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Honeywell CEO Dave Cote (L) and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C) laugh at a remark by US President Barack Obama (R) during a CEO Roundtable and Forum at the India US Business Summit in New Delhi 26 January – Reuters
Earlier in the day, at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Obama was the first US president to attend India’s annual Republic Day parade, a show of military might that has been associated with Cold War anti-Americanism.
It rained as troops, tanks and cultural floats filed through the heart of New Delhi, but excitement nevertheless ran high over Obama’s visit, which began on Sunday with a clutch of deals to unlock billions of dollars in nuclear trade and to deepen defence ties.
Both sides hope to build enough momentum to forge a relationship that will help balance China’s rise by catapulting democratic India into the league of major world powers.
The leaders talked on first name terms, recorded a radio programme together and spent hours speaking at different events, but despite the bonhomie, Obama and Modi reminded business leaders, including the head of PepsiCo, that trade ties were still fragile.
India accounts for only 2% of US imports and one percent of its exports, Obama said. While annual bilateral trade had reached $ 100 billion, that is less than a fifth of US trade with China.
“We are moving in the right direction ... That said, we also know that the US-India relationship is defined by so much untapped potential,” Obama told the Indian and US business leaders. “Everyone here will agree, we’ve got to do better.”
Modi said US investment in India had doubled in the past four months and vowed to do more to slash the country’s notorious red tape and make it one of the world’s easiest places for business.
Obama said that US Export-Import Bank would finance $ 1 billion in exports of ‘Made-in-America’ products. The US Overseas Private Investment Corporation will lend $ 1 billion to small- and medium-sized enterprises in rural areas of India.
Regarding renewable energy, a key focus for Modi, $ 2 billion will be committed by the US Trade and Development Agency for renewable energy, Obama said.
Most significant was an agreement on issues that, despite a groundbreaking 2006 pact, had stopped US companies from setting up nuclear reactors in India and had become one of the major irritants in bilateral relations.
“Mobama breaks N-deadlock,” ran the front-page headline of the Mail Today newspaper, which carried a photograph of Modi and Obama hugging each other warmly.
Global reach
Obama and Modi sat behind a rain-spotted screen as the parade unfolded along Rajpath, an elegant lawn-bordered boulevard dating from the British colonial era that connects the presidential palace to India Gate.
Pin code: Modi wears name on sleeve – and suitNEW DELHI/AHMEDABAD: There’s no fine print in the manuals of how government heads should dress on formal occasions, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi, already ahead of the curve in matters sartorial, appeared to push the boundaries when he wore a monogrammed pin striped suit with his name — Narendra Damodardas Modi — forming the stripes.
Discussions on whether it was fine style and good form or a thinly-disguised show of narcissism coursed through social media, even attracted global attention. Tweets flew thick and fast, including comparison with former Egypt President Hosni Mubarak who is known to have a similar outfit.
Theorising on narcissism followed. “Considering Narendra Modi forgets names, says ‘Mohanlal Gandhi’, it is not a bad idea that he has printed his name on his suit,” tweeted @Joydas.
Even Wall Street journal’s India Real Time blog and BBC News took note of the suit. Modi’s clothes have impressed Obama too. At the banquet hosted by President Pranab Mukherjee, Obama raised a toast to India and the PM, saying he wanted to wear a “Modi kurta”.
Designer of the suit Raakesh Agarvwal said the name was not embroidered but hand-woven. It requires a special jacquard technique, and the cost is anything between Rs. 80,000 and Rs. 5 lakhs, depending on the fabric.
“This personalised textile is the in-thing ... Burberry to Hermes, all are doing it,” said Agarvwal.
The suit was stitched by Jade Blue, an Ahmedabad-based chain of garment stores favoured by Modi for close to two decades now.
“The suit was stitched from a suit length especially woven for the PM. Modiji is a fashion icon and this was a homage to his strong personalized style of functioning and power dressing,” said Bipin Chauhan, owner of Jade Blue, who also owns the registered label “Modi kurta” — the casual half sleeved kutra worn by Modi. Chauhan declined to reveal the place where the suit length was woven but said it was definitely “Made in India”.
The PM’s sartorial habits invited glowing commentary in the US media when he visited that country in June. (Times of India) |
