Obama advances defence and security ties with India

Significance

Obama is the first US president to visit India twice while in office (his first trip was in November 2010) and to be the chief guest for the celebrations. The visit will allow him build on his September 2014 meeting with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington, which yielded several positive signals but few concrete results.

Impacts

• US concerns about technology transfers to India could advantage more willing partners Russia and Israel.
• Bureaucratic delay and lack of transparency mar India's defence procurement, creating reputational risk for suppliers.
• Strategic incompatibilities, particularly over Pakistan, are an abiding constraint to US-India ties.