India, US may form pvt sector advisory group

India and the United States are considering yet another initiative to boost bilateral economic relations. Both sides are now mulling a Private Sector Advisory Group, which would comprise representatives of trade bodies like Confederation of Indian Industry, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Association of Chambers along with trade experts and academicians.

"There is a view among both sides to have another body which can provide inputs not just confined to the corporate sector but look at a broader picture and issues. Since the Indo-US CEOs' forum comprises company heads, its suggestions are confined to the corporate sector," a government official said.

The matter was discussed at a meeting of the India-US trade policy forum. The Indian side was led by Commerce Secretary G K Pillai while the US side was represented by Deputy US Trade Representative Karan Bhatia.

Officials said both sides have agreed to constitute the joint body by January end, ahead of the next meeting of the trade policy forum. The two sides propose to hold a ministerial level meeting of the forum in the first quarter of 2007.

According to sources, the PSAG is expected to be headed either by an academician or by a retired government official.

India and the US already have a number of initiatives to promote and accelerate trade and investment. These include a group to promote cooperation in information technology, working group on ICT, India-US economic dialogue, India-US economic and financial forum, the India-US energy dialogue and the India-US knowledge initiative on agriculture.

Both countries have agreed to devise an action plan and give technical assistance to promote innovation, creativity and technological advancement by providing a vibrant intellectual property rights regime.

Other areas include initiation of a bilateral infrastructure investment programme that will focus on identifying investment opportunities, incentives and challenges in key infrastructure sectors.

Indian and the US are also keen on forming a working group on legal services to discuss market access and other relevant issues.