Indo-US chamber eyes $500 billion trade

Union home minister Rajnath Singh shakes hands with Lalit Kanodia, the national president of IACC, during the inauguration of the two-day national conclave of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce in Hyderabad on Friday as Telangana and AP governor E.S.L. Narsimhan and US consul-general Michael Mullions look on. (Photo: Asian Age)

A synergy between Indian and US companies in sectors like aerospace and defence, infrastructure and logistics, financial and insurance, manufacturing, pharma and healthcare is key to boost Indo-US trade to $500 billion, says Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC).

IACC national president Lalit Kanodia said that this partnership would be a win-win situation for both countries. While IACC would act as the catalyst, he said global consultancy KPMG will lay the road-map to realise the goal of $500 billion bilateral trade.

The Indo-US bilateral trade was a mere $18 billion in 2002, but it jumped more than five times to reach $100 billion in 13 years in 2015.

In its report, KPMG observed that there are impediments which could derail or prolong the journey of economic success of India. These include challenging taxation and regulatory policies, slow pace of infrastructure development and issues in the states.

AP and TS Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, who took part in the inaugural session, stated that both the Telugu states offer better prospects for investment.