US-India Strategic Partnership Forum

04/28/2026

USISPF hosted a dialogue at our New Delhi office on tax certainty and dispute resolution, a key issue for India’s Global Capability Centre (GCC) ecosystem.

We were honoured to welcome Shri Bhaskar Goswami, Joint Secretary (FT&TR-II), Indian Ministry of Finance, as our keynote speaker. His remarks offered a timely and forward-looking perspective on India’s evolving APA and Safe Harbour frameworks, as well as the Government’s clear commitment to creating a stable, predictable tax environment for compliant GCCs.

Key takeaways from the discussion:

✅ India’s APA program has been a meaningful driver of investor confidence
✅ Rationalized Safe Harbour thresholds are making the regime more relevant and accessible
✅ Recent Union Budget announcements signal a decisive shift toward transfer pricing simplification and reduced litigation
✅ Compliant GCCs deserve, and are being offered, a stable, predictable operating environment.

Thomas Bettge of KPMG US(Washington National Tax) added global context on “insignificant risk” structuring for GCCs, grounding the India conversation in international best practices.

A special thanks to our knowledge partner KPMG India, and to Naveen Aggarwal and his team for anchoring the dialogue through the USISPF Global Capability Center (GCC) Working Group.

Shreeya Kashyap, Prabhat Agrawal, Rishi Harlalka, Nikit Popli

04/28/2026

USISPF was proud to partner with UC San Diego for the Inaugural US-India Forum on the UC San Diego campus in La Jolla, California.

USISPF Chairman John Chambers and USISPF President and CEO. Dr Mukesh Aghi spoke on panels and fireside chats on the extensive relationship between the United States and India, and enhancing collaboration across critical and emerging technology, commercial collaboration, and academic ties.

The two-day Summit also featured a number of USISPF Members, including Anvita Karara, VP, Bristol Myers Squibb, who touched on the implementation of AI and its impact for healthcare providers and patients.

The Summit also included Keynote remarks by Mr. Milind Deora, Member of Rajya Sabha and member of USISPF's India Executive Leadership Board.

Other USISPF Members included Board Members in Ambassador. Richard Verma, Chief Administrative Officer at Mastercard; Global Board Advisor, Ambassador Tim Roemer from APCO; Ajit Manocha , President and CEO, SEMI, Tushar N Shah, Chief Product Officer, Uniphore; Akanksha Gupta, Senior Corporate Counsel, Google; and Dr. Vinesh Sukumar, Vice President, Qualcomm.

Thank you to our hosts at UC San Diego - Chancellor Pradeep Khosla, Prabal Gupta, Lisa Patel, Ph.D.

Abhinav Dixit

04/23/2026

04/23/2026

Our third panel at the U.S.-India Economic Forum convened leading voices to explore how AI is transforming the financial services landscape.

Grateful for insights from William Guidera, Acting Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce, Dennis Gada, EVP & Global Head of Financial Services, Infosys, and moderated by R. Jesse McWaters, Head of Global Policy, Mastercard.

04/23/2026

On the sidelines of The World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund spring meetings, USISPF convened the second edition of the US-India Economic Forum.

In a fireside chat between Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets at The White House, and Faryar Shirzad, Chief Policy Officer at Coinbase, they helped unpack the regulatory trajectory shaping digital assets in the United States and beyond.

Mr. Witts offered a compelling and forward-looking lens on the evolving digital asset ecosystem and its policy implications.

The discussion highlighted the critical intersection of innovation, market integrity, and national competitiveness, thus underscoring how policymaking can unlock responsible growth in the digital economy.

This accentuates the importance of global coordination, particularly between the U.S. and India, in setting standards that foster trust, transparency, and long-term resilience in this evolving sector.

04/17/2026

USISPF convened a roundtable with Joakim Weidemanis, Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Controls and Member of the Board of Directors at USISPF.

The high-level industry interaction with our members touched on various aspects of the U.S.–India commercial partnership.

The discussion highlighted India’s emergence as a resilient supply chain alternative, momentum in bilateral trade engagement, and opportunities for global companies amid a strong economic outlook. Industry leaders also examined structural strengths, from digital infrastructure to a skilled workforce, while addressing persistent bottlenecks around regulation and infrastructure.

The meeting allowed for in-depth discussion on deepening commercial ties and advancing long-term investment collaboration between the United States and India.

04/17/2026

USISPF, in partnership with Jenner & Block, hosted an intimate, closed-door leadership dinner in Chicago focused on the U.S.–India partnership.

The evening brought together senior leaders across industry and policy for a candid discussion on the U.S.–India relationship, the importance of sustained bipartisan support, and the opportunities ahead across trade, investment, and broader economic and strategic collaboration.

We were honored to be joined by Consul General Somnath Ghosh, alongside Dr. Mukesh Aghi, President & CEO, USISPF; Dr. Leslie Vinjamuri, President & CEO, Chicago Council on Global Affairs; and Ishan Bhabha, Co-Managing Partner and Shoba Pillay, Partner at Jenner & Block, who led insightful discussions on the geopolitics, business opportunities and strengthening the ties between the two countries especially through the lens of Chicago and the Midwest.

We were delighted to hear from senior leaders at Accenture, Ingredion Incorporated, Invenergy, Cushman & Wakefield, Nalco Water, An Ecolab Company, University of Chicago, Great Lakes Global Partners TCCI Manufacturing and Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity who shared perspectives on their organizations’ deepening engagement with India and the opportunities ahead.

We thank all participants for their insights and look forward to continuing this engagement.

Gaurav Verma Shoba Pillay Andrew J.P. Levy Paul Zwijack Shashank Sane Arpita Srivastava Vishal Kochar Margo Markopoulos Kara Demirjian Huss Adam Hitchcock Samir Mayekar Nate Baguio Claire Shirey Ankit Jain

04/17/2026

USISPF led a member delegation visit to the JNPA- Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA)- India’s premier container port.

The site visit served as a firsthand understanding of the scale, efficiency, future vision, and opportunities for partnership with industries, with one of the country’s most important trade gateways.

The visit highlighted JNPA’s digital transformation, sustainability efforts, logistics efficiency, and expanding opportunities for trade, manufacturing, and exports. Especially, underscoring the importance of stronger industry-government collaboration to further enhance India’s trade ecosystem.

The day included a site visit to the JNPT Landing Jetty and the Centralized Parking Plaza, followed by a detailed interaction with Shri. Gaurav Dayal, Chairman, JNPA, along with Shri Ravish Kumar Singh, IRTS, Deputy Chairperson, Smt. Manisha Jadhav, General Manager (Admin) & Secretary; Smt. Rajashree K. Dabke, General Manager (Finance); Capt. Balasaheb V. Pawar, Deputy. Conservator (Marine) and other senior JNPA officials.

The delegation also met with Shri Niteen M. Borwankar, CEO-SEZ, CEO, JNPA SEZ, gaining insights into the zone’s strong growth trajectory, investor-friendly ecosystem, plug-and-play infrastructure, and strategic location advantages.

Rajendra Salve, Chairman, DIVVYA CPP Pvt Ltd, Nhava Sheva
Siddhath Ghosal from Dow, Arun Khera from ADM, Ashish Vaidya
from Amway, Preethi Rao from Autodesk India, Shabdagandha Kulkarni from Cargill, Shailendra Pujari and Prashant Singh from Cisco Systems (India) Private Limited, Bangalore, Manoranjan K. from Cognizant Technology Solutions, Gopal Bhatt from CORNING TECHNOLOGIES INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, Anshuman Saikia from Deloitte, Ashwin Bothra from Essar Group India, Bindhu PV from FedEx, Avinash Jain from Honeywell, Shagun Kumari and Dipaljeet Chhabda from Procter & Gamble, Dnyanraj Desai from Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.

Surabhi Wahal and Prabhat Agrawal from USISPF

04/17/2026

USISPF held a virtual briefing for members on the Iran crisis and the implications for India’s energy outlook. With India’s crude basket now near $100 per barrel, disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz affect a large share of crude and LPG imports.

The session aimed to bring clarity on what this means for businesses and the broader Indian market.

Dr. Atul Arya, Senior Vice President and Chief Energy Strategist, Global, and Gauri J., Executive Director, Energy Transition and Clean Tech, S&P Global, briefed our members in a conversation moderated by Nolty Theriot, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, USISPF.

04/16/2026

USISPF was delighted to host the second edition of the US-India Economic Forum.

We were honored to be joined by Dr. V Anantha Nageswaran, the Chief Economic Advisor (CEA), Government of India; William Giddera, Acting Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce; Dr. Dr. Urjit R. Patel, former RBI Governor and Executive Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF); Patrick Witt, Executive Director, President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, at The White House, and officials from The World Bank Group Bank and International Monetary Fund, our members, the media, think tank scholars and friends of USISPF.

Together, our distinguished guests and speakers from multilateral institutes, government, and the private sector explored the macroeconomic headwinds in these tough geopolitical times as the crisis in West Asia continues to give a lot of pause.

India remains a bright economic spot as war clouds rage on. The IMF has raised the fourth-largest economy's FY27 growth forecast to 6.5%, as global growth was cut to 3.1% for 2026, given the West Asia conflict, rising inflation, and escalating energy prices.

Beyond the macroeconomics, our panels and speakers dove into core issues in India’s financial sector.

We thank the generosity of Visa, Mastercard, Coinbase, and Infosys for helping bring this event together. Our gratitude to sponsors and speakers Robert Thomson, SVP & Global Head of Government Affairs, Visa; Faryar Shirzad, Chief Policy Officer, Coinbase; R. Jesse McWaters, Head of Global Policy, Mastercard; Dennis Gada Head of Financial Services, Infosys; Dante A. Disparte, Chief Strategy Officer, Circle; Kim Eng Tan, Managing Director, Sovereign Ratings (Asia-Pacific), S&P Global Ratings; Harald Finger, India Mission Chief, International Monetary Fund.

We look forward to bringing together an eclectic roster of experts for the next edition of the US-India Economic Forum in 2027.

04/13/2026

USISPF successfully convened its Insurance Trade Mission across Hyderabad and New Delhi, bringing together distinguished members for high-level engagements to advance collaboration in India’s insurance sector.

In Hyderabad, the delegation engaged with Shri Ajay Seth, Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), and held a productive discussion with Shri K. Ramakrishna Rao, Chief Secretary, Government of Telangana, alongside a cross-sectoral group of industry representatives.

The discussions provided valuable insights into the state’s evolving regulatory priorities and investment landscape, highlighting opportunities to strengthen ease of doing business, deepen public-private collaboration, and unlock growth across sectors, including advancing financial inclusion and expanding insurance pe*******on. The engagements concluded with a reception hosted by Ms. Laura Williams, Consul General of the United States in Hyderabad.

The New Delhi leg commenced with a visit to Rashtrapati Bhavan. This was followed by an intelligentsia briefing by the USISPF Advisors Committee, offering deep insights into India’s insurance landscape. The delegation also held productive interactions with U.S. Embassy India officials, including Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs Amy Schedlbauer; Treasury Financial Attaché Larita Bolden; Political Officer Michelle Elms; Shri Sanjeet Singh, Senior Advisor at NITI Aayog, and Shri Stephen Mani, Director (Americas), Ministry of External Affairs, India Affairs, along with other senior officials.

Further engagements included meetings with Shri Baijayant “Jay Panda, Honorable Member of Parliament; Dr. Shamika Ravi, Member, Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC); and a concluding interaction with Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab, Honorable Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, along with esteemed members of the Committee.

The mission provided a valuable platform for industry and government stakeholders to exchange perspectives, strengthen institutional linkages, and deepen U.S.-India cooperation in the insurance and broader financial services sector.