Can India become the United States’ technology partner in this new era of technological competition with China? An analysis by the Hinrich Foundation, an institution specializing in the analysis of free trade in the world and Asia, concludes that India has a great opportunity to do so. With favorable economic incentives and immense technological potential—India has the education system with the greatest focus on engineering in the world— according to the analysis—the country has already attracted giants like Apple, Samsung, and Amazon, which have drawn in their suppliers and are establishing world-class technology manufacturing clusters in various Indian cities, with global suppliers such as Foxconn and Wistron, as well as local ones like Dixon and Micromax. The next step would be to attract manufacturers of motherboards and semiconductors. India is also part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, known as QUAD, an alliance spearheaded by President Biden—which also includes Japan and Australia—to contain China and reinforce its role as a strategic ally of the U.S. in this new phase of U.S.-China relations. In any case, Hinrich notes that to establish itself as a new partner in the U.S. technology supply chain, India must implement further reforms to make it easier to do business in the country, by simplifying its regulatory system and improving relations between state governments and the central government.

BONUS TRACK: InMobi, a mobile contextual advertising company with operations in the U.S., China, South Korea, Australia, and India, is set to become the first Indian startup to go public on a U.S. stock exchange this year. Press reports indicate that InMobi aims to raise between US$12 billion and US$15 billion in its initial public offering.