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U.S. Tells India To Resolve Land Acquisition, FDI Issues To Set Up Smart Cities
"So we are looking for a negotiated outcome that yields the same minimum standards of protection for both Indian and US investors," he said.
He also said that the US is formalising the involvement of Commerce Secretary of the US and India?s Commerce Minister in a newly reconstituted Strategic and Commercial Dialogue.
"We expect the inaugural meeting of the expanded dialogue to take place in Washington this summer and are focused on reconstituting the US side of the CEO Forum in support of the dialogue," Verma said.
On smart cities, he said as India grows, its need would also increase not just in infrastructure, but also in health, education, energy, and other areas.
Some experts estimate that India will need infrastructure improvements of USD 1.5?2 trillion over the next 10?15 years. Some demographers predict India will grow to a population of 1.8 billion by 2050.
He said the US government and industry can play a leading role in helping India manage this unprecedented growth.
"That is why we recently concluded an agreement establishing an Infrastructure Collaboration Platform to formalise cooperation between multiple agencies of our two governments. This platform can support US and Indian companies to work together on a range of infrastructure projects all over India," Verma said.
America is aware of the challenges about developing these cities, but "we?re also focused on what we can and should do now", he said.
"One thing we are able to do now is to meet with our Indian counterparts to start to define the contours of what they expect and what we can do, and vice versa," he added.
He informed that USAID is working on a 'Smart Energy Cities' initiative that consists of a series of pilot projects showcasing the policies, technologies, and business models needed to turn clean energy into a commercial opportunity.
The business and development approaches that these programmes might prove should spur additional investment opportunities, he said, adding that both the nations also recently agreed to expand the highly successful US-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy.
The expansion includes support for turning Vizag, Ajmer, and Allahabad not only into Smart Cities, but into Smart Energy Cities, he said.
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