Few know that more than 70 per cent of all active ingredients for pharmaceuticals made and sold in America are sourced from India. As much as 30 per cent of all generic medicines sold in the United States are made in India - a fact all should be proud of. As every country struggles to expand healthcare access to countless millions, costs are simply overwhelming government budgets. Indias high-quality, low-cost generic industry has stepped-up to be part of the solution. Large population countries like India, and aging population countries like the United States, must work together as partners to tackle healthcare access and healthcare costs head-on. PEPFAR, the signature humanitarian success of the George W Bush Administration, which is saving countless millions from the scourge of HIV/AIDS in Africa, would not have been conceivable without Indian generic medicines. For the sake of all humanity, the United States and India must join forces to capitalise on ourshared values to expand access for all mankind to affordable, low-cost, safe, high-quality healthcare. As our economies become more intertwined by technology, demand for high-skilled talent continues to exceed supply. Those who possess training in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are in demand. India is rich with such talent. America has a deficit of it. The call today from atop every hill across our great lands should be: Deliver us maths students, engineers, scientists, and technologists! Surely, as the United States reviews and reforms its immigration policies - a process already begun - a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is emerging for both our countries to connect talent with need, celebrating our common devotion to education, shoring-up a creative ecosystem that will spur innovation for both our economies for decades to come. Silicon Valley can be replicated, but this will only be achieved so long as fresh talent is welcomed by both our countries - a move that will surely spark a billion ideas and discoveries. Make no mistake, India is on the move - driven by a young electorate which insists on precisely such confident governance as being exemplified by Indias new prime minister, but which also embraces the very tenets of freedom and a free-market and entrepreneurial democracy that we embrace here in the United States.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 21:04:33 +0000