NEW DELHI, JULY 9 If New Delhi’s defence agreement with Washington makes the Left see red, what lies in store could possibly make it change colours.

A second green revolution, 10 top CEOs from each side to discuss FDI inflows into India, making India a base for the manufacture of anti-HIV drugs, new departments in the IITs in frontier bio- and nanotechnology areas and an upgrade of agriculture universities: these form the key initiatives that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh takes with him as he goes to Washington in less than 10 days to build on the US promise of an enduring partnership with India.

The Sunday Express has learnt that the CEOs’ Group, 10 each from India and the US, will include the heads of some of the biggest business groups in both countries. While Ratan Tata will head the Indian side, the US is yet to decide on who will head their group.

Such was the interest in the US that some 49 applications were received for the 10 members. The idea for this forum is believed to have come from US Ambassador to India David Mulford.

The forum will meet for the first time on July 18, the day the Prime Minister has his official meetings, and is expected to decide on a timeframe to prepare a roadmap for investments in India. Tata is said to be doubtful for the first meeting but will subsequently take charge.

On the energy front, India and the US will unveil the terms of reference for its five sub-groups under the umbrella energy dialogue during Singh’s visit. Both the sides have agreed to set up five sub-groups—coal, cleaner technologies, oil and gas, power and nuclear energy—after Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia held the first round of dialogue with his US counterpart Samuel Bodman in Washington last month.

Government sources said the sub-groups will be headed by officials from the respective ministries. The crucial nuclear energy dialogue will be headed by officials from the Atomic Energy Commission. While there is no doubt that Washington will have to amend its laws to do nuclear business with India, sources said, the expectation is that a political signal will come from US President George W Bush during the PM’s visit.

Further, Washington is interested in commercial deals with Indian companies, which are largely public sector undertakings like Coal India or BHEL or Indian Oil Corporation. They propose to bring better technology to generate power from coal and superior technology to drill and locate oil in the Deccan plateau.

Besides this, the two sides are looking to launch separate initiatives in agriculture, industry, health as well as science and technology. Government sources pointed out that these are crucial areas, as identified in the UPA’s Common Minimum Programme, where New Delhi feels US partnership could be of help in making India a great power.

There is a special focus on the agriculture initiative, an idea that is believed to have come from the Prime Minister himself. India is keen to revive the association of the 1960s which led to the first green revolution with the help of Norman Borlaug’s pathbreaking research in creating a new strand of wheat.

India, official sources said, is keen to be involved with the research into genetically modified crops and related areas. But the most important objective will be to link up Indian agricultural universities with those in the US and look to turn them into institutions of excellence as the IITs are to science and technology.

It may be noted that some of the better known places for agricultural research like the Punjab Agricultural University, PUSA, G B University for Agriculture and Technology were in the past associated with the famous Land Grant universities of the US. This will now be revived with a new action plan.

The health initiative will focus on tackling HIV/AIDS by developing more linkages between the pharamecutical industries to convert India into a base for producing anti-retro viral drugs. With American research and Indian skill for making cost-efficient drugs, the government feels there is scope beneficial cooperation here.

Already Indian Health officials are in talks with the US to collaborate in setting up a regulatory structure on the lines of the US Federal Drug Control Authority that will streamline procedures for pharma companies keen on investing here.

In the science and technology initiative, both sides will institutionalise exchange in ongoing research in frontier technologies like nano technology and bio-technology. The idea is to set up dedicated departments for this purpose in IITs. Here again, it may be recalled that the US had earlier helped set up the IIT at Kanpur.

The other initiative on industry will address specific problems being faced by US small and medium industries trying to invest or enter into partnerships in India. Mechanisms will be created to ease the process and reduce red tape for these units.

AND THE TWAIN SHALL MEET  

CEOs from the US • Charles O. Prince, Citigroup • Paul Hanrahan, AES • Stanley Warren, Cargill • David Cote, Honeywell International, • William B. Harrison, Jr, J P Morgan Chase • Harold McGraw III, The McGraw Hill companies • Thomas J. O’Neill, Parsons Brinckerhoff • Steve Reinemund, Pepsi • Christopher Rodrigues, VISA International • Anne M. Mulcahy, Xerox

And from here • Ratan Tata, Tata Sons • Deepak Parekh, HDFC • Mukesh Ambani, RIL • Nandan Nilekani, Infosys • Ashok Ganguly, ICICI OneSource Ltd • Y C Deveshwar, ITC Ltd • Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Biocon • Analjit Singh, Max (India) Ltd • Pratap C Reddy, Apollo Group of Hospitals • Baba N Kalyani, Bharat Forge Ltd