India Ideas Summit: Advancing Innovation for the U.S. and India

As U.S. and Indian business leaders prepare to converge in New Delhi next month for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) India Ideas Summit, the U.S.-India relationship is shining bright. 

Themed “Partnership and Prosperity in the Era of AI and Critical Technologies,” the India Ideas Summit on Sept. 12, 2024, will convene top U.S. and Indian government and business leaders to accelerate the ambitious course charted by both countries to ensure technology serves the global good.

Get Updates: Follow USIBC on X and LinkedIn for announcements and live updates before and during the Summit.

U.S.-India Policies to Help Businesses

Building on the U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), this year’s Summit will deepen U.S.-India policy alignment in telecommunications, energy security, AI, biotechnology, and beyond. It will also emphasize women’s empowerment in India’s labor market, which is the largest in the world and is a priority of the new government.

The strategic convergence of U.S. and Indian technology and innovation is playing a defining role in shaping the relationship between the world’s two oldest and largest democracies. At the India Ideas Summit, we’ll explore how this partnership propels our shared economic potential, transforms digital health, unlocks clean energy, secures our defense and a free Indo-Pacific, and more—all bolstered by our shared values of democracy, pluralism, and the rule of law. 

Transforming U.S.-India Tech Collaboration  

The realization of Washington and New Delhi’s shared vision for reaching the full potential of the U.S.-India economic, strategic, and technological relationship, USIBC—now in its 49^th year—is made up of over 200 member companies from both nations employing tens of millions of people and delivering world-class products and services to our combined 1.7 billion citizens.

In recent years, USIBC has worked closely with government and business leaders from across the U.S.-India corridor to foster our technological convergence, including hosting the first Track 1.5 talks of the iCET, organizing the first and second rounds of the India-U.S. Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) between the U.S. Department of Defense and Indian Ministry of Defense, and arranging the first two rounds of the U.S.-India “Innovation Handshake” between the U.S. Department of Commerce and Indian Ministry of Commerce. This year, USIBC also launched the AI Task Force (AI-TF) to promote responsible, ethical AI policy and development and better align the U.S. and India in the next technological frontier.  

What to Watch for at This Year’s Summit 

Speakers and Panelists

Speakers and panelists will include Indian government Ministers and high-ranking U.S. government officials, such as U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Geeta Rao Gupta, Executive Vice Chairman of Nasdaq (and Chairman of USIBC’s Global Board of Directors) Edward Knight, and USIBC President Ambassador (ret.) Atul Keshap.

Embracing Democracy Amid Global Geopolitical Uncertainty 

The U.S.-India relationship is of increasing importance amid rising geopolitical uncertainty, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, home to critical supply chains and the demographic and economic growth markets of the future. As tensions in the Indo-Pacific rise, deepened U.S.-India economic, innovation, and security ties are more critical than ever – a fact emphasized during last year’s historic State Visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

USIBC has advocated for U.S.-India defense co-production and alignment, including through the launch and leadership of the INDUS-X initiative. The Ideas Summit will advance many of these commitments, including helping India reach $5 billion in defense exports.

Championing Economic Gender Equality 

Women’s economic empowerment is vital to promoting peace and stability and building resilient economies. As evidenced in India’s latest annual budget, women’s economic empowerment initiatives are front and center as the Indian government works with the private sector to promote labor force participation for over 650 million Indian women.

USIBC is making women's workforce participation a prominent discussion topic at the Summit, with remarks by the leadership of the U.S.-India Alliance for Women's Economic Empowerment, including Assistant Secretary of State Don Lu, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Geeta Rao Gupta, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Nancy Izzo Jackson, and USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator Anjali Kaur. Ambassador-at-Large Gupta, herself Indian-American, will be leading a highly-anticipated roundtable on how the private sector is uniquely positioned to further close the gender gap in India’s workplaces. 

Hired in America, Hired in India  

Cooperation in critical and emerging technologies will create high-value, high-skilled jobs for Americans and Indians alike. India, home to one-fifth of the world’s population and a young, educated workforce, and the U.S., home to top universities, advanced technologies, and global innovation hubs, together make for a formidable growth engine.

USIBC member companies—American and Indian—are the leading sources of jobs in both countries’ formal sectors. As India reassumes its historic place as a global power, its private sector is increasingly looking outward, including at the U.S. Recently, investment between the U.S. and India is beginning to resemble a two-way street: there are now over 160 Indian companies with operations in the U.S., employing nearly 500,000 Americans and investing nearly $40 billion to the U.S. economy.

With India’s economy approaching $4 trillion, on its way to becoming the world’s third largest by 2027, its government preparing to spend heavily on expanding youth employment, and the U.S. competing for foreign direct investment, the India Ideas Summit will feature discussions around job creation, skilling, and promoting investment in both countries.

Stay Tuned

The India Ideas Summit is a powerful demonstration of our countries’ shared trust in one another. Despite the global rise of undemocratic forces, American and Indian societies remain high-trust, unwaveringly democratic, and committed to free enterprise.

Whether you’re a longtime India watcher, interested in the latest technologies, or considering how your company is positioned in this new world, join the conversation and follow USIBC on X and LinkedIn for updates before and during the Summit.

About the authors

Martha Lewand

Martha Lewand is an International Communications Intern at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.