Page 14 - The Indian EYE 100926

OPINION OCTOBER 09, 2026 | The Indian Eye 14

The consequences cannot re- The Bridge Builders:
sponsibly be reduced to a claim that USISPF, USIBC and People-to-
America will inevitably suffer a “brain People Partnership
drain.” Much will depend on edu- The transformation from brain
cation, workforce participation, AI drain to brain circulation cannot be
adoption, corporate investment, im- accomplished by governments alone.
migration rules and the ability of US It requires institutions capable of con-
institutions to attract and retain both necting government, business, tech-
domestic and international talent. The nology, academia, research and the
strategic point is that human capital diaspora.
has become part of national compet- Dr. Mukesh Aghi, President &
itiveness, and talent policy now inter- CEO of USISPF, and Ambassador
acts directly with technology policy, (ret.) Atul Keshap, President of the
industrial policy and diplomacy. U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC),
AI and IT: From Outsourcing to represent two important institutional
Intellectual Property dimensions of this bridge-building. In
Artificial intelligence changes If India can connect returning and overseas professionals with its universities, MSMEs, 2026, USISPF has convened coopera-
the scale of the discussion. The next research institutions, start-ups and state governments, tighter global mobility could uninten- tion across AI, semiconductors, data
generation of US-India technology tionally accelerate India’s movement up the value chain (File photo) centers, advanced manufacturing,
cooperation will not be defined simply healthcare, resilient supply chains and
by software services or the number of scribed participation by more than 40 working in the United States have ac- state-level partnerships. As an official
programmers available. It will depend leaders from government, industry, cumulated decades of experience in partner of the India AI Impact Summit
on AI infrastructure, data centers, academia, investment and civil soci- FDA-regulated environments, multi- 2026, it organized programming on AI
energy, semiconductors, cybersecuri- ety, including Santosh Kumar Sarangi, national pharmaceutical companies, infrastructure, welfare-focused AI de-
ty, cloud systems, advanced analytics, Secretary, Ministry of New & Renew- biotechnology ventures and research ployment and skilling for the AI age.
research and—above all—people who able Energy; Dr. Mukesh Aghi, Pres- universities. India should create struc- USIBC, led by Ambassador Kes-
can combine technical expertise with ident & CEO of USISPF; Neelkanth tured pathways through which that ex- hap, describes its role as linking govern-
domain knowledge. Mishra, Executive Director at the pertise can contribute without requir- ments with businesses and supporting
India’s opportunity is to move fur- World Bank; Sumant Sinha, Chair- ing permanent relocation. A scientist long-term commercial partnerships
ther from being primarily a provider man & CEO of ReNew; and Vaishali in New Jersey or Boston should be between the United States and India.
of technology services toward becom- Nigam Sinha, Co-founder of ReNew. able to mentor researchers, co-devel- Together, these institutions illustrate
ing a creator and owner of platforms, The agenda demonstrates how op programs and connect institutions how bilateral relations are increas-
models, enterprise solutions, intellec- broad the AI economy has become: in Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bengalu- ingly built at several levels at once:
tual property and globally competitive scaling data-center and AI-infrastruc- ru, Chandigarh or Mumbai. government to government, business
products. Returning and overseas pro- ture investment across the US-India This is also where skill devel- to business, university to university,
fessionals can accelerate this transi- corridor; ensuring reliable, resilient opment becomes strategic. India’s scientist to scientist, entrepreneur
tion by bringing experience in product power and grid readiness; mobilizing pharmaceutical ambitions require to investor—and people to people.
development, corporate governance, public, private and blended capital for medicinal chemists, biostatisticians, The diaspora intersects with vir-
research management, financing and cross-border energy and digital infra- regulatory specialists, clinical-de- tually every one of these relationships.
global customer markets. structure; and aligning policy, regula- velopment experts, data scientists, The central message is therefore sim-
tory and technology frameworks. A manufacturing technologists and AI ple: The diaspora should not remain
The skills of the next twen- report titled “Powering the AI Age: professionals who can work together. merely a beneficiary or observer of the
India’s Next Energy Export Opportu- Diaspora networks can help shorten US-India relationship. It can become
ty years will increasingly be nity” was launched on the occasion. the distance between these capabilities. one of its builders.
This is an important signal. The
hybrid: AI + Medicine; AI + AI revolution will require not only AI Food, Agriculture and the Next Talent Diplomacy: A New Layer of
Technology Frontier
Pharmaceuticals; AI + Manu- engineers but also energy specialists, Food and agriculture should not Bilateral Relations
I describe this emerging phenom-
facturing; AI + Agriculture; AI semiconductor experts, cybersecuri- be treated as separate from the tech- enon as Talent Diplomacy. Traditional
ty professionals, financial specialists,
+ Cybersecurity; AI + Educa- regulators, educators and a workforce nology story. Over the next twenty diplomacy will remain the respon-
years, food security will increasingly
tion; AI + International Trade; trained for new categories of employ- intersect with biotechnology, climate sibility of governments and profes-
ment. The future US-India AI cor-
sional diplomats. But alongside it is a
and AI + Diplomacy. ridor will require capital, computing science, precision agriculture, sup- growing form of relationship-building
power and energy—but it will also re- ply-chain analytics, nutrition, cold- in which scientists, physicians, profes-
The countries and institutions quire people. chain infrastructure, water manage- sors, entrepreneurs, executives, tech-
that train people across these bound- Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare: ment and AI. nologists and diaspora organizations
India’s agricultural scale provides
aries will have an advantage. From Pharmacy to Laboratory an extraordinary environment for in- create durable connections that gov-
A Timely Example: Powering the The pharmaceutical sector of- novation. US-India partnerships can ernments alone cannot manufacture.
AI Economy fers a parallel opportunity. India has connect American research capabili- A research partnership can
During UNGA week in New built global strength in generics, vac- ties and capital with Indian scale, en- strengthen a bilateral relationship. So
York, the Consulate General of In- cines, APIs and manufacturing. The trepreneurship and field experience. can a student exchange, a pharmaceu-
tical collaboration, an AI program, an
dia, New York, in collaboration with next frontier is deeper participation Diaspora scientists, investors, agri- investment that creates jobs, or a men-
ReNew and the U.S.-India Strategic in new-drug discovery, biologics, ad- business professionals and academics tor who helps a young person discover
Partnership Forum (USISPF), con- vanced therapies, clinical research, can help build collaborations around an international opportunity. Talent
vened a roundtable titled “US-India digital health, pharmaceutical AI and climate-resilient crops, food process- Diplomacy does not replace state-
Partnership: Powering the AI Econ- original intellectual property. ing, precision farming and technolo-
omy.” The CGI communication de- Indian scientists and executives gy-enabled supply chains. Continued on next page... >>

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