Locke urges India to continue economic reforms

While India has to date been seem mostly as a off-shoring destination for U.S manufacturers and IT firms, the high-tech trade mission has been focused on the subcontinent’s increasing potential as a marketplace.

With a middle-class equal to the entire population of the United States, Indians have already shown a healthy appetite for international electronics, fashion and other consumer goods. 

The focus of Locke and the 24 tech firms accompanying him is to encourage the Indian government to step up its purchases from U.S. firms in the defense, aviation and energy sectors.

The White House has emphasized the importance of the Indian and Chinese markets in helping the administration reach its goal of doubling exports by 2015. Between 2002 and 2009, U.S. exports to India quadrupled to $16.4 billion.

But many Indian industries remain heavily regulated or subsidized by the government, particularly agriculture, transportation, and utilities. Poor public infrastructure and the scarcity of resources such as clean water, land and electricity are also ongoing challenges in the nation of almost 1 billion people.