Thaindian News

New Delhi, Jan 28 (IANS) With the US lifting sanctions against Indian space and defence agencies under its ‘entity list’, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Friday lauded the American export control reform effort.However, the industry forum said there was more to be done on trade, research and development, science and technology fields.

In a statement here, CII deputy director general Kiran Pasricha said the Indian industry was looking forward to US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke’s visit to India next month, when he would meet business representatives in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

“The CII welcomes the effort of the US administration in removing nine Indian organisations from the ‘entities list’, including the ISRO and the DRDO. These first steps will go a long way in strengthening our strategic partnership, fostering heightened trust and boosting high tech trade,” Pasricha said.

“The resulting increase in US exports to India will also help plug in American President (Barack) Obama’s agenda of job growth,” she said, recalling that he had during his visit to India early November last year promised to reform the US export regime to allow greater cooperation between the two countries in a range of high-tech sectors.

The Bureau of Industry and Security of the US Department of Commerce had this week published updates of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) that essentially removed India from the ‘entity list’ that dictates American policy on sharing of dual-use technologies to other countries, including placing India in a group of countries that are not members of Missile Technology Control Regime.

“While these are positive initial steps in the right direction, a lot more remains to be done in realising the full potential of the US-India partnership in high technology,” Pasricha said, noting that the ongoing initiatives such as the joint science and technology commission and Indo-US Research and Development Endowment Fund for Innovation could be leveraged in this direction.

The CII plays important role in all these initiatives.

She said in the backdrop of the recent diversification of offsets clause under the 2011 defence procurement policy to internal security and civil aerospace, the modalities for technology transfer should to be made even more liberal or flexible. A fast-track process of export clearance licenses for trade directed to India needed to be put into place, she added.

US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke’s business delegation on a high-tech trade mission to India will include senior officials from the Export-Import Bank (EX-IM), the Trade Development Agency (TDA) and more over 20 US companies of which 14 are Small and Medium Enterprises.

“We look forward to welcoming Secretary Locke and his accompanying delegation to Aero India 2011, the largest air show in Asia. Aero India 2011 will showcase the latest technologies in the field of military and civil aircraft, vital components for aircraft engines, avionics systems and sub-systems, airfield radars, and other products in the defence and aerospace sector,” she said.

The Aero India, to be held Feb 9-13, will for the first time introduce civil aviation too in the air show with over 600 exhibitors including 300 from overseas.

Nearly 100 countries will be represented in the air show, which will have eight countries having pavilions and 62 global companies with chalets. CII will be one of the joint organisers of the air show.