Background: After Indian independence until the end of the cold war, the relationship between the two

nations has often been thorny. Dwight Eisenhower was the first U.S. President to visit India in 1959. During John F. Kennedy's period as President, he saw India as a strategic partner against the rise of communist China.During the Cold War, the U.S. asked for Pakistan's help because India was seen to lean towards the Soviet Union. The 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistani wars did not help their relations. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, India began to review its foreign policy in a non-polar world following which, it took steps to develop closer ties with the European Union and the United States. Today, India and the U.S. share an extensive cultural, strategic, military and economic relationship. Since 2004, Washington and New Delhi have been pursuing a strategic partnership based on shared values and apparently convergent geopolitical interests. Numerous economic, security, and global initiatives, are underway. During the tenure of the Clinton and Bush administration, relations between India and the United States blossomed primarily over common concerns regarding growing Islamic extremism, energy security and climate change. While in New Delhi,Hillary Clinton set forth five key pillars of the U.S.-India engagement: (1) strategic cooperation; (2) energy and climate change; (3) economics, trade, and agriculture; (4) education and development; and (5) science technology and innovation. Political: A "Strategic Dialogue" was established in July 2009 during the visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to India with the objective of strengthening bilateral cooperation across diverse sectors. President Obamas visit to India from 6-9 November 2010, imparted further momentum to bilateral cooperation and helped establish a long-term framework for India-US global strategic partnership. Defence: Also in 2005, the United States and India signed a ten-year defense framework agreement to expanding bilateral security cooperation. The two countries now engage in numerous and unprecedented combined military exercises, and major U.S. arms sales to India are underway. The $4.1 billion contract for 10 C-17 Globemaster-III giant strategic airlift aircraft was cleared by defence Min.In March 2009, the Obama administration cleared the US$2.1 billion sale of eight P-8 Poseidons to India

The Malabar series of joint naval exercises are held off the coast of Okinawa http://www.india-defence.com/reports-2066 Economy: India-US total merchandise trade was US $ 48.75 billion in 2010. The two way services trade was US $ 38 billion in 2008. US is the third largest source of foreign direct investments into India .In recent years, growing Indian investments into the US, estimated by independent studies to be around US$ 26.5 billion between 2004-2009, has been a novel feature of bilateral ties. Financial and Economic Partnership to strengthen bilateral engagement on macroeconomic, financial, and investment-related issues launched in April ,2010 The Agreement on Framework for Cooperation on Trade and Investment was signed during the visit of Minister for Commerce & Industry, Mr. Anand Sharma to USA in March 2010. Nuclear Deal: In December 2006, Congress passed the historic Henry J. Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Cooperation Act, which allows direct civilian nuclear commerce with India . In July 2007, negotiations on the bilateral agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation, also known as the "123 agreement" were completed. Civil Nuke Liability Bill: The U.S, thinks Section 17(b) of the Indian law, which expands the scope of the operator's right to compensation from nuclear suppliers in case of an accident due to faulty equipment, violates the CSC. US wants International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure that the Indian nuclear liability law fully conforms with the international Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC) for Nuclear Damage. Counter Terrorism and security: Stability in South Asia linked to tackling of terrorism A new India-US Counter-Terrorism Cooperation Initiative was signed in 2010 to expand collaboration on counter-terrorism, information sharing and capacity building. A new Homeland Security Dialogue was also announced during President Obamas visit to India in November 2010 to further deepen operational cooperation, counterterrorism technology transfers and capacity building

S&T: A $30 million Science & Technology Endowment for jointly promoting science & technology research, development and innovation was established in July 2009. Collaboration between the Ministry of Earth Sciences and NOAA on Tropical Cyclone Research; TsunamiScience - detection, analysis, modeling & forecasting; and INSAT 3D satellite data applications. In November 2010, a Monsoon Desk has been established in NOAA for enhancing monsoon forecasting. This will also help in building Indias capacity in developing and using a coupled ocean-atmosphere modeling system for strengthening the National Monsoon Mission. Clean Energy and Climate Change Initiative:An Agreement for Cooperation on Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center (JCERDC) was signed between India and US in November 2010. Department of Atomic Energy and US Department of Energy signed an Implementing Agreement on Discovery Science that provides the framework for cooperation in accelerator and particle detector research and development Joint Working Group on Civil Space Cooperation:Major areas include: (i) exchange of scientists; (ii) OCM2,INSAT3D collaboration; (iii) future mission definition workshops; (iv) nanosatellites; (v) carbon /ecosystem monitoring and modelling; (vi) feasibility of collaboration in radio occultation: (vii) CSLA: (viii) international space station; (ix) global navigation satellite systems; (x) formation flying; (xi) space exploration cooperation; (xii) space debris mediation. Health: In July 2009, a 'Health Dialogue' was established between the two countries. A Global Disease Detection - India Centre has been established vide a MoU between US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and National Center for Disease Control. Education: India-US Education Dialogue was announced by the two Governments in July 2009 Singh-Obama 21st Century Knowledge Initiative in November 2009 with funding of US$ 5 million from both sides to increase university linkages and junior faculty development exchanges between US and Indian universities. India and the US have signed a new bilateral Fulbright Agreement.

The First India-US Higher Education Summit is proposed to be held in Washington D.C. in October 2011. Obama's Visit: Support for India;s UNSC bid:However, the United States will be closely watching Indias record in the next two years when India takes its seat at the UN Security Council in the non-permanent category. Therefore, US support should not be taken for granted. DRDO, ISRO and BDL were removed from US entities list.In the last few years few licenses for export of hi-tech items to India had been rejected by US authorities. Support for India's full membership in 4 multilateral export control regimes.Deft diplomacy will be required to make this happen, but US support will count. Deals worth $10b MOU on shale gas technology Categorically stated Kashmir is a bilateral issue and US will not impose a solution Endorsed India's role in Af as a partner in reconstruction and development.Still On Afghanistan, India and the United States remain apart. Diaspora: As per the 2010 census figures of the United States, the Indian American community has grown to 2.84 million and is the second largest Asian community in the country. Notable contributions in academic,medicine, administration, entertainment,business-executives, entrepreneuship , media, literature,etc http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_Americans The influence of a large Indian-American community is reflected in Congresss largest country-specific caucus. More than 100,000 Indian students are attending American universities.

Why US needs India? India, the regions dominant actor with more than one billion citizens, is often characterized as a nascent great power and indispensible partner of the United States,one that many analysts view as a potential counterweight to Chinas growing clout.

Thorns: protectionist economic policies of US that could adversely affect bilateral commerce in goods and services.Border security bill will hiked visa fees;Obamas antioutsourcing views; U.S. emphasis on nonproliferation and arms control would lead to pressure on India join such multilateral initiatives as the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty deepening relations with Indias main rival, Pakistan, in ways that could be harmful to Indian security and perhaps lead to a more interventionist approach to the Kashmir problem;unaccoutable military aid Differences over Iran and Myanmar India's interests in Af:On Afghanistan, the joint statement(nov, 2010) has expressed the commitment of the two countries to intensify consultation, cooperation and coordination to ensure a stable Afghanistan Getting too close will have an impact on Indias relationship with key countries like Russia and China with which India is pursuing a multipolar world paradigm and in which the United States is seen as an unstated unilateralist hegemon. Getting too close to the United States may also constrain Indias strategic autonomy. So long as Pakistan continues to get US arms which can be used against India, there will always be doubts abut the strategic content of the partnership. India will remain wary of US-China relations and their impact on Indias security interests. India's FDI limits in retails, financial and insurance sectors.