Indo-US relations have had a bumpy ride over the last six decades. The 1990s and opening years of the 21st century have augured well for laying the foundations of a sustained Indo-US engagement in future. The following agenda could serve as the basis for this ongoing process. Both countries realise the full economic potential and are committed to seeking a new era of trade cooperation and investment. The US remains India's largest trading partner. Two way trade with the US has almost tripled in the last seven years expanding from US $14 billion in 2000 to US $41.6 billion in 2007. U.S support in providing the instrumentation for India's lunar mission, Chandrayan-1, is highly appreciated by India's scientific community.

Beyond the Indo-US Nuclear Deal, both countries are committed to bridge their divide to end India's decade-long isolation. The US is committed not to shift the 'goalposts'. India's legal and sovereign right to conduct nuclear tests remains intact. India can conduct nuclear tests in its supreme national interests if the situation so warrants in future. The civilian nuclear deal between India and the US will lift years of embargo on nuclear commerce with India. In a new dramatic shift in the global order and geopolitical equations in Asia, India will graduate from being a nuclear pariah to importing nuclear items from the US, France and Russia. The deal confers de facto nuclear status on India. India can also attain its new target of generating 52,000 megawatts (mw) of nuclear power by 2020. The share of nuclear power, now around 3 per cent, will shoot to around 15 per cent by 2020. As many as 400 Indian and foreign firms, including those from the US, could be the beneficiaries with over $ 40 billion in foreign investment over the next 10-15 years. Furthermore, the N-deal benefits the environment by reducing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases

According to the Pew Global Attitude Surveys of June2008, 66 per cent of Indians had a favourable opinion of the US in 2008 and that is up 7 per cent from 2007. 63 per cent respondents say US foreign policy pays attention to Indian interests which reflects a major change. Foundations like Fulbright have undergone a major transformation by renaming itself as US-India Educational Foundation, and by making both countries equal stakeholders. With students from the US opting to come to India under the Study Abroad Program and Indian students going to the US in increasing numbers, to major US universities setting up overseas branches in India, the education sector could open up new vistas for raising the relationship to a higher level.

India richly deserves a place in the expanded United Nations Security Council as well as membership in the G-8 grouping of nations. It is a thriving democracy with a 1 billion plus youthful, dynamic, entrepreneurial population, a booming economy growing from a 2 per cent 'Hindu rate' of growth a few years ago to a robust 8 per cent, and is a long-standing contributor to UN Peace Keeping Operations. For the Global Democracy Initiative (Capacity Building, Training, Exchanges), India has contributed US $10 million to the UN Democracy Fund and pledged an additional US $10 million also. As twin pillars of democracy and open societies, both India and the US are partners in their Energy Dialogue, Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate and in combating global scourge of terrorism,

As the 'brain banks' of India, the Indian Diaspora has crossed US $2.5 million in US, and play a key role in promoting India's case in various arenas. Shedding the 'imagined community' label, this ethnic group of highly educated and affluent population have contributed to American mainstream society in a variety of ways, including proactive participation in political processes at both the national and state levels. Bobby Jindal's victory to become the Governor of Louisiana is a case in point. With people to people ties at an all time high, India sends the highest number of students, 76,000 plus to the US.

Apart from India's status as a hard power (military prowess, nuclear capability, economic might, emphasis on national interest as state policy), India has increasingly projected its soft power; its attributes include: common political values, peaceful means for conflict management, economic cooperation, cultural interaction, liberal ideology, supporting international institutions, and so on. The US has noted India's edge in both hard and soft power capabilities and would support India's emergence as a global power.

Back to the future, with Barrack Obama, a Democrat, winning the US Presidency in the 2008 election and taking the oath of office on January 20, 2009, it is very likely that a big leap forward would occur between India and US in their bilateral relationship. If so, this win-win relationship will be a non-zero-sum game and more symmetrical, transiting from adversarial to cooperative, from estrangement to engagement, and will be based on shared values and shared interests as their common future is unbound and its possibilities are endless.