As requested by the USA, India has agreed to send 30 million Hydroxychloroquine tablets. The USA found Hydrochloroquine as a potential drug to fight against the coronavirus. Not only to the USA, but India is also exporting this drug to 30 other countries who are in need of it. IPCA laboratories of India is already having 50 million hydroxychloroquine drug with them. Each state in India currently holds 2 million tablets of stock of the drug. So, there is no question of the scarcity of HCQ drugs in India.
In terms of the policy, India now has the right to make some good deals with the USA in return. Here are the demands that India asks the USA and get in return.
- The first and foremost is the USA has adequate umber of testing kits. The reason why they are doing more tests on their citizens. India immediately can ask them to send testing equipment as we are only doing 13,000 tests per day in a country with a 133 crore population.
- India has a very powerful pharmacy sector. So, India can ask for getting greater access to the U.S market for Indian pharma companies.
- The USA has many anti-biotic manufacturing industries in China. India can ask the USA to shift some of them to our country which will help in growing our economy. India will provide labor cheaply than all other countries. The USA already has the plans to shift those anti-biotic industries to Singapore, Indonesia. So, there is also a very good chance for India to fulfill this demand.
- India can ask the USA for oil waiver for oil import from Iran.
- To make any medicine “Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient” is required. Now, most of the API technology is with China. So, India can ask the USA to set up API manufacturing in India through advanced technology.
- Coming to defense, the USA gave terrorist tags to the Baloch liberation which is fighting against the Pakistan government for freedom. India is indirectly supporting the Baloch liberation. So, India can ask for lifting the terrorist tag on them and can put pressure on the Pakistani Government which always targets the Indian government policies.
- India can ask for the cooperation of NASA-ISRO in space-related missions.
- India can ask for H-1B visas for employment.
- India can ask for climate change initiatives using the USA advanced techniques.
- Could make an agreement for long-time policy-related relationship so that our relationship stays strong with the USA even if the President changes.
These are the basic demands of India which some of them have been already put in front of the USA. If at least one of them gets finalized that would be very fruitful thing for India and the Indian Economy.
-Prashant Dhawan Sir (IAS tutor)