New Delhi:

The sky is not the limit for the burgeoning space technology relations between the world’s largest democracy India and the oldest democracy – the United States of America. Speaking to NDTV, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said, “The stars are aligning, as India and USA are like buddies in space!” 

“‘Do desh, alag riwaz, lekin do desh, ek dil (two nations with different customs but with a single heart)’,” he added.

India and US will go to “infinity and beyond together”, the US Ambassador said in an exclusive interview with NDTV.

Speaking about astronaut Sunita Williams who is in orbit at the International Space Station, Mr Garcetti said, “She is excited to have a few extra days. She represents the unique bridge between India and the US and will be back on Earth.” 

In a few weeks, ISRO’s first heavy-weight communications satellite will lift off from America on SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket. Later this year the world’s single most expensive civilian Earth-imaging satellite, jointly made by NASA and ISRO, could liftoff from India. It costs well over $1.2 billion and will help monitor climate change among other things.

Early next year, India’s first Gaganyatri or astronaut could be visiting the International Space Station on an Indo-US friendship mission.

Meanwhile, Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams is already orbiting the Earth at the International Space Station where she flew onboard the Boeing Starliner’s maiden test flight on June 5, 2024. She has specially ordered “fish curry” as one of her favorite meals on her third space voyage that will last longer than initially planned.

“US-India Space Cooperation” is the theme of this year’s American National Day celebration and Mr Garcetti was speaking on the sidelines of an exhibition showcasing Indian and American achievements in space. At the event, the food served had a similar flavor – drinks named Starry Night Spritzer, Interstellar Fusion, and Black Hole Bliss were served – and conversations revolved around “Star Trek”, “Star Wars”, and the successful soft landing at the Shiv Shakti point by India’s Chandrayaan-3.

Mr Garcetti also announced a new US-India Cancer Moonshot initiative to develop an AI-enabled digital pathology platform for better cancer diagnosis and treatment.

The US was a part of India’s maiden foray into space with the launch of the Nike-Apache sounding rocket from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station on November 21, 1963. This launch set India’s ball rolling to explore the interstellar space. India’s first heavy-duty commercial communications satellite INSAT-1A was made by Ford Aerospace and launched from Cape Canaveral, USA with a contract with NASA using the Delta rocket in 1982.

The Indo-US Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE), was hailed as ‘the largest sociological experiment in the world’ by ISRO during 1975-76. This experiment benefited around two lakh people, covering 2,400 villages in six states, and transmitted development-oriented programmes using the American Technology Satellite (ATS-6). This was truly the forerunner to satellite-based TV broadcasting.

Subsequently, the Indo-US relations took a hit twice – first in 1974 and then in 1998 when India tested atomic weapons at Pokhran and almost all high-technology cooperation came to a standstill, till the two countries normalised the relations with the signing of the Indo-US Civilian Nuclear Cooperation Agreement in 2008. Since then relations have only been taking a higher and higher orbit. 

India’s Chandrayaan-1 orbiter in 2008 saw India accommodating NASA instruments. The mission discovered water molecules on the lunar surface.

Most recently, as part of the India-US initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) on June 17, the Indian National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan affirmed that two countries will be “reaching new heights in civilian and defense space technology cooperation”.

The forward-looking joint statement highlighted several steps like:

1) Securing a carrier for the first-ever joint effort between NASA and ISRO astronauts at the International Space Station, which will mark a significant milestone in the India-U.S. space partnership and space exploration

2) Celebrating the conclusion of a Strategic Framework for Human Spaceflight Cooperation to deepen interoperability in space and work toward commencing advanced training for ISRO astronauts at the NASA Johnson Space Center

3) Preparing for the launch of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, a jointly developed satellite that will map the entirety of the Earth’s surface twice every 12 days as India and the United States work together to combat climate change and other global challenges

4) Launching a new partnership between the U.S. Space Force and the Indian startups, 114ai and 3rdiTech, including on advancing space situational awareness, data fusion technologies, and infra-red sensor semiconductor manufacturing

5) Welcoming India’s observation of the U.S. Space Command’s Global Sentinel Exercise at Vandenburg Space Force Base in February and its return as a participant in the exercise in 2025

6) Strengthening defense space cooperation through the second Advanced Domains Defense Dialogue held at the Pentagon in May 2024, which featured an India-U.S. space table-top exercise and included bilateral expert exchanges on emerging domains including artificial intelligence

7) Exploring opportunities for India’s participation in the Lunar Gateway Program, as well as joint avenues for collaboration in other space technologies

Indian Gaganyatri In Space Station Next Year

The ISRO’s work to send an astronaut to space in a joint project with NASA is progressing, the Indian agency’s chief Dr S Somanath told NDTV.

Of the four astronauts India has chosen, two will be sent to the commercial crew program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for training, and one of them will be selected to go on the actual space mission, Dr Somanath said.

“Similarly, the other two astronaut designates will also get training of a different kind… So all four of them will go through certain levels of training through this programme. Many Indian engineers will also be trained by NASA to handle other aspects of space flight,” Dr Somanath said.

The ISRO’s eventual goal is independent human space flight, and the learnings from the whole programme with NASA will feed into the Indian space agency’s experience in finally sending humans to space from India.

ISRO’s choice of sending an Indian to space is limited to only SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon programmes. Explaining this, Dr Somanath said the whole programme is based on the idea of working together with NASA as the US space agency offered a seat to an Indian astronaut to fly to the International Space Station, adding that NASA offered India a seat from its available opportunities.

This flourishing Indo-US space collaboration may extend to the two countries launching missions to explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

New Delhi:

US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, on Monday extended Holi wishes to the people of India
In a video message shared on X, the US envoy Garcetti expressed warm wishes to all celebrating the festival of Holi.

“I want to wish everybody a very happy Holi. We have this amazing gujiyas, which has a little bit of an American twist with some pistachios in here, beautiful rose water. There’s no better way than to celebrate Holi across the Indo-Pacific together,” Garcetti said in a video message while showcasing special Gujiyas adorned with an American twist.

#HappyHoli, friends! Celebrating my first Holi in India with delicious gujiyas made of American nuts – a delightful fusion of traditions and a celebration of #USIndiaDosti! I’ve had vibrant Holi celebrations back in Los Angeles, but nothing beats being here in India for the… pic.twitter.com/LgtfkgpEUi

— U.S. Ambassador Eric Garcetti (@USAmbIndia) March 25, 2024

In his post, Garcetti emphasized the US-India friendship in the celebration and said, “#HappyHoli, friends! Celebrating my first Holi in India with delicious gujiyas made of American nuts – a delightful fusion of traditions and a celebration of #USIndiaDosti! I’ve had vibrant Holi celebrations back in Los Angeles, but nothing beats being here in India for the festival of colors. #CelebrateWithUS.”

The US embassy in India also joined in to wish all Indians on the occasion of the festival “Holi Hai!. From vibrant colors to infectious laughter echoing through the grounds, the Holi celebration at our Embassy was quite some fun! But the fun doesn’t stop here! Let’s keep the Holi spirit alive all year round. Here’s to greater friendship, and more unforgettable moments together in #USIndiaDosti! #HappyHoli”

Earlier on March 8, Ambassador Garcetti had inaugurated the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Taste of America Booth at Bharat Mandapam.

At the event, Eric Garcetti emphasised the stronger ties between India and the US.

“Better together, stronger together–I would say even more delicious together. So we are so excited to launch this booth to encourage our Indian friends to think with us, to cook with us, to plan with us” the US Ambassador had said.

On the occasion, the FAS Taste of America booth, showcase several delectable samples including include duck and turkey sandwiches and the Holi festival treat – Gujiya made with US pecans.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

US envoy Eric Garcetti on Friday said the Quad is really a reflection of the “shared interests” of having a peaceful, democratic, just, open and accountable Indo-Pacific while underlining that its member country India is in many ways “in the driver’s seat” of the grouping.

In response to a question on whether an Indian national, facing charge for a murder-for-hire plot to kill a Khalistani separatist on American soil, will affect Indo-US ties, he said, “The pace of our relationship only continues to accelerate amidst this.”

“It’s the first stress test of our new relationship which has deepened, and so far, I think both countries are passing it, but plenty of miles to go. Life would be much easier for us not to have contested democracies, where people disagree. That is the point of a democracy that we have to defend,” the US envoy said.

“The relationship continues, I think with more strength than we have ever witnessed before. But, we won’t back away from principles that are important to this relationship,” he added.

The panel discussion on “A ‘Pacific’ Convergence of Interests with India” largely centred around the functioning of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue grouping, commonly described as Quad, during the India Today Conclave 2024.

The Quad comprises India, the US, Japan and Australia and it has unveiled a series of initiatives in the last few years with a broad aim to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. China believes the coalition is aimed at containing it.

The US Ambassador to India shared the dais with British High Commissioner Alex Ellis, Australian High Commissioner Philip Green, and Nirupama Rao, former foreign secretary of India.

“We have always said the Quad isn’t a military alliance of four of us. We have strong bilateral relations, each aspect of the Quad, each country. They do work in strategic and military space, they do work in economic spaces, they do work in people-to-people and cultural and educational spaces,” he said.

“But, the Quad is really a reflection of values and of geography and the shared interests that we have to have a peaceful, democratic, just, open, accountable Indo-Pacific,” the US envoy asserted.

And that happens in so many ways with Quad, whether it is looking at ecological and climate issues, whether it is the emergency seen during the pandemic, when the grouping really “became a force for assisting each other,” he said.

“But, India is in many ways in the driver’s seat of the Quad. And, I think that is exciting for India,” he said.

The US envoy said he has described that India “loves geometric diplomacy” — triangles, squares, quadrilaterals.

“The multilaterals you can get last, in places like the UN right now, which are important, convenient spaces… But, they are just divided as the world. Bilateral is really helpful but there is a limit to bilateralism sometimes,” he said.

“So, I think there is really a shared, sort of principles. During discussions I had with National Security Advisor (Ajit) Doval, he said, ‘it’s not just strategy, it is not just affinity’. We do think alike, our hearts do feel alike. But, it is really about ideology in this moment when there is extremism, whether it is religious extremism, whether it is dictatorship versus democracies,” he said.

During the interaction, Garcetti underlined that “we can get hung up on the ideas, that the narcissism of small differences, the few areas, where we are looking, maybe at democratic values, sometimes differently, divide us. But, the reality is we are very deeply united.” The American envoy was also asked about India on Friday strongly rejecting criticism against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) by the US.

The US on Thursday said it is concerned about the notification of CAA in India and is closely monitoring its implementation.

“In America, we feel very strongly about …that sensitive borders need to be secured. We are a nation of immigrant citizens, we have been enriched by our diversity.

Secondly, we understand India’s security needs as well. We are well aware of this. But, the principles of religious freedom and of equality under the law is a cornerstone of democracy.

“And, that is why we look a these things, it will be easier not to look at our friends. We invite you to do the same with our imperfect democracy, it is not a one-way street. But, you cannot give up on principles, no matter how close you are with friends…,” he said.

Australian High Commissioner Green, also responded to a question on AUKUS — the trilateral security agreement among Australia, the UK and the US — and why India was “hesitant to join a military bloc”.

So, it is really for India to decide where it fits into these partnerships, Green said.

“For us, the Quad tries to deal with a region which is increasingly contested, where democracy is under threat, where countries are increasingly unable to pursue their sovereignty in the way they want, that they get forced into choices they would not prefer, and economic coercion is a feature,” he said.

On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Ellis said, “It’s a war that should not have started.. It’s appalling that it happened and it is appalling that is going on, with terrible human cost”.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti on Monday joined the Embassy’s consular team to interview over 1,000 visitor visa applicants, according to a press release from the US Embassy.

The US Embassy in New Delhi had the first of its four “Super Saturday” visa processing events, which were planned for 2024 and the US envoy came to assist the embassy team.

Moreover, the consulate in Mumbai also opened its doors on March 9 for special visa processing hours.

Ambassador Garcetti said, “The foundation of our US-India partnership is the network of relationships that individuals form when they work, travel, and study in the United States.”

“The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi opened its doors on Saturday, March 9, 2024, to interview over 1,000 visitor visa applicants. Ambassador Garcetti joined the Embassy team to support the surge and assist in the fingerprint verification process,” the US Embassy said in a release.

Super excited for #SuperSaturday! Today I joined our consular team who are making extra efforts to serve visa applicants. We remain committed to meeting the unprecedented demand for U.S. visas. #USIndiaFWDpic.twitter.com/wGpLyM7aip

— U.S. Ambassador Eric Garcetti (@USAmbIndia) March 9, 2024

US envoy Garcetti said, “We’re doing everything we can to facilitate the visa process and support critical people-to-people connections.”

He further stressed that the US Mission in India has increased staffing and harnessed technological innovations to meet the unprecedented demand and process more visas than ever before.

Earlier in 2023, the US Embassy and Consulates in India processed a record-smashing 1.4 million US visas.

“Demand across all visa classes was unprecedented, with a 60 per cent increase in applications compared to 2022,” the release stated.

Notably, Indians now represent one out of every 10 US visa applicants around the world.

Moreover, process improvements and investments in staffing have brought the appointment wait time for visitor visas down from an average of 1,000 days to only 250 days around the country, with minimal wait time in all categories.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)