The India-United States Business Council celebrated its 35th anniversary in Washington, DC, where Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna [ Images ] spoke about Indo-US business ties and the long way that the two countries had travelled together. Founded in 1975, the council is dedicated to fostering better trade ties beteween the largest and the oldest democracies in the world.

Terry McGraw, Chairman of the India-US Business Council, Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo,Ron Sommers, President of the USIBC, William Cohen, Chairman, Cohen Group , I am glad to be here among you all in Washington, DC, which brings back nostalgic memories of long years back. Many of those who witnessed those years are still excited about those times.Shephard Hill, President of Boeing International, Thank you for your warm words of introduction.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am especially pleased to join you in celebrating 35 years of the US India Business Council – and in recognizing the contribution of many pioneering entrepreneurs like those present here today, who have built the strong, resilient edifice of the India US bilateral economic partnership. Their vision and leadership achieved a mutually beneficial synergy that bridges distances, spans the oceans that lie between us and enriches the bilateral economic discourse in a way that just was not imaginable 35 years ago. Terry Mc Graw, I congratulate you and the past and present members of the USIBC.

As Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh [ Images ] said in this very building a few months ago, "In today's economically integrated world, economic relationships constitute the bedrock on which social, cultural and political relationships are built."

The India-US example, similarly, draws its strength not merely from engagement and understanding between governments, but from the vitality of private partnerships and the warmth of ties between our peoples. .

Ladies and gentlemen, the 20th century was a century of capital accumulation; the 21st Century will be the Century of innovation.

We see this in India – where we are presently witnessing a revolution of entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation. It has made our manufacturing sector modern and globally competitive through market-induced "frugal engineering". It has made our services sector a powerful instrument of modernization and a major source of exports. And, it is turning India into a global hub for innovation, design and development and manufacturing.

India's responsible corporate sector is a key player in our innovation initiative. Three years ago, the State Bank of India [ Get Quote ] found a low cost and easy-to-operate solution for banking in remote areas of India. The "Tiny Branch", as the State Bank of India called it, costs a little over US $ 300 per branch and is made up of a mobile phone and a finger print scanner. This set can hold data of up to 50,000 customers, can record details in 11 languages and is operated by women recruited at village level. Furthermore, the devices work on battery using solar energy. State Bank of India hopes to install 250,000 of these tiny branches across Indian villages.

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