The US Ambassador to India, Richard R Verma, on Wednesday said he had read with ``some concern” recent press reports on challenges faced by NGOs operating in India.

``I do worry about the potentially chilling effects of these regulatory steps focussed on NGOs,” the envoy said at a talk at the Ananta Aspen Institute, adding that a vibrant civil society is so important to democratic traditions in the US and India.

The envoy was of the opinion that it would be fair to say that the bilateral relations between India and the US are ``stronger and more vibrant” than they have ever been.

``The recent visit of Prime Minister Modi to the US and President Obama to India have re-energised a partnership that has grown steadily for at least the last 15 years or so. Even if for one reason or another it wasn’t always growing as fast as it should,” the envoy said.

Verma added that one of the outcomes of the recent visits was also the recognition that the relationship is no longer solely about strategic interests. ``It is also about trade, academic, scientific and other unofficial ties that underlie the broad popular and political support the relationship enjoys in India and the US,” the envoy said.

In the aftermath of the high-level visits India and the US are now engaging on more than 70 initiatives, everything from space to vaccines, apart from launching a civil nuclear contact group that moved the two countries past some of the obstacles that had stalled progress for years. In addition, the two countries also restarted the trade policy forum to address intellectual property and food security issues and hosted the bilateral India-US technology summit.

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