India celebrated its 63rd Republic Day on January  showing off its latest weapons at a military parade in the capital, Delhi. According to the BBC, thousands of people turned up at Rajpath (King’s Avenue) to watch the parade amid tight security. More than 25,000 policemen and paramilitary forces guarded the streets of Delhi and snipers were deployed on high-rise buildings.

The president, Pratibha Patil and the Prime Minster Dr. Manmohan Singh attended the show with the chief guest, Thailand’s  Prime Minister Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra.  Security was tight across India and thousands of policemen have been deployed in major cities and towns.

Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand's Prime Minister (on left, in skirt) with Pratibha Patil, India's President (on right)

Today in California,  I am attending a celebration of Republic Day in San Francisco, hosted by Consul General Parthasarthi and his wife.

More photos from the parade in Delhi, hot off the press courtesy of India’s information bureau

ALH or Advanced Light Helicopters operated by India's Army

India's BSF or Border Security Force, shows off their motorbike skills

India's Defense R&D lab has designed and built this Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Rustom 1

By 2014, India’s ministry of defense will be the largest owner and operator of the Boeing C-17 transport aircraft outside the United States.  A formal $4.1 billion order for ten of the aircraft is expected to keep the production lines in Long  Beach (just six miles from where I am sitting)  humming for another two years. India is likely to opt for an additional six C-17s after the contract for 10 is signed as the Indian Air Force is keen on increasing its heavy-lift capability according to a report in Aviation Week. The transaction will be listed as a “foreign military sale (FMS) with the US government buying the planes and selling them to the Indian government (as distinct from a “DCS” or direct commercial sale where Boeing would sell directly to India).

Boeing Long Beach factory

The C-17′s ability to fly long distances and land in remote airfields in rough, land-locked regions make it a premier transporter for India. According to Boeing, the plane  can take off from a 7,600-ft. airfield, carry a payload of 160,000 pounds, fly 2,400 nautical miles, refuel while in flight and land in 3,000 ft. or less on a small unpaved airfield in day or night.

C-17 Transport Aircraft

According to the Los Angeles Times, the company received formal approval Monday from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Cabinet committee on security. The deal would be India’s largest defense contract with a U.S. company. The second largest US defense deal with India was also won by Boeing (for the P8i Orion aircraft).

What this means:

First of all it is a major win for Boeing in India, which is by the far the largest American supplier to India having won in both military and commercial billion dollar bids. Second it is a  re-affirmation of India’s interest in aligning more closely with the United States; the vast majority of its defense hardware is still of Soviet/Russian origin. Third, the deal creates or sustains over 20,000 American jobs according the US India Business council.

The price of wheat is watched in India like the price of gasoline is in the United States. And the gyrations are just as crazy.

Until the 1960′s drought and famine used to produce widespread starvation. Mechanized farming, the introduction of productive dwarf wheat (and American contribution to India’s green revolution, via Norman Borlaug) and better irrigation have mitigated the cycles somewhat, but India is still dependent on the monsoons rains and their vagaries.

This year’s rainfall has come in above the long-term average, a stark contrast to last year’s severe drought.

The Manmohan Singh government supports farmer incomes by paying a guaranteed minimum price for crops, and encouraging farmers to sell only to the government. An export ban in place since 2007, meanwhile, means the excess can’t be dealt with sensibly. Here is how the Wall Street Journal reported it.

While the problem is clear, the solutions involves economics, politics and logistics in apparent tension with one another. Don’t assume any quick solution.

The intensity of efforts by legislators and other top governmental leaders in building ties between India and United States is unprecedented.  For example, Senator Chris Dodd, recently met with the Indian Prime Minister, in New Delhi to discuss the roles both nations play in the current global economic landscape.

Dodd is chair for the powerful Senate Banking Committee, and a senior member of the Foreign Relations Committee. He is also co-chair for the all-important US Senate India Caucus.

In addition to the visit,  the groundwork for President Obama’s forthcoming trip included a meeting  of  top CEOs from U.S. and India companies discussing ways to increase trade opportunities between both countries. This is the time for organizations in the U.S. to actively pursue business expansions in India.

The Senator’s visit was followed by a meeting between India National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon and his U.S. counterpart Jim Jones, a retired United States Marine Corps general, recognized expert on foreign policy and international security issues.

According to statements released by the U.S. government, “The two sides reviewed the status of the strategic partnership between India and the US and discussed preparations for the state visit of President Barack Obama to India later this year. ”

American executives  should seize these new opportunities opening up as a result of political acceleration.

U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd