Background

The Innovation Handshake, developed under the U.S.-India Commercial Dialogue, aims to elevate and connect the two countries' dynamic startup ecosystems, address regulatory hurdles to cooperation, and promote innovation and job growth, particularly in emerging technologies.

In the US-India Joint Statement issued during Prime Minister Modi's historic State visit to the US in June and later in September during President Biden's visit to India for the G20 Summit, the two leaders applauded and welcomed efforts to build an ambitious agenda under this platform.

The Innovation Handshake will bring the two governments together with venture capital leaders, entrepreneurs, and other industry and institutional stakeholders in a series of discussions designed to open up opportunities and address challenges in the priority sectors identified under the U.S.-India initiative for Critical and Emerging Technology (CET).

Decoding the “Innovation Handshake”

On 14 November 2023, on the sidelines of the APEC Leaders’ Summit, CII in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), co-hosted the inaugural roundtable Decoding the “Innovation Handshake": US-India Entrepreneurship Partnership in San Francisco.

The session was led by The Honorable Gina Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and Shri Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Textiles, Government of India. Industry experts, venture capital firms, and founders of start-ups came together at the roundtable to discuss specific challenges in regulatory frameworks, ways to enhance access to capital and promote technology collaboration on both sides for innovation and job growth.

The roundtable was an industry-driven collaborative effort between the U.S. and India to promote innovation and foster the development of critical and emerging technologies. Suzanne P. Clark, President and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General of CII, represented the American and Indian private sectors, respectively, alongside founders and c-suite executives from over thirty American and Indian companies.

The roundtable presented the opportunity for political and industry leaders to hear firsthand the steps required to ensure both democracies can continue leading the way globally in critical areas, including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, defence, semiconductors, space and geospatial technologies, telecommunications, supply chains, and clean energy. The roundtable also addressed how private equity and venture capital are crucial in accelerating and promoting innovation while delivering scalable and commercially viable solutions to global challenges.

CII Startup Delegation

CII led a delegation of entrepreneurs and innovators from across India, affiliated with CII's Centre of Excellence for Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Start-ups to participate at the roundtable. The Center, launched in July 2020, at the encouragement of Minister Piyush Goyal, resulting from his earlier visit to San Francisco, focuses on providing end-to-end support for the start-up ecosystem in India.

The delegation, comprised of startups across tech sectors such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, defence, space, climate and food security, sustainability, and other areas, highlighted specific opportunities and recommendations that would ease operational challenges in both markets, making it easier for startups to do business and collaborate.