Will Donald Trump push India for more defense purchases when he meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House on Thursday?
Will he also provide India with the technical know-how of these defence hardware?
Will the US help India in the technological field in return and give it cutting-edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and small modular reactor (SMR), besides technology transfer of the purchased military hardware?
Will India Extract Maximum From US President
As Donald Trump believes in transactional relationships, rather than value-based bilateral ties, it is obvious that India too should extract the maximum benefit it can.
Trump, who won the presidential race and drummed up the support by raking up nationalism with the “America First” and “Make America Great Again” slogans, has focused on domestic businesses and industries.
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Analysts believe the US President wants all of his allies and political and business partners to buy more goods and equipment from him.
Donald Trump Under Pressure Of Defence Lobby?
After indicating to impose punitive tariffs on all imports, the Trump administration also wants to sell more and more military hardware, also because there is a very strong lobby of arms manufacturers and suppliers in the country.
Joe Biden administration was upset after India purchased Russia-made air defense system S-400, rejecting Washington’s offer of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.
After remaining dependent on the erstwhile USSR for decades for its defense needs, India changed its policy, reduced its defense purchase from Russia considerably and moved to the Western world.
India Reduces Defence Purchase From Russia
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India imported only 36% of its defence equipment
from Russia in FY 2023-24, while it had purchased 76% of its defense hardware from that country in 2009.
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The SIPRI has also pointed out that the US too has changed its policy and removed restrictions on selling defense equipment to India in many fields.
It has also agreed to transfer the technical know-how of the sold equipment.
India-US Defence Purchase Soars
The US Congressional Research Service has said in a report that
India has signed defense deals worth $20 billion since 2018 with Washington.
In the latest big-ticket arms purchase deal, India agreed to buy 31 long-range drone systems worth $3 billion from General Atomics.
Government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is close to signing a deal with General Electric to jointly manufacture jet engines for the next-generation light combat aircraft.
Analysts believe, while acknowledging these defense deals, Donald Trump may ask PM Modi to buy more from the US companies.
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Analysts believe PM Modi and his team should push the US for technology transfer of small modular reactors. Though Washington is interested in installing these reactors in India, it may not be open to transferring the related technology.
Similarly, the US may not be open to transferring technology in the field of AI, particularly the Open Soucre AI, though it is interested in doing this business in this country.
It is up to PM Modi and his team how they exploit the situation and demand technical know-how and cutting-edge technologies from Washington, which believes in a ‘give and take’ relationship.
