Obama, India Inc interaction to be one between equals

MUMBAI: When US President Barack Obama and the business delegation accompanying him interact with captains of Indian industry here tomorrow, a key differentiator from the past would be that it will be a meeting between equals.

In a short span of two decades since the country's economy opened up, Indian businesses have come a long way, using the very hallmarks of American capitalism--free trade and innovation--to grow into multi-billion dollar corporations with global footprint.

Industry body FICCI's President, Rajan Bharti Mittal, cited some numbers to prove this point. In the last 10-years, American companies have invested USD 11 billion here while the in the last four-years alone, including the two years of global financial meltdown, Indian companies have invested USD 5 billion in the US, he said.

"This is what makes this visit very different," Mittal, also the Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, told PTI.

Indo-US bilateral trade is expected to touch USD 50 billion this year and is not excessively tilted in favour of either.

Domestic job creation through trade partnerships will be high on Obama's agenda, who is expected to be accompanied by India-born chief of PepsiCo Indira Nooyi and 250 other industrialists.

The entourage will meet over 350 Indian corporate honchos, including Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani, Anand Mahindra, Deepak Parekh, Adi Godrej and Chanda Kochhar at a summit jointly organised by the FICCI in Mumbai's Hotel Trident on Saturday.