OBAMA BEGINS HIS “BUSINESS TOUR” TO INDIA

After his ‘shellacking’ in the mid-  term polls, Barack Obama could boast of some good business deals in India. India Inc seems to be buying into President Obama’s ‘win-win’ mantra.

Obama yesterday announced that “several landmark” deals worth $10 billion (nearly Rs. 44,000 crore) have been reached between the two countries for creating about 50,000 jobs in the US.

“Boeing is going to sell dozens of planes to India and GE is going to sell hundreds of electric engines. The deals are worth USD 10 billion and will create more than 50,000 jobs in the US,” President Obama said.

Among the deals, SpiceJet has purchased thirty 737-800 aircraft with a total cost of $2.8 billion from Boeing and the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group purchased power equipment for 2,400 MW plants from GE for $2 billion.

Obama’s visit is against the backdrop of electoral reverses on top of economic difficulties, including a high unemployment percentage, 9.6 percent in October.

The US accounts for about 60 per cent of India’s about $60 billion IT and IT-enabled services exports. But the reality, President Obama said, was that jobs were being created in both the countries and said India was emerging as one of the fastest markets in the world with one of the largest workforce.

India-US trade stood at US $36.5 billion in 2009-10 fiscal and the two countries aim to double trade in the next five years. Describing India, which receives about 8 per cent of its total foreign direct investment from the US, as a defining and indispensable partner of the 21st century, President Obama asked India to reduce trade barriers, while committing to reciprocate. He is looking forward to a steady reduction in barriers to trade and foreign investments from agriculture to infrastructure, from retail to telecom.