The ICRIER-Wadhwani Programme of Research Studies on India-US Relations and Policy Issues, established in September 2011, aims to promote policies that advance India's emergence as a major economy and unlock the full strategic potential of India-US relations for the 21st Century. The Programme will serve as an independent platform to increase awareness in the US on critical issues facing India and Indian perspectives on the bilateral agenda of the two nations.

There has been a sustained, leadership led, transformation in India-US relations over the last decade, based on our shared values as the world's leading democracies as well as growing strategic convergences. In order to contribute to efforts of both nations to build a secure future for this vital relationship, the Programme will assess major policy trends, identify opportunities and challenges, and promote broad-based strategic ties from a long-term perspective.

The Programme will place special emphasis on accelerating India's economic progress through enhanced India-US cooperation in trade, investment, infrastructure, energy and high technology. It will prioritize India's soft power and demographic potential through the promotion of bilateral partnerships for quality education, vocational skills, entrepreneurship and innovation. It will support initiatives that promote economic ties, such as a Bilateral Investment Treaty and a possible Economic Partnership Agreement.

India's emergence as a major power sharing close affinities with the US will be bolstered by encouraging strong bipartisan support for bilateral relations in both countries. The Programme will conduct research and communicate issues of importance to policymakers in the areas of public policy; strategic, defence and security ties; and partnership for peace, progress and stability in Asia through open and inclusive regional architecture.

The ICRIER Programme will work closely with its counterpart at CSIS, Washington D.C., to create a policy climate through knowledge sharing so that the public and private sectors in India and the US can work together for the benefit of both societies.

Ambassador Hemant Krishan Singh serves as the inaugural Programme Chair of the ICRIER-Wadhwani Programme for India-US Policy Studies. As a former Ambassador of India to Japan, Indonesia and Colombia with wide ranging diplomatic experience, Ambassador Singh has played a role in shaping major transformations in India’s relations with key partners like the US, EU, ASEAN, Indonesia and Japan. He is a member of the US-India and the US-India-Japan Track II Strategic Dialogues.

The ICRIER-Wadhwani Programme is being established by ICRIER with the generous support of the Wadhwani Foundation.