Highlights of India-US Partnership for Innovation Summit

The India-US Partnership and Innovation Summit was held jointly by the Indian Consulate and Northeastern University to highlight the innovations and developments in India that would help to strengthen the Indo-US partnership

On October 14, 2022, the Consulate General of India, in partnership with the Center for Emerging Markets, Northeastern University (NU), Boston, hosted an India-US Partnership for Innovation Summit. The summit celebrated 75 years of India’s independence—Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. Leading business leaders, think tank members, scholars, researchers, and students were all part of the event.

The Indian Ambassador to the United States, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, joined the inauguration through video conferencing and also addressed how high-value and cost-effective innovations in India were bringing value to the India-US relationship, especially in the fields of pharma, healthcare, clean energy, start-ups, digital education, and other bilateral engagement sectors. He also underlined the importance for the global community to adopt Mission LIFE or lifestyle for the environment, promoted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing the gathering, India’s Minister of Health & Family Welfare, and Chemicals and Fertilizers of India, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, focused on recent developments in the India-US health sector, particularly the close collaborations in vaccine development. Minister Mandaviya also noted that India had completed vaccinations for over 95 per cent of its adult population, distributing 2.19 billion doses and supplying COVID vaccines to over 100 countries.

Former Minister of Civil Aviation, Railways, Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu also addressed the gathering and mentioned the innovative steps taken by India in providing better services to rail passengers.

Director General of the National Center for Good Governance and leader of the Jal Jeevan Mission (clean drinking water mission), Bharat Lal, highlighted the mission’s success in India, stating that the households with clean tap water connections in India had raiders from 17 per cent in 2019 to 55 per cent in 2022. He also reiterated that the mission would be completed by 2024 and 100 per cent of clean tap water connections would be achieved.

Along with these delegators, Dr Umameaheshwaran, director of the Human Space Flight Center, ISRO, spoke about India’s progress in the space sector and achieved the most cost-effectively. Chairman and CEO of New Power, Sumant Sinha, detailed the progress in India in harnessing renewable energy. Phalgun Kompallu, co-founder, UpGrad, mentioned the digital education growth and the value companies like his bring to the US higher education sector. Deepak Bagla, MD and CEO of Invest India, highlighted India as the most preferred destination for investment.

In addition, Pamela Reeve, chair of the board at American Tower Corporation, a Boston-based global company, briefed on the company’s journey in India, where it owns more than 75,000 telecommunication towers and how the digital India programme is transforming people’s lives in the country.

IDEA Advisory Board, NU, member Krish Nangegadda gave a presentation on the start-up collaboration between GITAM University in India and NU. Randhir Jaiswal, Consul General of India in New York, showcased India’s achievements in the recent past and underlined the significance of the Indo-US partnership for the future. Moreover, the Center for Emerging Markets Director, NU, Ravi Ramamurthy, elaborated on how innovations in India could be most relevant for countries like the United States.