Tuning to the Indian elections in America

With Americans and Indians in America alike keenly watching next month's parliamentary elections in India, several think tanks have organised briefings while a community body offers expert insights through weekly conference calls.

The calls organised by the US India Political Action Committee (USINPAC), which describes itself as the political voice of 2.7 million Indian-Americans, offers expert opinion on the election trends in India.

The discussion points during the calls touch upon subjects such as possible outcomes of the elections, impact on trade and investments in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, energy, aviation, IT, status of civil liability bill, possible shift in India's foreign policy.

During a recent call, participants across 9 cities included leaders of the Indian American community, policy-makers at Capitol Hill, investment bankers and investors from the Wall Street along with technology entrepreneurs and academicians, USINPAC said.

Last week, the featured experts were Dr. Jagdeep S Chhokar, the founder member of Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a non-profit organisation that's working for government and electoral change in India and Dr. Anupam Srivastva, Managing Director, Invest India.

"There is significant interest in the US about the upcoming elections in India. Policy makers, businesses, and investors want to evaluate the developments," said Sanjay Puri, USINPAC chairman.

"Major policy and business decisions would depend on the outcome of these elections," he said.

"Through this initiative we aim to provide a better understanding of India to our US members so that bilateral relations which are seeing a rocky present, have a cooperative future."

USINPAC plans to conduct these calls till May 16.

"In an age when we all live with information overload, key decision-makers want a quick, crisp, and high-quality analysis from the real situation on-ground," Puri said.