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With the overhaul of India's planned economy, relative distancing of India from its non-aligned policy, Washington's acceptance of India's nuclear weapons programme, among other reasons, Indo-US relations underwent a sea-change by shedding the tag of "estranged democracies" and instead, donning the mantle of "natural allies" and even "indispensable partners". In the post-Cold War era, ties between the two countries expanded copiously on issues ranging from economic to security, from nuclear energy to education. Steps taken by the Narendra Modi government towards furthering ties with the US seem to be encouraging albeit with caveats.
Although, the Manmohan Singh government delivered on some major achievements in improving Indo-US ties, including the signing of the civil nuclear cooperation agreement, the ten year defence framework agreement, and enhanced trade and investment ties, the overall tenor of relations with the US just prior to Modi's election victory had begun to plateau. Differences over the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) issues, differing positions in the WTO, stringent visa rules for Indians, the US' refusal to extradite David Coleman Headley, and the Khobragade issue had led to the choppiness in Indo-US relations. While India was preoccupied with an economic downturn and several debilitating scams, President Obama's concern with domestic politics and foreign policy challenges stalled Indo-US ties. The American frustration with the Indian nuclear liability act, the stalled bilateral investment treaty negotiations, the failure of India to institute further economic reforms, the elusive permanent membership of India in the UN Security Council and the nuclear non-proliferation regimes were other causes for the relationship to plateau.
Initially, there was apprehension regarding the direction that India-US ties would assume given the fact that Narendra Modi was denied a visa by the US for his alleged role in the carnage in Gujarat in 2002. The lacklustre visits of the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, and US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel generated scepticism over the future of India-US relations. These apprehensions, however, were soon laid to rest with Modi's visit to the US in September 2014 and Obama's visit to India as chief guest on India's Republic Day in January 2015. These visits signalled the tenacity, which Indo-US ties had come to acquire and the significance that each...