Embassy's Weekly e-Bulletin on Key Policy Decisions and High Impact News

Welcome to the April 18, 2018 bulletin of key policy decisions and high-impact news, presented by the Embassy of India, Washington DC.

KEY POLICY DECISIONS

India-U.S. Defense Partnership Underscored at DefExpo 2018

The strong defense partnership between India and the U.S. was underscored at DefExpo 2018, India's premier defense trade exhibition, held in Mumbai. U.S. Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster and Major General Bryan Suntheimer, Deputy Commanding General of the U.S. Army Pacific, led a large and diverse U.S. delegation to DefExpo 2018.

Ease of Doing Business: Govt. Improves Oil, Gas Bidding Process

In order to further Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mandate of making it easier to do business in India, the Government is taking steps to expedite the bidding process for contracts in the oil and natural gas sector.

SEBI Hikes Foreign Portfolio Limit for Govt. Debt, Corporate Bonds

To boost inflows of foreign funds into Indian capital markets, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) will raise the investment limit for foreign portfolio investors in central Government securities and corporate bonds in two tranches.

India-U.S. Aviation Summit to be Held in Mumbai in May

U.S. Backs Westinghouse to Finish Nuclear Plants in India

Westinghouse Electric is "lean and mean and ready to get to work" on its projects to build nuclear reactors in India, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said during his visit to India. The agreement to build reactors, announced in 2016, was the result of a decade of diplomatic efforts as part of a U.S.-India civil nuclear agreement signed in 2008.

HIGH-IMPACT NEWS

IBM Shifts India Focus from Back-Office to Frontline Innovation Hub

In the early 1990s, IBM launched its research arm in India just to provide back-end support to its global business. Two decades on, at its offices in Bengaluru and New Delhi, IBM Research is working to find real-life applications for some of the world's most sophisticated technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence.

World's Best-Performing Department Store Chain is in India

V-Mart Retail Ltd., which runs medium-sized stores that sell cloths, accessories, footwear and everyday staples across India, has become the world's best-performing department store chain this year, thanks to its stock market performance, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Want to Sell Fighter Jets to India? Make Them There.

The U.S. wants to help India transform from being the world's largest importer of military products to becoming a manufacturer of them. This aligns with Prime Minister Modi's Make in India program, and more U.S. manufacturers, such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, are stepping up to the plate.

India's $670 Billion Retail Market Headed for Dream Run

India's retail sector, particularly the groceries and budget apparel segments, is poised for exceptional growth. A host of factors-a shift toward organized retail, improved business models, changing demographics, and rising per capita income-may lift the sector's profitability to a different plane.

Dow Chemical Launches World-Class Tech Center in Mumbai

Dow Chemical International (Dow India) has inaugurated a state-of-the-art application development hub, the Dow India Technology Center, in Navi Mumbai. The center will enable collaboration and innovation with customers to create sustainable, market-centric products and solutions.

TRANSFORMING INDIA

India's National ID System Reunites Family with Disabled Relative

Enrollment in Aadhaar, India's national identification system, helped reunite a mentally challenged woman with her family after she was found wandering Delhi roads. After she was helped by police, her biometric records were found in the Aadhaar database, allowing her family to be contacted.

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