On Saturday, November 6, 2010, in Mumbai, President Obama will convene a roundtable discussion with a small group of U.S. and Indian business leaders to showcase commercial partnerships that exemplify the promise of each country’s dynamic entrepreneur-led economic growth.  The discussion will focus on the growing trade and investment between our two countries, and the resulting opportunities for our entrepreneurs to build new markets and create high-quality jobs in the U.S. and India.
 
Joining at the table will be a group of India- and U.S.-based private sector executives who’s respective partnerships are creating jobs in the United States and improving the quality of life for millions in India.

• Electric/Clean transport: Motor controls designed, built and exported by New York-based Curtis Instruments are a key technology in the Mahindra-Reva electric car.  Through this partnership, Mahindra Reva and Curtis are advancing the commercialization and adoption of ‘clean’ vehicles in India and across the globe.
• Distributed solar power: Solar panels manufactured by Georgia-based Suniva are being built into Applied Solar Technologies’ modules to power cell towers in India. Through this partnership, solar hybrid is replacing diesel as a rural power source that could have broader applications in other rural markets.
• Clean drinking water: Water membranes manufactured by Minnesota-based Pentair Filtration Systems are being used by Piramal’s Sarvajal to develop sustainable drinking water solutions for rural and urban populations where water quality currently causes more than 70 percent of common health problems.
• Drug discovery: The Epic System, an optical biosensor technology developed and manufactured by Upstate New York’s Corning Incorporated, is being used in partnership with Advinus Therapeutics for the development of new therapies for a variety of diseases, including ‘neglected’ diseases such as leshmaniasis, a parasite that disables tens of thousands Indians each year and is a growing threat to American service members in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Also present in the room will be a group of fifteen young entrepreneurs who are spearheading initiatives that are creating jobs and improving the delivery of basic services – health care, education, clean water, power, financial services – through market-based strategies that benefit low-income communities.  With nearly 65 percent of India’s 1.2 billion citizens under the age of 35, these individuals embody our shared belief in democracy and economic growth as central elements to greater poverty alleviation.