Post Obama visit, Americans looking forward to exploring India

Washington, Nov 15 (ANI): US President Barack Obama's recent visit to India seems to have been an aye opener for many Americans who believe that they should explore that country, especially as far as business and education is concerned.

Nathan Sigworth is one such American who launched his company in New Delhi to help consumers detect counterfeit medicine, and has recently inked deals with Indian drugmakers to use his service on 50 million packages of pills a year.

"When I first moved to India I thought, 'Gosh, here I am surrounded by people who are doing algebra in elementary school.... With all these smart people, how can I even compete?" The Christian Science Monitor quoted Sigworth, cofounder and CEO of PharmaSecure, as saying. On coming here, he discovered that American education and American cultural heritage "prepare us so well for working in the world, for being pioneers."

On President Obama's November 4-14 trip to Asia, he encouraged more trade with India as a way to add jobs in the US, but enterprising Americans like Sigworth are not waiting for jobs to come to America. "I would say, 'Go east, young man. I think sometimes people in the US don't realize what they bring to the table if they go outside of their country."

India's economy is projected to grow by 8.5 percent this fiscal year, and last year mostly dodged the slump that hit the US and Europe.

Trade between India and the US is expected to reach 50 billion dollars this year. Last year, the US exported almost as much to India (16.4 billion dollars) as it imported (21.2 billion dollars). A study by the India-US World Affairs Institute linked those American exports to 96,000 US jobs, the paper said.

"Many American companies still don't think of India as a serious market. When I tell people that India has a trillion-dollar economy, many are shocked," says Gunjan Bagla, principal of Amritt Ventures, a California company that advises companies on how to do business in India, said.

"I'm hopeful that Obama's visit will change that," she added. (ANI)