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S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 07 NEW DELHI 001812 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/31/2019 
TAGS: OVIP LEW PREL EAGR EAID IN
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR DEPUTY SECRETARY LEW'S VISIT TO 
INDIA 
 
REF: SECTO 00008 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer for Reasons 1.4 (B,D) 
 
¶1. (SBU) Mission India warmly welcomes you to New Delhi. 
This is an opportune moment as we seek a truly global 
partnership with India and build upon the Secretary's highly 
successful July visit (Ref).  Secretary Clinton and her 
counterpart, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, formally 
launched the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue, which broadens 
and deepens our partnership in addressing key global 
challenges.  The Dialogue has a five pillar foundation: 
Strategic Cooperation; Energy and Climate Change; Education 
and Development; Economics, Trade, and Agriculture; and 
Science, Technology, Health, and Innovation.  Our success in 
accelerating the Strategic Dialogue in the run up to Prime 
Minister Singh's November official state visit will depend on 
working closely with our Indian counterparts as we focus on 
the most productive areas for cooperation.  We would also 
like to highlight where the Mission could use greater 
resources to implement effectively this top foreign policy 
priority for the Obama Administration. 
 
Forward-Looking and Ready for the World Stage 
---------- 
 
¶2. (C) The strong performance by the Congress Party and its 
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) allies in India's national 
elections in April provided the Congress Party with a mandate 
to govern, after years of battling communists and regional 
coalition "partners" over both domestic and foreign policy 
issues, including a closer relationship with the United 
States.  With the return to the Cabinet of key players such 
as Pranab Mukherjee as Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram as 
Home Minister, and A.K. Antony as Defense Minister and the 
addition of U.S.-friendly External Affairs Minister Krishna, 
we anticipate stability in our bilateral relationship and a 
continuation of the positive, if sometimes bumpy, trajectory 
that has marked our ties for the past decade.  The UPA 
government's task, whether on foreign policy or on domestic 
issues, is made easier by the steady meltdown of the 
Bharatiya Janata Party, which has become victim of publicly 
played out bloodletting and vicious factionalism after its 
trouncing in the polls. 
 
Aspirations and Roadblocks 
---------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) India is a regional power that aspires to become a 
global player.  The ambition at the top echelons of the 
government is readily apparent, as India vigorously pursues 
its number one foreign policy goal -- a permanent UN Security 
Council seat.  India uses its voice in the G-20 and active 
engagement in multilateral fora like the East Asia Summit and 
the Brazil-Russia-India-China Summit to raise its profile. 
Although the Congress Party's victory set the stage for 
bolder moves on its foreign policy agenda, serious challenges 
remain.  India's slow-moving bureaucracy is stove piped and 
suffers from a lack of capacity in every sector.  Many senior 
officials entered government service during the Cold War era 
and still espouse the "non-aligned" rhetoric of the '60s and 
'70s. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The extreme level of domestic poverty also stands in 
stark contrast to India's global ambitions. While India's 
poverty levels have fallen in the past decade as the economy 
has grown, hundreds of millions of Indians continue to 
subsist on less than two U.S. dollars a day.  India is home 
to the third largest number of people living with HIV/AIDS 
and one-fourth of the world's tuberculosis cases.  It is one 
of four nations in which polio still exists.  PM Singh has 
signaled that improved governance and service delivery toward 
poverty reduction are top priorities in his second term. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Despite expectations that the current coalition's 
strong base would allow it to pursue "big bang" economic 
reforms, the more likely approach is gradual reform with a 
close watch at each step on political and social effects of 
policy changes.  Congress Party leaders attribute its strong 
 
NEW DELHI 00001812  002 OF 007 
 
 
showing in the April elections to the close attention it paid 
to the rural sector during the previous government. 
Accordingly, the UPA's July 6 budget proposal focused most 
new spending on a rural employment program and rural 
infrastructure. 
 
Afghanistan-Pakistan 
---------- 
 
¶6. (C) As it seeks to make strategic investments to bolster 
its regional and global goals, India points with pride to its 
ongoing "development partnership" with post-Taliban 
Afghanistan that began in late 2001.  The GOI claims that the 
sum of its performed and pledged assistance to date totals 
USD 1.2 billion.  The bulk of the aid is channeled directly 
through the Afghan government, and includes military and 
police assistance.  We would like to coordinate better with 
India to avoid duplicative, contradictory, and incompatible 
approaches and methods between Indian assistance/training and 
that provided by the USG, NATO, and other international 
partners.  On Pakistan, the view is pessimistic about 
prospects for a near-term thaw in relations; India continues 
to demand that Pakistan match counterterrorism rhetoric with 
deeds.  Domestic political fallout over PM Singh's July 
meeting in Sharm al-Sheikh with Pakistani PM Gilani and a 
widespread perception of Pakistani bad faith in cracking down 
on terror directed at India combine to make resumption of the 
"composite dialogue" difficult for the Singh government, 
though contacts between Indian and Pakistani officials are 
continuing. 
 
U.S.-India 3.0 - Strategic Dialogue Progress 
---------- 
 
¶7. (SBU)  Since the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue launched 
during the Secretary's visit, Mission India has been hard at 
work to identify concrete deliverables for PM Singh's 
official state visit to Washington on November 24.  The 
dialogue's five pillars break down into 18 sub-dialogues, 
which require cooperation across agencies both in India and 
Washington.  We are also considering long-term goals for the 
strategic partnership, which will demand continued 
collaboration and increased resources.  Post predicts the 
most fruitful dialogues in the near-term will be the Defense 
Policy Group, Energy and Climate Change, and Education.  We 
also believe there is tremendous potential when structuring 
the right partnership and demonstrating the scale-up 
trajectory on anti-poverty programs. 
 
Strategic Cooperation Pillar 
---------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) We seek a closer partnership with India on defense, 
counterterrorism, intelligence sharing, homeland and port 
security, and non-proliferation issues.  This pillar covers 
strategic security talks (nonproliferation), the high 
technology cooperation group, the defense policy group, a 
forum on global issues, the joint working group on 
counterterrorism, and an expanded discussion of security 
challenges in South Asia and beyond, including the Middle 
East, Africa, and East Asia. 
 
¶9. (SBU) The strategic security talks represent an 
unprecedented opportunity to engage the Indian Government on 
the full scope of nonproliferation policies and programs.  As 
we work to complete the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, 
Indian officials have signaled a willingness to engage with 
U.S. counterparts on nonproliferation, but are also wary of 
U.S. intentions after decades of estrangement over these 
issues.  We anticipate the first such discussion on a 
comprehensive nonproliferation agenda will take place during 
the hoped-for October visit of Under Secretary Tauscher.  In 
addition to many policy issues on the agenda, we hope to 
promote several programs that will require continued funding, 
including the Export Control and Related Border Security 
Program, the Secure Freight Initiative, Second Line of 
Defense/Megaports, and cooperation on biological, chemical, 
and radiological security. 
 
 
NEW DELHI 00001812  003 OF 007 
 
 
¶10. (SBU) The Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement marked a 
watershed in the bilateral relationship.  Its full 
implementation is important not only to achieve commercial, 
economic, nonproliferation, and environmental benefits, but 
also to build the trust necessary to tackle the next set of 
difficult issues, such as climate change.  There are some GOI 
officials and editorial writers that doubt the new 
administration's full commitment to this agreement.  Senior 
Indian officials have said they intend to resolve several 
outstanding implementation issues prior to PM Singh's visit 
to Washington.  These include publicly announcing the 
designation of two reactor park sites for U.S. companies, 
submitting civil nuclear liability protection legislation to 
the Indian Parliament, and filing a declaration of 
safeguarded facilities with the IAEA.  U.S. and Indian 
delegations will meet to continue reprocessing consultations 
in late September and early October with the goal of 
initialing a text before PM Singh,s visit.  We are also 
pressing India to provide so-called "Part 810" license 
assurances to enable U.S. firms to share sensitive 
information with potential Indian commercial partners. 
 
The Defense Relationship 
---------- 
 
¶11. (S) In general, the defense relationship is on a strong 
growth curve despite a variety of frustrations.  While the 
Indian uniformed leadership of all three Services, and in 
particular the Indian Navy, appreciate their improving ties 
with the U.S. military, bureaucratic inertia and recalcitrant 
officials in the Ministries of External Affairs 
and Defense continue to complicate attempts to improve the 
partnership. Despite these challenges, military-to-military 
contacts continue to be a strong foundation of our strategic 
partnership.  We conducted the largest ground 
forces/counterterrorism centric combined exercise to date in 
February 2009 and are poised to conduct air and army 
exercises in the fall.  This year India has already hosted 
visits from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the 
Commander of United States Pacific Command, the Commandant of 
the United States Coast Guard, and the Commandant of the 
Marine Corps.  We continue to seek opportunities for 
capacity-building, greater access and improved partnering 
through more focused combined exercises, better-tailored 
subject matter exchange events, and additional high-level 
visitor exchanges. 
 
¶12. (C) Defense sales have risen from near zero in 2004, to 
over USD 2.2 billion already in 2009, with prospects for much 
greater expansion.  The recent Government-to-Government 
agreement on EUM language sets the stage for even greater 
success in this arena, as all three Indian services are 
modernizing their forces.  The next agreement we wish to 
conclude with the GOI is the Communications Interoperability 
and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA).  This MOA is 
required to legally permit sharing/selling of encryption 
equipment that would enable capabilities such as secure 
communications and military GPS utilization.  The United 
States Pacific Command has been pursuing the CISMOA with 
India since 2005 without resolution, but the GOI has told us 
that CISMOA would be possible after EUM language was 
resolved.  One challenge is in maintaining the GOI commitment 
to travel abroad for education and receive military training 
visitations at home (they will often cancel at the last 
minute). 
 
Counterterrorism 
---------- 
 
¶13. (SBU) India continues to rank among the world's most 
terror-afflicted countries.  We have seen increased 
willingness to accept U.S. offers of training and other 
assistance, particularly from the FBI and on intelligence 
sharing, in the wake of the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai. 
Minister of Home Affairs Chidambaram's September 7-10 visit 
to the United States will be a critical opportunity to focus 
Indian attention on the need for communication across 
agencies and strong relationships with our law enforcement 
and intelligence agencies.  He will meet with several Cabinet 
 
NEW DELHI 00001812  004 OF 007 
 
 
officials, including Secretary Clinton, the Director of 
National Intelligence, and the Director of the FBI, and will 
visit the Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York and the 
National Counterterrorism Center in Washington.  We continue 
to encourage India to play a positive role in sub-regional 
cooperation efforts, particularly on border issues with 
Bangladesh and Nepal. 
 
Energy and Climate Change Pillar 
---------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) In addition to the boost that the Civil Nuclear 
Cooperation Agreement is poised to give to our energy 
relationship, India is keen to increase engagement with the 
United States on research and development of technologies for 
clean, renewable energy, and on energy efficiency. Both 
Indian officials and business leaders are eager to work on 
tangible outcomes in the renewable energy sector, including 
solar and wind systems.  India has agreed to host the 
International Renewable Energy Conference in October 2010, 
building on the successful 2008 conference in Washington. 
Indian officials do not, however, expect these other energy 
forms will replace existing capacities or substitute for 
large scale expansion of coal-fired thermal power. (Note: 
Coal-fired thermal power accounts for 53 percent of India's 
total power generating capacity and over 66 percent of 
India's electricity production.  End Note.) 
 
¶15. (SBU) In spite of the convergence on clean energy, U.S. 
and Indian views on climate change differ and, 
unsurprisingly, we have divergent expectations for 
Copenhagen. Indian officials have rejected greenhouse gas 
emission monitoring or reduction commitments. They argue that 
primary responsibility for global warming lies with developed 
countries, and that India is entitled to an equal per capita 
share of the "global carbon space," particularly in light of 
its need for economic development. India recently reached out 
to China to seek a common position against binding 
commitments at Copenhagen.  (Note: India's per capita 
electricity consumption and per capita carbon dioxide 
emissions are five to six percent of U.S. levels; 55 percent 
of the population has no access to electricity.  End Note.) 
 
¶16. (SBU) Notwithstanding our differences, Indian Special 
Climate Envoy Shyam Saran told Todd Stern in July that he 
"did not see a big gap in substance between the Indian and 
U.S. position."  India is very interested in intensifying our 
bilateral Global Climate Change Dialogue  to foster 
cooperation on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promote 
sustainable, low-carbon development.  The Mission, in 
consultation with OES and SECC, is developing proposals for 
climate change cooperation partnerships -- with the GOI 
contributing matching funds -- that could promote a variety 
of projects, including on clean energy technologies and on 
black carbon reduction by wide-spread use of efficient 
cookstoves.  Ministers have told us India wants to conclude 
its own climate change MOU with the United States, similar to 
our understanding with China, but "plus alpha," including 
more concrete cooperation than between the United States and 
China. 
 
Education and Development Pillar 
---------- 
 
¶17. (SBU) We wish to combine U.S. and Indian expertise and 
knowledge to foster new joint partnerships in education, 
development, and women's empowerment.  The GOI is beginning 
to undertake long-overdue reforms in its education system. 
With 50 percent of India's young people leaving school by 
eighth grade (disproportionately girls) and 80 percent of the 
remainder not completing high school, young Indians and their 
parents know very well that their educational system is not 
meeting their needs -- and they are increasingly agitated and 
vocal about it.  The government has begun a major long-term 
expansion in the funding for education, building new schools 
and expanding educational infrastructure.  Meanwhile over 
half a million Indians study overseas, over 94,000 in the 
United States.  The Indian government has proposed that our 
Education Dialogue focus on the following areas: 
 
NEW DELHI 00001812  005 OF 007 
 
 
accreditation of schools and tertiary institutions; the role 
and structure of community colleges; challenges of funding 
and scaling up large educational institutions; identifying 
funds to support university-to-university linkages for 
research and teaching; junior faculty development and 
enhancing improvements in basic education. 
 
¶18. (SBU) The Women's Empowerment Forum (WEF) will provide 
opportunities to share best practices and partner on relevant 
initiatives.  The indicators regarding the status of women in 
India are startling: female feticide, trafficking for 
commercial sex work, domestic violence (approximately 30 
percent of married women), and dowry deaths (one death every 
90 minutes) affect countless women throughout India.  The new 
government has made many promises regarding women's political 
empowerment - but implementation has historically been slow. 
The Mission will be working closely with S/GWI Ambassador 
Melanne Verveer -- whom we hope will visit India in early 
November -- on initiatives to expand partnerships between 
American and Indian women. 
 
Economics, Trade, and Agriculture Pillar 
---------- 
 
¶19. (SBU) The Economic, Trade, and Agriculture Pillar focuses 
on how the United States and India can work together to 
strengthen bilateral economic cooperation, including reducing 
barriers to bilateral trade and investment, strengthening 
financial institutions, harnessing the power of our public 
and private sectors to spur innovation and help India sustain 
economic growth, and developing a productive, internationally 
competitive,  and diversified agriculture sector in India. 
The Trade Policy Forum (TPF), led by USTR Ambassador Kirk and 
Minister of Industry and Commerce Anand Sharma, works to 
reduce barriers to bilateral investment and trade through 
five focus groups and with input from a Private Sector 
Advisory Group.  USTR Kirk's planned visit will overlap with 
your visit.  U.S. exports to India have tripled since 2004 
and two-way investment has also climbed, but there is 
potential for much more trade and investment between our two 
economies.  USTR is working to arrange the next TPF 
ministerial before the Prime Minister's visit, possibly in 
Delhi in late October.  To accelerate the positive two-way 
investment trend, the United States and India launched 
negotiations for a Bilateral Investment Treaty in August with 
a possible second round in the fall.  The Finance & Economic 
Forum, led by Treasury and the Ministry of Finance, 
encourages financial sector reforms and provides a forum for 
exchange between regulatory experts.  It is scheduled to meet 
at the DAS level on October 28-29 in New Delhi and may expand 
its discussion into macro-economic issues.  The CEO Forum, 
with government participation led by Deputy National Security 
Advisor Froman and Deputy Planning Commissioner Ahluwalia, 
provides senior-level private sector recommendations for 
follow up by each government.  Both governments are currently 
working on their lists of CEO membership and ideally a CEO 
Forum meeting will occur on the margins of PM Singh,s trip 
to Washington. 
 
Food Security & USDA Programs in India 
--------- 
 
¶20. (SBU) The Agriculture Dialogue, led by Ahluwalia and USDA 
Secretary Vilsack, will seek to increase bilateral 
cooperation to maximize opportunities for food security, 
poverty alleviation and income generation. We hope to remove 
barriers to greater trade and investment between our 
countries and harness the power of our public and private 
sectors to help India achieve a sustainable agriculture 
sector and food security.  Agriculture and rural development 
are inextricably linked with poverty reduction, but India's 
chief crop yields are still lower than other major nations. 
 
¶21. (SBU)  The Indian government sees food security as 
primarily a domestic challenge of self-sufficiency in basic 
commodities.  High food prices have been a major political 
issue in past elections and could become a stumbling block 
for the current UPA government. While the GOI is prickly 
about the subject of food security policy, they welcome 
 
NEW DELHI 00001812  006 OF 007 
 
 
opportunities to partner with the United States in new 
technologies in order to boost output of food grains 
including drought resistant wheat, rice, peas, bean, and 
lentils.  When the Prime Minister talks of the "ever-Green 
revolution," he envisions a sustainable agricultural 
production system that benefits small and marginal farmers 
through improved seed varieties and technology transfers. 
However, significant challenges exist to carrying out this 
vision given the lack of basic infrastructure in the rural 
areas, the bureaucracy-laden farm programs, and land tenure 
laws that limit farm size and sale of agricultural land. 
 
Science, Technology, Health, and Innovation Pillar 
---------- 
 
¶22. (SBU)  India has a large and diverse S&T infrastructure 
that defies generalizations, and ranges from 1950's era labs 
to  state-of-the-art technologies.  By identifying and 
promoting opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation, 
the Mission seeks to use the S&T Dialogue to enhance the 
already vast academic, commercial, and official collaboration 
taking place between U.S. and Indian scientists.  The 
Science, Technology, Health and Innovation Pillar includes a 
three-part S&T Dialogue, and the first bilateral 
ministerial-level dialogue dedicated to health and biomedical 
sciences.  U.S.-India health cooperation focuses on 
high-priority areas such as HIV/AIDS, smallpox, influenza and 
other infectious diseases, as well as maternal and child 
health and medical capacity building.   During her July 
visit, Secretary Clinton concluded a USD 30 million S&T 
Endowment Agreement, a key element of the S&T Dialogue.  Both 
sides currently are selecting their respective board members 
and we anticipate funding of projects will begin in 2010. 
 
USAID Programs in India 
---------- 
 
¶23. (SBU) USAID/India is engaged in partnerships with the 
Indian government, the private sector, and non-governmental 
organizations to share ideas, international best practices, 
technologies, and expertise that results in improved lives 
and livelihoods.  USAID investment attracts investment from 
our partners to develop and deliver innovative models, which 
are then scaled up to reach many more people for sustainable 
impact.  For every dollar USAID invests, an additional four 
dollars is leveraged from our partners.  In addition, every 
USAID dollar invested in these pilot programs result in 
Indian devoting an average of USD 35 to scale up the program. 
 USAID works with our partners to solve problems of mutual 
interest to: improve the health of children and families; 
reduce green house gas emissions and promote clean efficient 
energy; improve agriculture productivity and help farmers get 
their products to market more efficiently; prepare youth for 
jobs in the modern economy; improve basic education by 
developing innovative ways to teach children in the classroom 
and support teachers; mitigate the risk and help communities 
better prepare for and respond to floods and other natural 
disasters; and improve the legal rights of women. 
 
India's Development Assistance Abroad 
---------- 
 
¶24. (SBU) India has pledged USD 1.2 billion in assistance 
over ten years to Afghanistan in four broad areas: major 
infrastructure projects (dams, bridges, roads, power); 
humanitarian assistance (food aid, seeds, and household 
supplies); and education and capacity development (supplies, 
construction, scholarships, training, and capacity building); 
and small and community based development projects (funding 
100 small projects).  India is by far the largest contributor 
of foreign assistance to Nepal.  During a August 21 meeting 
with Nepalese Prime Minister M.K. Nepal, Finance Minister 
Mukherjee announced that the GOI pledged USD 137.5 million to 
Nepal to fund a three-phase project to build over 1,300 
kilometers of roads in Nepal.  India also plans to fund a 
police academy, integrated checkpoints along the India-Nepal 
border, and upgraded rail link with Nepal.  India's foreign 
assistance is given to Sri Lanka to fund development projects 
for education, health, and infrastructure.  In the wake of 
 
NEW DELHI 00001812  007 OF 007 
 
 
the LTTE's defeat, the GOI has funded de-mining efforts, 
donated food aid, and provided over USD 100 million to 
rehabilitate war victims in Sri Lanka's northern and eastern 
areas.  India donated USD 37 million for flood relief in 
2007-2008. 
 
The Platform for the Pillars: Resource Issues at Post 
---------- 
 
¶25. (SBU) Mission India Program and ICASS funding, currently 
at a combined USD 25 Million plus, has risen to keep pace 
with Mission growth.  Over the past three years, the Mission 
struggled to augment ICASS support positions as our USDH 
(U.S. Direct Hire) workforce ballooned by more than 130 
non-support positions in response to Consular, trade, health, 
and other increases in the USG presence in India.  The lag 
lessened somewhat with the reprogramming of two positions in 
2007, and the introduction of some additional USDH and EFM 
ICASS positions to Mission India in 2008 and 2009.  If 
Mission India receives our requested ELO positions in 2010 
and 2011, and MSP-requested positions through 2012, ICASS 
will have the depth and breadth to properly support the team 
in our expanding partnership with India. 
 
¶26. (SBU) For the Strategic Dialogue and related growth, our 
most severe resource need is in the area of facilities.  Land 
has been identified, but not purchased for the NCC in 
Hyderabad.  OBO must secure the price and availability of the 
plot they have selected now with funding.  In addition, 
Embassy New Delhi has formally requested to internally 
re-prioritize the Mission India NCC construction list to put 
NCC Hyderabad ahead of those planned for Chennai and Kolkata. 
 The temporary facility in Hyderabad is already undersized, 
and can in no way meet the demands of Mission India through 
the planned completion of an NCC in 2025.  For New Delhi, an 
A&E contract for the GSO/Support Annex may be funded and 
awarded before the end of FY 2009; good news for our Embassy 
operations, which are currently reaching the limits of 
capacity.  The New Delhi American Center is undergoing a 
limited infrastructure renovation to keep it operational as 
OBO researches lease or construction options for a Model 
American Center. 
 
¶27. (SBU) We have requested that OBO undertake a formal 
assessment of all USG property holdings in India.  Given the 
ever increasing cost of leased properties, and the number of 
valuable properties the USG will be selling in-country in the 
near future, we believe this is an optimal time to channel 
some of these gains into residential real estate construction 
which could decrease our dependence on leased properties. 
Construction costs, even for quality construction, remain 
relatively low, making for a quick payback on our investment. 
ROEMER