President Obama Visits India: Strengthens US-India Ties

NEW DELHI, February 13, 2015: When the new Indian Prime Minister (PM), Narendra Modi visited the US in
September 2014, he received a rock stars welcome. He was greeted by a full house of adoring fans at the Madison
Square Gardens in New York. In fact, President Barack Obama spent two whole days with Prime Minister Modi
talking about strengthening ties between the US and India. He also personally gave him a tour of Washington D.C.
To return the compliment, PM Modi invited President Obama to be a chief guest at India's Republic Day
celebrations on January 26th. The President on arriving in New Delhi was warmly greeted by Narendra Modi, who
enveloped him in a bear hug.
The gesture, broadcasted around the world, was a clear affirmation that the two leaders have developed a strong
special bond in a very short span of time. During President Obamas two-day visit, a nation of 1.3 billion was held
spellbound with the coverage of his every move, indicating that the Indian population was clearly smitten.
The key agenda tabled for discussion at the Summit hosted by President Obama and Prime Minister Modi in New
Delhi, included points on nuclear collaboration, climate change, increasing trade flows, visa and Intellectual
Property Right (IPR) protection. Leading up to the visit a number of HE and skills related topics had been promoted
in both the White House and India's Ministry for External Affairs (MEA) for discussion.
I was fortunate to have been invited to not only participate in this high level US-India talk at the Summit, but was also
delighted to have been asked to provide direct input into President Obama's briefing. I learnt later that these inputs
were included in his final discussion points with the Prime Minister and other senior US/Indian business
leaders/officials.
My inputs elucidated on the type of support the US universities, skills providers and mid-market companies needed
to succeed in India. I highlighted the need for a strong platform which dealt with issues like red tape, bureaucracy,
compliance and tax concerns that organizations face when entering India. I highlighted challenges like: recruiting
good staff; establishing offices; knowing who to collaborate with locally; how to build sustainable partnerships;
the grey areas surrounding dual programs; tax on local activities and the issues surrounding the foreign education
providers bill.
Drawing inspiration from case studies of institutions like University of Bridgeport, University of South Florida,
DeVry and MIT to name a few, that we proudly support at Sannam S4 in IndiaI explained about the vast
opportunities that these institutions had and then detailed the specific challenges that hindered their progress.
Presenting Sannam S4's LaunchPadTM model as an example, I explained how a strong local supportive environment
can help the US universities and skills providers flourish.
The US has made good strides of late with its visa policy and the processing of student applications. Unlike certain
other countries that recruit Indian students, the PR surrounding studying in the US is positive and as a result has
seen a steady increase in the number of applicants.
The US recognizes that their Silicon Valley has been built on the brains of Indian students. The engineers working in
the US are from towns and villages across the Indian subcontinent. If the US is to continue to innovate, develop,
flourish, own the intellectual property and reap the rewards, then it needs to not only recruit the brightest and
best, but also the bold and the brave. The US is not just seeking Indian students to become lawyers and bankers,
accountants and actuaries, it is seeking to attract entrepreneurs, innovators and risk takers. This is a clear
distinction between the US approach to student recruitment and policies adopted by election sound bite focused
politicians from other countries.

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The US has acknowledged that apart from student recruitment, there are other important things that need to be
considered to help foster long-term ties between the two countries. In relation to that, The US-India Educational
Foundation (USIEF) in New Delhi, led by its impressive and long-term Executive President, Mr. Adam Grotsky,
(who has decades of experience and deep understanding of the Indian culture) is doing a sterling job on educational
exchanges of scholars, professionals and students. USIEF has already awarded approximately 17,000 Fulbright,
Fulbright-Nehru, and other prestigious grants and scholarships in almost every academic discipline to promote
long-term bilateral ties.
The US administration has been working hard on supporting skills development programs in India with its
community colleges and is leveraging the funds available from the Indian governments corporate CSR ruling to
contribute towards new regional training initiatives.
The increasingly influential US-India Business Council has a dedicated education and skills group which is fostering
bilateral institutional relationships, particularly those with a commercial interest. With its incoming President
Dr. Mukesh Aghi indicating passion for educational ties between the two countries, I expect to see the USIBC's
focus in this area strengthen.
So after all the razzmatazz of President Obama's visit, what was achieved on the higher education and skills
development front? Frankly, despite the excitement, the visit was unfortunately short of headline-grabbing news
for the sector. The only exception was a confirmation from the President that the US will send 1,000 academics a
year to Indiathis had been discussed during Prime Minister Modi's visit to the States last year and is definitely not
an insignificant initiative. The central government sponsored Global Initiative of Academic Networks, (GIAN), can
now give Indian students and academics access to 1,000 US faculty to broaden their horizons, exchange ideas and
teaching methods, and foster new research collaboration and partnerships.
There was no surprise announcement with regard to the Higher Education Provider Bill, (despite some advanced
lobbying during Secretary John Kerry's visit to India) so no foreign owned campuses for now. Also, there was no
public discussion regarding India's powerful University Grants Commission (UGC) and how it governs
international partnerships.
However, the visit clearly encouraged an unprecedented willingness for collaboration between the two
administrations. A number of key initiatives have been tabled, several of which are taken from Sannam S4's own
contributions, which will now be pursued and monitored over the weeks and months ahead, so despite the lack of
headlines, I am positive about what this visit will achieve mid- to longer-term.
Both governments promise the highest level of support for universities and skills providers. With enthusiasm from
Indian students, scholars and business leaders, and a clear focus from the Indian administration on addressing red
tape and other complexities of operating in the market, the future of US-India ties will only get stronger.
Institutions in the US have no doubt seen the coverage of Obamas visit, reminding them of India's vast potential.
A touch of realism and pragmatism is still needed, but I came away from the visit, truly believing that the stage has
been set for a new era of US-India collaboration. For many, India has been a frustrating market (particularly when
compared to China), fraught with the challenges that I have highlighted above. However, I expect to see many
exciting opportunities developing over the months and years to come, which, if supported well, will bear rich
fruits.The bold and the brave, both institutions and students, will likely be rewarded.

Report written by Adrian Mutton, Founder & CEO of Sannam S4a company providing market
entry and ongoing support services to international universities and skills providers in India,
Brazil and China.

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ABOUT SANNAM S4
Sannam S4 helps international businesses enter, establish and prosper in India. Our business model is unique in that
from the outset we proactively seek new revenue opportunities in the market for our clients and then we help
them implement and manage these opportunities longer term.
We take clients from the initial stage where they are considering entering India and we then deliver business
support services to help them grow, acting as a strong local service partner. Whether a company is seeking to
generate new revenue, source products, or establish an outsourcing/manufacturing unit, Sannam S4 provides the
end to end support-in-house.
We also provide ongoing local business support to a number of organisations who have been in the market for
many years.
Our teams comprise of dedicated local and international specialists delivering market research, company
structuring, compliance, finance, tax, accounting, inward investment, partner/distributor due diligence, recruitment,
business development and other support services.
In India, Sannam S4 has offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune and Bangalore.
Sannam S4 also operates in Brazil and China.

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