India plans panel to boost economic ties with US

India will set up a high-level committee to identify areas for expanding economic coperation with the US, even as the Indo-US CEO forum has identified infrastructure, clean energy, education and skill development, bio-technology, space and healthcare as major areas of mutual co-operation.

India expects an estimated $250-300 billion US investment in the country's infrastructure sector.

The committee, to be headed by planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, would coordinate with various ministries and prepare a roadmap before US President Barack Obama's planned visit to India in November, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said after a CEO Forum meeting in Washington.

The CEO Forum announced plans to launch a $1 billion venture capital /private equity fund for clean energy technology development projects as also a joint Indo-US drug discovery fund.

While appreciating the initiative, Commerce minister Anand Sharma, who participated in the Indo-US CEO Forum meeting, said while most emerging economies have the capability to adapt the technology to their situation, the issue is one of access to the latest technology.

Sharma, who led an official delegation for the second meeting of the reconstituted US-India CEO Forum at Washington DC yesterday, urged the forum to suggest specific mechanisms to make clean technologies accessible to the resource poor countries, given that these are protected by IPRs and often out of their reach.