Thaindian News

New Delhi, jan.27 (ANI): The CII-India Business Forum (CII-IBF), a grouping of leading Indian companies with operations in the US welcomes and supports US President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address and the specific job-creation objectives outlined therein. CII believes in the US’s inherent strengths-its knowledge base, productive manpower, capacity for innovation, R&D capabilities-these are the true testament of the country’s enduring and foundational economic strengths.

The emphasis on innovation and technology, higher education, and infrastructure in particular, are themes that resonate within the context of the growing India-US bilateral economic partnership. India is today amongst the top and fastest growing investors in the US, with revenue contributions of about $153 billion between 2004-2009 and having created approximately 314,000 jobs in the same period.

“Whether it is Tata Technologies hiring 400 engineers in the auto sector in Detroit; HCL’s plans to open up a delivery center in North Carolina with an initial investment of $3.2 million that will create 500 jobs, TCS creating 1000 high-tech jobs in Midland, Michigan; Welspun’s steel pipe manufacturing facility in Arkansas that has created 600 jobs since its inception; or Wipro creating 800 jobs in the US since 2008, Indian companies in the US continue to add immense value to the US economy. India Inc is thus directly contributing to President Obama’s job creation agenda” said Ms. Kiran Pasricha, Deputy Director General, CII, USA.

CII-IBF also lauds the creation of the Presidential Council on Jobs and Competiveness which will help lead President Obama’s efforts to double US exports by 2014. Between 2002 and 2009, U.S. goods exports to India has quadrupled, growing from $4.1 billion to more than $16.4 billion and bilateral trade too is set to expand. The vast potential of the India-US economic relationship however remains to be tapped, and CII-IBF thus welcomes the recent steps by the US administration in easing export controls by removing nine Indian organizations from the Entities List, including ISRO and DRDO. Such positive steps will greatly help boost high-tech trade between India and the US, leading to greater innovation as well as job growth. Further cooperation in critical sectors such as clean energy, manufacturing, health, innovation, and agriculture can particularly help the US capitalize on its ‘Sputnik moment’.

The CII-India Business Forum will continue to play a constructive role in this process. (ANI)