It is estimated that about 4.2 million Indian American/Indian origin people reside in the U.S. Persons of Indian origin (3.18 million] constitute the third largest Asian ethnic group in the U.S. There are many Indian American community organizations and professional organizations of Indian Americans. Indian Americans are among the most successful communities and excel in diverse fields, including politics. The Indian diaspora has been a catalyst in cementing closer ties between India and the U.S. There have been many persons of Indian origin in the U.S. Congress. Indian Americans, who constitute about 1% of the U.S. population, pay about 6% of the taxes. Rich McCormick, 54, Congressman, told his Congressional colleagues recently that this ethnic community does not cause problems and follows the laws. He said that one of the five doctors in his community is from India and described Indian Americans as great patriots, upstanding citizens, and good friends. “They (Indian-Americans) don’t have the problems that we see other people have when they come to the emergency room for overdoses and depression anxiety because they’re the most productive or family oriented and the best of what represents American citizens,” McCormick said. High-Level Exchanges Regular exchanges at the leadership level and outcomes emerging from these visits have further strengthened the multifaceted ties between the two countries.

Prime Minister Modi and President Biden are in regular contact, having interacted on multiple occasions. PM also interacted with Vice President Kamala Harris. India-US defence cooperation is based on the “New Framework for India-US Defence Cooperation”, which was renewed for ten years in 2015. In 2016, the defence relationship was designated a Major Defence Partnership (MDP) to build a comprehensive, enduring and mutually beneficial defence partnership. On July 30 2018, India was moved into the Tier-1 of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Strategic Trade Authorization license exception. Cooperation in counter-terrorism is one of the pillars of the bilateral partnership featuring information exchange, capacity building, operational regular collaboration and dialogue through the India-U.S. Joint Working Group on Counter- Terrorism. In 2017, both sides initiated a dialogue on domestic and international terrorist designations listing proposals. The USA is India’s largest trading partner concerning merchandise trade, with bilateral merchandise trade of US$ 67.41 billion, accounting for 11.98% of India’s total merchandise trade. As per U.S. Census data, India-US merchandise trade in the calendar year 2021 (Jan-December) reached around $113 billion. The bilateral hydrocarbon trade with the USA started in 2017 and amounted to US$ 19 billion during 2021- 22. US has become our 4th largest crude oil and 2nd largest LNG supplier. India and U.S. have a strong bilateral partnership in the energy sector. In April 2021, the U.S. and India launched the “U.S.-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership,” with two tracks, i.e. Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP); and Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue (CAFMD).