Full page fax print - Indo-American Chamber Of Commerce

Cover Story
When President Obama addressed students at an Expo on
Open Government and technology, at Mumbai's famous
St. Xavier College, he sounded as if was indirectly referring
to the current Indian situation, talking about which Indian
leaders generally evade or avoid.
“Well, the good news, is that in the United States we are
trying to do some of the same things that you're doing --
trying to make government more transparent, trying to
make government more accountable, trying to make
government more efficient,” Obama said.
The US President, Bara ck Obama visiting the Gandhi
Sangrahalaya, at Mani Bhavan, in Mumbai on November 06, 2010
The U S President, Barack Obama and the First Lady
Michelle Obama lighting t he lamp t o celebrate Diwali Festival wih
t
Holy Name Schoo l, in Mumbai on November 07, 2010
The USPes r ident , Barack Obama enjoying wit hthe school
children,
a t a folk dance on Koli geet, at the celebratio n of
Dw i ali FestivalinMumbai on
Novembe r 07, 2010
Then he talked about the virtues of technology. “And one of
the incredible benefits of the technology we're seeing right
here is that in many ways India may be in a position to
leapfrog some of the intermediate stages of government
service delivery, avoiding some of the 20th century
mechanisms for delivering services and going straight to
the 21st.”
Drawing comparison between the two countries, Obama
said: ”Many of the issues that you're talking about here are
ones that we're trying to apply in the United States, as well.
For example, in many rural areas in the United States, it's
hard sometimes to get to a hospital. Even though the
infrastructure may be better developed, there's still
significant distances. And to the extent that we can use
technology to provide people with basic health
information, in some cases simple diagnoses, that can save
people time, it can save the government money, and we
can end up with better health outcomes. And obviously the
same applies for all the services you mentioned.”
The First Lady did not lag behind. Addressing school gilrs
elsewhere in Mumbai, Mrs Obama said: “Do you know
how lucky you are, just lucky and blessed, because if you
keep working hard, education is all that you need to be
whatever you want to be. That's it.” Nothing more to be said
on the importance of education for girls, who would be
future mothers and mentors for their children.
On arrival at the imposing Rashtrapati Bhavan in New
Delhi, President Obama referred to the contribution of
Americans of Indian origin to the wealth of the US. “We can
build on the people-to-people ties that are in part
grounded in the millions of Indian-Americans who
contribute so much to our country and help give us an
appreciation of Indian life;”
He continued, talking about his vision of India's future role:
“…and given that India is not simply an emerging power
but now is a world power, that the United States and India
will be able to work together to promote the international
principles, the rules of interaction between nations that can
INDO-US BUSINESS SPECIAL ISSUE
08