A Sardarji in New York
As I have written earlier, the US is looking towards India as a long term strategic and economic partner - both as a key foothold in the labor-rich Asian arena, as well as in its fight against “terrorism” (the double quotes being entirely intentional). As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (or Moneymoan Singh as he is so fondly known!!) commences his tour of the US, a question lingers - how much armtwisting will the other do? The Bush govt. will go to far lengths to gain a security foothold in India. It has already got the Indian govt. to agree to FBI presence on Indian soil - with all its anomalies about human rights. However, I am betting that PM Singh will wrangle his fair pound of flesh. India has already made it clear that it wishes for the H1-B quota to be tripled. Though it might appear we are encouraging..nay..actively fighting for brain drain, it has become increasingly apparent that the pull of the paratha(pizza nonwithstanding) is too great for most Indians, who come back with more skills than they left with. I believe this will be one issue that will be put on the table during talks with the US Govt. What I hope for, but do not have high hopes for, is for India to push for more liberal laws in the generics pharma sector. India is the largest manufacturers of generics in the world and the most innovative. Since Indian manufacturers jumped into the fray, the average cost for anti-retroviral drugs nosedived from USD 10000 to USD 250, in little over 4 years. Brazil and several African countries source their drugs from India. The TRIPS agreement enforces these rights by clamping down on generics production. I believe there is a way out of this by having an Eastern Economy Edition type of system to provide differential pricing (enforced by providing appropriate pricing to citizens only). The hot topic of the day will of course be India and the Security Council. However, considering that US is not ready to antagonise both China and Pakistan, there seems little chance of progress. However, since US has already dangled a 10 year defence partnership with India, I believe that 10, Janpath will not push for more. As India builds INS Kadamba into a major naval force, it will affect the security of not just India, but also allies like Japan who depend on maritime shipping through the Arabian straits. And as Pavitr Prabhakar would say, “with great powercomes great responsibility” - lets see whether India can exert her power or discharge her responsibility.