US business honchos keen to hear Prime Minister Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI: Mcgraw Hill Financial chairman Harold Mcgraw, PepsiCo chairperson Indra Nooyi and MasterCard president Ajay Banga will be among several US business honchos accompanying US President Barack Obama who arrives in India next Sunday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Obama will address the US corporate heads in back-to-back meetings next week.

The initial meeting will be that of the recently reconstituted India-US CEO Forum. Honeywell chairman David Cote will co-chair the meeting with his Tata Sons counterpart Cyrus Mistry. Smart cities, joint defence production, manufacturing in India and infrastructure will be key subjects that would be discussed, according to a source. The focus will be on specific suggestions on increasing bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2020.

Later, Modi and Obama will interact with the business honchos as part of the US - India Business Council meeting. Sources said American business heads are keen on hearing Modi’s views on tax structure, land acquisition and rules and regulations for doing businesses in India, besides prospective big ticket reforms. They are likely to seek clarity over successfully implementing ‘Make in India’.

Retrospective taxes and intellectual property rights over drugs are also likely to figure in the talks.

During Modi’s September visit to the US, both countries had decided on American support for smart cities in Ajmer, Vishakapatnam and Allahabad. Cisco, IBM, Lockheed Martin and Dell that have expertise in smart city projects are keen on partnering India. Four India-US working groups already in place on agriculture, IPR, manufacturing and services are also expected to receive focus during Obama’s visit.

Some investments by American firms could be announced in the aviation and manufacturing sectors, according to the source.