The Bay Area-Silicon Valley and India

Convergence and Alignment in the Innovation Age
“The most strategic relationship between any two countries in the world is between India and the United States. India is at an inflection point of exponential growth, and implementation is the biggest challenge. To achieve it, partnership with the US, including Silicon Valley, is important.”

—John Chambers, CEO, JC2 Ventures,
former Executive Chairman and CEO, Cisco

Sponsors

This report would not have been possible without the generous support of its sponsors Infosys, GE Digital, J. Sagar Law, Tech Mahindra, Salesforce, Greenberg Traurig LLP, and WestBridge Capital.

Acknowledgments

This report was developed and written by Sean Randolph, Senior Director at the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, and Niels Erich, a consultant to the Institute.

The Institute is deeply grateful to the co-chairs of this project, Dr. Nandini Tandon of Tenacity, and William Ruh, CEO of Lendlease Digital, who provided extraordinary leadership and guidance to the project. It also wishes to thank Priya Tandon, special advisor for India to the Bay Area Council, who provided active support and liaison in India.

Image Credits

Header: North Block, Secretariat Building, New Delhi photo by Laurie Jones, ljonesimages on Flickr
Photo Mosaic clockwise from upper left: Vega Circle Mall, Siliguri, West Bengal photo by Boudhayan Bardhan on Unsplash; Infosys campus photo by Vasudev Bhandarkar on Flickr; Jaipur street scene photo by Eduardo M.C. on Flickr

The US and India

A Rapidly Growing Relationship

  • India and the United States are poised at the threshold of a closer, more productive relationship than at any point in the recent past.
  • A shared strategic perspective on political and security issues in the “Indo-Pacific region” has also brought the two countries closer together.
  • Reforms initiated under current Prime Minister Narendra Modi make doing business in India easier and are opening opportunities.

Why India Now?

  • India’s GDP reached nearly $2.5 trillion in 2017, edging past France to make India the world’s 6th largest economy in nominal GDP terms.
  • The economy grew by 6.7% in 2017, and the International Monetary Fund has estimated 7.3% growth for 2018 and forcasts further growth of 7.5% for 2019.
  • The IMF forecasts that India will be the world’s 4th largest economy by 2022, and the Economist Intelligence Unit estimates that by 2007, India’s consuming classes will have more premium consumers than Japan or Korea.
  • India’s population is young. People aged 15–34 make up slightly over a third of India’s population and most of its eligible workforce; the median age is 28.
  • India’s middle class numbers several humdred million. The World Economic Forum expects 140 million more households to join it by 2030.
  • With its young population and a growing and educated middle class, India is a natural home for entrepreneurs and a magnet for venture capital.
  • New areas for partnership are also emerging as India’s economy is rapidly digitized. Opportunities will particularly grow in fields such as health, fintech, infrastructure, smart cities, semiconductor and cellphone manufacturing, and renewable energy—all fields where the Bay Area excels and India’s needs and capacities will grow.
For the Bay Area-Silicon Valley, it is time to take a new look at India.
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