The Hindu Business Line : Obama victory positive development: India Inc

New Delhi, Nov. 5 The victory of the Democratic candidate, Mr Barack Obama as the 44th President of the US is being viewed as a positive development for Indian trade and business.

The National President of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Mr S.K. Jain, said that Indo-US relations can only go forward. “The new President is a very open person and easy to do business with. We feel that overall there will be a growth in business volumes between India and the US under the new administration,” Mr Jain said.

Speaking as an individual and not for the Government, the Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, said a comment here or there on outsourcing should not bother India. “For once Mr Obama is in office he will realise that in this interconnected world countries have to work together. The US as the world’s largest economy and India as the world’s largest free-market democracy have to work together,” Mr Chidambaram said.

Dr K.P. Vijayalakshmi, Associate Professor, American Studies Programme, School of International Studies (SIS), Jawaharlal Nehru University, felt that Indo-US relations were on an upward trajectory and will continue to grow. She pointed out that the economic potential of India is expected to hold despite the recent slowdown.

The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), while welcoming his victory, offered a note of caution on the economic policies of the President-elect in view of his anti-outsourcing stance and curb on H1B visas.

“If the US increases the agriculture subsidy as stated by Mr Obama in his speech then it will give a jolt to agro exports from India and other Third World countries,” Mr Ganesh Kumar Gupta, President FIEO, said.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said the biggest expectation from the new President is the reversal of decline of the US economy. “The revival of the US economy is critical to us and the world economy. Our exporters should be prepared to take advantage of the coming resurgence of the US demand and the Government must ensure that our exporters are enabled for the coming opportunity,” said Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar, President, FICCI.

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