NEW DELHI, MARCH 3 To prove to American businessmen and their visiting President George W. Bush that India means business, Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia has decided to steer 24 new committees towards greater economic exchange between the two nations.

The announcement of these committees is the first action taken by the Indian side after the US-India CEOs Forum, a grouping of 20 well-known industrialists from India and the US, submitted their policy recommendations to Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday.

The report has already fuelled higher demands and expectations from both governments. Immediately after the report’s public release on Thursday, CEOs from both countries said its recommendation of a $5 billion infrastructure fund should be immediately implemented.

The Forum, co-chaired by Ratan Tata and William Harrison, has proposed the $5 billion Infrastructure Fund to help set up large-scale Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and to promote aggressive reform in the Indian power sector.

It spells out 24 specific points for India to consider and on the Indian end, none other than Ahluwalia has been chosen to head each group for the points.

‘‘The framework will put in place within the next 3-4 months and I will oversee the developments to ensure that the recommendations do not remain on paper alone,’’ Ahluwalia said.

The report also suggests expeditiously enacting or adopting pending legislation in the oil and gas sector, promote technology exchange in agriculture, biotechnology and nanotechnology and establish partnership to make Doha round of WTO a success.

‘‘The report is a result of people from both nations acknowledging that business ties need to be strengthened,’’ said Nandan Nilekani, the President and Managing Director of India’s flagship IT company Infosys Technologies.

While releasing the report, Harrison said that America identifies poor infrastructure and bureaucratic delays as the major deterrents to investments in India, making a strong case for further liberalisation in financial and retail sectors.

‘‘Factors like poor energy supply, roads, airports, core infrastructure and bureaucracy contribute to American business community’s lack of excitement in investing in India. It is hard to get approvals, permits and in the legal system the proces is slow and cumbersome. It takes a long time for settlement of disputes,’’ he said.

The perception is also that India’s share in America’s total investment outgo does not yet match the strides it has taken over recent years in reforming business sectors ranging from telecom and roads to insurance, banking and even power.