UK and US are playing balls with India, with its growing economic power, with former celebrating the UK-India Year of Culture 2017 widely in Britain and latter sending a group of Congressmen to negotiate the H1B visa with the Indian authority. Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and other Members of the Royal Family, will host a reception to mark the launch of the UK-India Year of Culture 2017 on Monday, 27 February at the Buckingham Palace. The reception will also be attended by India's Finance Minister, Hon'ble Arun Jaitley.
On the other hand a high powered delegation of the members of the US Congress has commenced its visit to India to better understand the functioning of its economy. As the world views the controversial Trump Presidency skeptically, New Delhi has looked forward to cement ties with the United States and in a bid to sensitise the administration to various concerns, prominently the immigration ban, India has welcomed two delegations of US lawmakers this month. An official familiar with the development said "it will afford an opportunity for an exchange of views on economic and security related issues."
The visit of the delegations comprising 27 lawmakers is the first ever since the change of power in the States. The visit is welcomed as India is hoping for a bilateral meet between PM Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump in possibly May or June in the US. The first delegation of 19 US lawmakers landed in New Delhi and are scheduled to forward to Hyderabad- trip bankrolled by Washington-based think tank Aspen Institute. This was coincided by the second delegation comprising eight US Congressmen led by chairman of the US House Judiciary Committee, Bob Goodlatte. Both the delegations will commence their visit in New Delhi, with the second proceeding to India's home of outsourcing companies, Bengaluru.
Both the groups are also slated to meet with senior government ministers, Indian lawmakers, and industry representatives. While the 'bromance' between Modi and former US president Barack Obama is widely known, the Indian PM's communication with Trump has been limited to the telephone. With the general warmth between both the countries is visibly gone, India's contacts with the new administration has so far included telephone conversations between US defence secretary James Mattis and Indian defence minister Manohar Parrikar, and between Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj.
In the first 45-minute long meeting between Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the eight-member US delegation, several issues were discussed, including the purpose of restrictions on the H1B visa programme and intellectual property rights (IPRs). India raised its concerns regarding the visa restrictions, and its adverse bearing on the Indian IT industry, while the US flagged the IPR and copyright related matters. The delegation is also scheduled to meet IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. The proposed overhaul of the H1B visas regime by Trump has raised several eyebrows, especially affecting Indian IT firms, as even the slightest of changes may cause higher operational costs and shortage of skilled workers for the $110-billion Indian outsourcing industry.
The controversial delegation called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he contended for greater people-to-people contact. A press release issued by the PMO said, "Prime Minister referred to the role of skilled Indian talent in enriching the American economy and society. He called for developing a reflective, balanced and far-sighted perspective on movement of skilled professionals."
While welcoming the Congressional representatives, Modi said that it "augurs a good start to bilateral exchanges following the new US administration and Congress."
