Events: President Obama's visit to India

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* Joint Statement by President Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

*USINPAC welcomes President Obama's endorsement of India for the permanent membership of the UNSC

Sanjay Puri, USINPAC Chairman said, "We are very happy to see President Obama endorse India's inclusion as a permanent member of the UNSC. It is an important step in the bilateral relationship. However, the first step would be introducing reforms to the Security Council, which might take a long time. We hope that with the U.S. endorsement for India, the UNSC reforms can be initiated soon."

* President Obama's remarks at the State Dinner hosted by India's President Pratibha Patil

*President Obama addresses the Joint Session of the Indian Parliament

In addressing the joint session of the Indian Parliament, President Obama said that those behind the terrorist attacks in Mumbai must be brought to justice. He said that safe havens for terrorists in Pakistan are unacceptable. President Obama also supported India's bid for the permanent membership of United Nation's Security Council in an expanded UNSC. He talked about increased cooperation in the fields of space, defense, trade, clean energy etc. President Obama discussed increasing India's engagement with East Asia and India taking up more responsibility and speaking up against injustices committed by other regimes in the region.

* Agreements signed between U.S. and India

1. Agreement to set up a Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Centre to be backed by $ 50 million on both sides over five years. It will conduct joint research in solar energy, biofuels and energy efficiency.
2. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership. The U.S. will work with India to promote nuclear security and address threats of nuclear terrorism.
3. MOU to establish an India-U.S. Energy Cooperation Program. It will mobilize private sector expertise and resources to address clean energy-related issues in India and the U.S. 
4. Agreement on technical cooperation to study India's annual monsoon rains and weather forecasting for the same. 
5. MOU between India and the U.S. to utilize U.S. technology to assess shale gas resources in India.
6. MOU on establishing and operating a Global Disease Detection Centre in India. A laboratory designed to prevent the spread of infectious diseases will be set up in New Delhi. 
7. SpiceJet will buy 30 B737 planes from U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing at a cost of $2.7 billion. 
8. Reliance Power and General Electric signed a $750 million deal for gas turbines for expansion of Reliance's 2,400-MW Samalkot Power Plant in Andhra Pradesh.
9. The Import Bank of the United States approved more than $900 million in export finance guarantees to Sasan Power Ltd., a subsidiary of Reliance Power Ltd. This would support the sale of U.S. mining equipment and services from Bucyrus International and other U.S. vendors, in association with the 3,960-megawatt coal-fired Sasan power plant in Madhya Pradesh, India. It is estimated to support about 3,460 jobs.
10. Bell Helicopter will sell Span Air, a private air charter company, its first Bell Model 429 corporate VIP helicopter in India.
11. Implant Sciences will suppy the Ministry of Defence its Quantum Sniffer H-150, trace detection devices for the use of the Indian Army to detect the presence of explosive, bomb-making materials that could be used in a terrorist attack. The deal is worth about $6 million and could generate 30 jobs.
12. Advanced Materials Corporation (AMC) will supply a specially-designed Pressure-Composition Isotherm Measurement Instrument to the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, India. BHU will utilize AMC's instrument to test fuel cell applications, as part of an Indian central government research program.
13. Intuit, a company based in California, will launch a new mobile and web-based marketing service in partnership with Nokia, called "Intuit GoConnect".
14. Spancrete Machinery Corporation will sell six sets of its hollow core, precast production equipment, including installation, training, and after-sales support, to Hindustan Prefab Limited, Inida. The deal is worth about $35 million and could generate 30 jobs.
15. SPX Communication Technology is in the final phase of the pilot deployment of its long-range antenna system with two leading Indian mobile operators that would help imprve coverage area. It is valued at approximately $1 million and could support 5 jobs.
16. Palantir Technologies entered into a strategic partnership agreement with the Maharashtra State Police to use their end-to-end analytical software to identify and alert authorities of security threats in the state. 
17. Robbins Company signed an agreement with UNITY-IVRCL, an infrastructure engineering and construction conglomerate, to provide tunnel-boring machines, conveyer equipment and other technical services for the construction of tunnels to convey water for the city of Mumbai. The deal is worth about $10 million and will support around 35 jobs.

*Joint Press Conference by President Obama and PM Manmohan Singh

A joint press conference was held at the end of delegation level talks between the U.S. and India Monday afternoon. The two leaders said that they had agreed to work as equal partners, and had worked out deals and agreements in the fields of trade, defense, education, homeland security and counter-terrorism etc. President Obama said that the U.S. could not impose a solution in Kashmir and hoped that India and Pakistan would hold dialogues to resolve issues. PM Singh said that India was open to dialogue on all outstanding issues given that Pakistan acts on terror emanating from its territory first. PM Singh expressed happiness at the decision to remove India from the entities list. 

* Visit to the Humayun Tomb in New Delhi

* Interaction with university students at St Xavier's College

President Obama interacted with students at the St Xavier's College in a town hall style meeting Sunday afternoon. He answered questions about U.S. alliance with Pakistan, Afghanistan, imbibing Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King's ideals into everyday life, impact of the Republican victory in the midterm elections on India related policies etc. Michelle Obama also addressed the students at the start of the meeting.

* Obama video-conferences with farmers in Ajmer

* Obamas celebrate Diwali with students in Mumbai

President Obama celebrated Diwali with the students of Holy Name High School, Mumbai on Sunday morning. He lighted the Diwali diya and enjoyed Bharatnatyam and Koli dance performances by the students. The Obamas also joined them on the dance floor. He was later presented project on energy and environment by the students.

* Deals between U.S. and India announced

President Obama announced several deals with India worth $10 billion that would also bring in about 50000 jobs to the U.S.The commercial deals include the purchase of 33 737s from Boeing for SpiceJet Airlines at the cost of $2.7 billion, and power equipments for 2400MW plants by Reliance Power from GE worth $750 million. The Indian Air Force will also buy 10 C17s from Boeing.   

* White House Briefing on visit to India

* Press Briefing by India's Foreign Secretary about Obama's visit

President Barack Obama will be on his first tour of India from Nov 5-9, 2010 coinciding with the Indian festival of Diwali. USINPAC brings you the latest updates and more through comprehensive news, debates and analysis on its website, blogs, Twitter and Facebook. You can participate in our polls and forums, or have discussions with our expert team of bloggers. We also invite you to design your own commemorative merchandise and celebrate the President's visit to India this Diwali.

The upcoming visit is of particular importance on the backdrop of the ongoing anti-India/ anti-immigration rhetoric this elections season. Indian businesses and policy-makers are looking at President Obama to quell fears of potentially protectionist U.S. economic policies adversely impacting the Indian outsourcing and IT businesses in particular. In addition to the economic policy expectation, some of the other strategic issues that could feature prominently during this visit are: