- Biden and Modi Strengthen “Defining Partnership” Amid Defense and Technology Agreements
- Defense Collaboration: US Approves Transfer of Engine Technology to India
- Visa Easing: US to Make It Easier for Skilled Indian Employees to Renew Visas
US President Joe Biden lauded a “defining partnership” with India on Thursday as he rolled out the red carpet for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sealing major defense and technology agreements as Washington wagers heavily on New Delhi as a counterweight to China.
Modi is being honored with a state visit, only the third of Biden’s presidency, as a calculated display of full-throated US support — despite quiet disquiet over India’s refusal to break with Russia and what rights groups view as the Hindu nationalist leader’s growing authoritarianism.
With approximately 7,000 Indian-Americans congregated on the South Lawn of the White House to cheer him on, Modi walked a red carpet to a military salute as Vice President Biden greeted him.
Biden stated, “I’ve always thought the US-India relationship would define the 21st century.”
“The challenges and opportunities facing the world in the twenty-first century require India and the United States to collaborate and exercise leadership,” he said.
Modi, India’s most potent prime minister in decades, stated that the two nations “are committed to working together for the global good and global peace, stability, and prosperity.”
“Our strong strategic partnership is clear proof of the power of democracy,” said Modi, who, unlike the majority of India’s post-independence leaders, spoke Hindi rather than English on the international stage.
Later, Modi will address a joint session of Congress and return to the White House for a gala dinner. Where Nina Curtis, a renowned California plant-based chef, will prepare for the strictly vegetarian prime minister.
The White House said the leaders would answer press questions without calling it a press conference. During his nine years in office, Modi has avoided unscripted interactions with reporters.
In one of the most significant agreements of the visit, characterized by a US official as “groundbreaking.” The United States approved a transfer of engine technology as India begins producing its fighter aircraft.
General Electric will be permitted to produce its F414 engines jointly with Hindustan Aeronautics, a state-owned company.
India will also purchase MQ-9B SeaGuardians, high-precision armed drones, according to a US official.
Washington believes a deeper defence alliance will help India wean itself off Russia, New Delhi’s Cold War weapons supplier.
India has bought cheap Russian oil instead of joining Western efforts to isolate Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The supply of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan has long enraged India.
India as China’s rival center
Micron will invest $800 million in a semiconductor assembly and testing plant in India. Which is anticipated to reach $2.75 billion after New Delhi’s contributions.
A US official also stated that the plant would assist in diversifying the supply chains of advanced semiconductors. As Vice President Biden leads a concerted effort to prevent China from exporting high-end chips.
Micron nonetheless recently disclosed a $600 million investment in a Chinese factory.
During Modi’s visit, India, a rising space power, also agreed to join the Artemis Accords. A US-led multinational effort to place a human back on the Moon by 2025.
According to the White House, India will work with NASA on a trip to the International Space Station next year.
Not infringing on liberties
The State Department has criticized Modi’s treatment of religious minorities, the opposition, and independent media. Citing incidents of police and vigilante violence against Muslims and Christians.
Religious pluralism is a “core principle” for both the United States and India, according to Vice President Biden, who told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that religious pluralism is one of the United States and India’s “fundamental values” despite facing challenges throughout each nation’s history.
Both nations, Modi replied, “take pride in their diversity.” Three prominent left-leaning Democrats, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and two Muslims, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib, have stated that they will not attend Modi’s address to Congress.
Ocasio-Cortez stated that the US Congress should not invite leaders with “deeply troubling human rights records”. And that she would abstain to demonstrate her support for “pluralism, tolerance, and press freedom.”
In a letter, dozens of other Democrats implored Biden to raise concerns “in an honest and forthright manner.” Although they refrained from calling for a boycott and supported closer ties with India.
The United States will ease visa requirements for skilled Indian employees.
Using this week’s state visit by Modi, the Biden administration intends to make it easier for Indians to live and work in the United States, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.
As part of a pilot program that could be expanded in the coming years, the State Department could announce as early as Thursday that a limited number of Indians and other foreign workers with H-1B visas will be able to renew their visas in the United States without having to travel abroad.
Indians made up 73% of the almost 442,000 H-1B workers in fiscal year 2022.
Another US official stated, “We all recognize that the mobility of our people is a tremendous asset for us.”
“Therefore, our objective is to approach this from a variety of angles. The State Department has already exerted a great deal of effort to identify novel means of effecting change.”
A State Department spokesman declined to comment on which visa classes would be eligible or the pilot program’s launch date. In February, Bloomberg Law first reported on plans for a pilot program.
“The pilot would begin with a small number of cases, to expand the program over the next one to two years,” the spokesperson said, declining to define the term “small.”
The stages are subject to change and are not finalized until announced. White House officials declined to comment.
The U.S. grants 65,000 H-1B visas to companies seeking educated foreign workers and 20,000 to those seeking advanced degrees. The permits are valid for three years and are renewable for an additional three years.
Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services in India and Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta in the United States have employed the most H-1B laborers in recent years, according to data from the United States government.
The ability for some temporary foreign employees to renew their visas in the United States would free up resources for visa interviews in foreign consulates, according to the spokesperson.
According to one of the sources, the pilot program would also include some workers with L-1 visas, which are available to individuals transferring within an organization to a position in the United States.
A separate initiative to clear a backlog of visa applications at US embassies in India is finally showing signs of progress, according to another of these sources, and is anticipated to be discussed this week in Washington by the delegations of the two countries.
India has long worried about its citizens’ problems getting US visas, notably tech workers. At the end of April, the Labour Department reported over 10 million US job openings.
Some H-1B visa holders in the United States were among the tens of thousands of tech employees laid off this year, forcing them to find new jobs within a 60-day “grace period” or return to their home country.
To circumvent congressional opposition to immigration reform, the Biden administration has spent months strengthening Indian visa availability.
After the March 2020 Covivirus-19 pandemic halted visa processing globally, US immigration authorities are still catching up. Some families have been separated for extended periods due to visa congestion. And some have lamented their situation on social media.
