US Vice President JD Vance, currently on a four-day visit to India, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday evening for a private meeting. This meeting comes at a time when the world is dealing with uncertainty due to the ongoing US-China trade war.

After the one-on-one meeting, both sides held delegation-level discussions. The visit also comes as India and the US are close to finalising a bilateral trade deal that is expected to benefit both countries. President Trump, who had added a 26 per cent tariff on top of the previous 10 per cent tariff on Indian goods, has now put these new "reciprocal" tariffs on hold for 90 days. Economists view this as a chance to finalise a trade deal that benefits both sides. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. Vice President JD Vance have both expressed their satisfaction with the progress made in discussions over the India-U.S. trade agreement, according to a statement from the government. India and the U.S. share a special and strong relationship and are considered key leaders of democracy, with India being the largest democracy and the U.S. the oldest.

The White House has emphasised that the Trump Administration is prioritising its relationship with India and is eager to finalise a trade deal, which could help reduce the impact of a trade conflict with China, the world's largest producer of goods. Indian leaders have mentioned that the trade deal was expected to be completed by the fall, but it is now a priority to finish it by the end of July, which coincides with the peak of the Monsoon season. India has made it clear that it won't rush into a deal or be forced into one "at gunpoint." The country has emphasised that any agreement will only happen when its concerns are properly addressed.

According to Bloomberg, an unnamed official in New Delhi said that sector-specific trade discussions will take place this week, soon after the meeting between PM Modi and JD Vance. The report also mentioned that a new goal might be set to conclude the trade talks by the end of May. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who will be in Washington for an IMF meeting, is expected to hold high-level talks with senior US officials there to finalise the India-US trade deal. India is aiming to attract more investments from the United States, especially in sectors like technology, manufacturing, automobiles and energy.

Just last week, Elon Musk, the tech billionaire who owns Tesla and Starlink, had a phone conversation with Prime Minister Modi. He later mentioned that he plans to visit India later this year, hinting at the possibility of expanding his companies, including Tesla, SpaceX and Starlink, into the Indian market, where they are currently not present. Last month, India and the United States reached an important milestone in their civil nuclear cooperation. The US Department of Energy gave final approval for a US company to partner with India in designing and building nuclear power plants.

Holtec International, a US-based company, was granted the license for this project. The company is owned and led by Indian-American entrepreneur Krishna P Singh. Its fully-owned subsidiary in Asia, Holtec Asia, has been operating since 2010 and is based in Pune, where it also runs a specialised engineering division. Additionally, Holtec has a manufacturing plant in Dahej, Gujarat, located in the Bharuch district. 

Reports suggest that US companies are looking to invest in India to increase production of gadgets like laptops, tablets and mobile phones. These companies want to reduce their reliance on China, and India has become a favourable option for manufacturing these products. India is already one of the global leaders in mobile phone production. Prime Minister Modi and Vice President Vance discussed ways to improve cooperation between India and the United States in defence and strategic technologies, according to an Indian government statement. They also focused on strengthening ties in the energy sector.

The statement did not provide further details about the defence discussions. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump had offered the US' F-35 stealth fighter jets to India, but it is unclear if this was part of the talks. When PM Modi met President Trump in February, they had also talked about working together on missile technology and undersea systems. The United States has upgraded India to a Major Defence Partner with Strategic Trade Authorisation-1, placing India on the same level as US NATO allies.

During yesterday’s meeting with JD Vance, Prime Minister Modi mentioned his visit to Washington, DC in January. He highlighted the productive talks with President Trump, which set the stage for stronger cooperation between India and the US, combining the strengths of Make America Great Again (MAGA) and Viksit Bharat 2047.