US, Indian companies driving technological innovation to new heights: US Consul General Chennai Judith Ravin

Chennai, Nov 16: Good afternoon. I am thrilled to be here in person to inaugurate the India-U.S. Tech Conclave curated by the exceptional U. S.-India Business Council team. Thank you, USIBC Managing Director Ambika Sharma, for inviting me to be a part of today's event. My sincere gratitude to the Bengaluru Tech Summit organizers in addition to the Government of Karnataka's Department of Electronics, Information Technology, Biotechnology, and Science and Technology as well as Minister Dr. Ashwathnarayan. And thank you, Software Technology Park of India.

This will be the third time I am giving remarks at the Bengaluru Tech Summit but the first time I have the pleasure of speaking to you in person. While the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the lives and livelihoods of billions of people around the world, human ingenuity and innovative technologies helped us both fight the spread of COVID-19 and equip ourselves with new ways to collaborate and conduct business with our global partners.

In addition to my team from Chennai and the U.S. Commercial Service Office here in Bengaluru, I am also joined by interagency colleagues from the U.S. Embassy's Trade and Technology Unit, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Health and Human Services, and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The strength of our delegation reflects the importance the U.S. government places on this gathering and on economic partnerships with India in a wide range of science and technology fields. I encourage you to take the opportunity to engage with my U.S. government colleagues at the U.S. Mission India booth in the exhibition hall.

As you likely know, the United States is India's largest trading partner, with $160 billion in bilateral trade in 2021. When it comes to foreign direct investment, the United States is India's largest investor, with a wide range of companies injecting tens of billions of dollars into the Indian economy, including through technology firms like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, and Intel, among many others. There are more than 650 U.S. companies represented here in Bengaluru alone, most of which are leaders in the tech sector. As we celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week, I want to recognize the entrepreneurial spirit that bonds our two nations' private sectors and fuels technological advancements in both countries. The commercial ties between our two nations are mutually beneficial.

India has recently overcome the United Kingdom to become the world's fifth largest economy. As India's economy continues to expand, the opportunities to further strengthen our bilateral relationship, particularly in the fields of science and technology for both public and private sector entities, are vast. In countless ways our economies are intertwined. Clearly, U.S. and Indian companies are driving technological innovation to new heights by continuing to work seamlessly together.

This year the U.S. government has taken steps to advance our bilateral relationship with India in the fields of science and technology. In August, U.S. National Science Foundation Director Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan visited India, including Bengaluru, to promote joint U.S.-India research projects involving principal investigators from both nations for collaborative research that can accelerate the development of new technologies, tools, and systems for mutual societal and economic benefit. Dr. Panchanathan also announced the selection of U.S. supplemental funding awards totaling $2.8 million for research projects focusing on areas like artificial intelligence, data science, and edge computing.

Just a few months prior to that in May, Associate Administrator of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen met with his counterparts in the Indian Space Research Organization as the two space agencies work to develop one of the most sophisticated and advanced synthetic aperture radars ever designed. The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar or NISAR, one of NASA's largest bilateral projects to date at a cost of $1.5 billion, will help the world better understand natural resources and hazards, as well as provide information for scientists to better comprehend the effects and pace of climate change. NASA and ISRO continue to examine new avenues of collaboration in the fields of science and technology.

Also in May, during a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, our two nations announced the launch of a United States-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies, spearheaded by the National Security Councils of the two countries to expand partnerships in the development of critical and emerging technologies. We also agreed to join six of India's Technology Innovation Hubs to support at least 25 joint research projects in areas such as artificial intelligence and data science to advance progress in applications in agriculture, health, and climate.

The list goes on and on. The bottom line is that our two nations are collaborative partners in a wide range of fields in information technology, artificial intelligence, space, and climate change mitigation, to name just a few. As U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated during the recent visit by External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, "we see more room to grow, and to do it in a way that creates jobs for workers in both of our countries. The U.S.-India Commercial Dialogue, the U.S.-India CEO Forum will give us more opportunities to do that in the months ahead."

Once again, thank you for this opportunity to underscore the integral ties between our two nations' economies and how our collaborative relationship drives innovation and inspires solutions here in India, in the United States, and across the globe. Thank you.