US House of Representatives passes bill for greater defence ties with India

The US House of Representatives has passed amendments to the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA)-2017 to enhance the country’s defence cooperation with India.
The bill seeks to bring India at par with US’s NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) allies for technology and equipment sale.
Key facts

• It also seeks to open a special office in the Pentagon dedicated exclusively to the US-India Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).
• Once it gets assent of President, these provisions will liberalise the sale of a wide range of defence technologies to India, bypassing legislative approvals.
• It also seeks to promote greater defence trade and encourage additional military cooperation between the India-US.
• A similar kind of bill named US-India Defence Technology and Partnership Act is under the consideration in the US Senate as well.
• It seeks to promote greater defence trade and encourage additional military cooperation between the United States and India.

US-India Defence Relations
Defence trade between the US and India is one of the strongest areas of the bilateral economic relationship. Over the past 10 years it has risen from $300 million to over $14 billion.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2016