toshiba's Westinghouse Electric Company and France's Areva from proceeding with the construction of reactors. The Indian government has taken this decision under 2010 India Liability Law,  which says the suppliers of the nuclear material are directly liable to any kind of nuclear accidents, to which the US says ‘not acceptable’. However, in a recent announcement, Syed Akbaruddin, chief spokesman, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, was quoted to have said that India is committed to moving ahead on all implementation issues at an early date, adding that there are no policy hurdles left. Referring to the apprehensions coming from China and Pakistan, Reiner told world media that the efforts to strengthen US-India relationship is not to counterweight anyone and is purely to strengthen bilateral relationship.  

This article was published on February 4, 2015.