Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Mike Hankey, Consul-General of the US in Mumbai, has said that the US has issued 82,000 visas this year to Indian students aspiring to study in that country. Currently, two lakh Indian students are already studying in the US. Clean energy, education and food-processing are the focus areas of the US for making investments in MP. The US would send its best delegation to the forthcoming ‘Global Investors’ Summit’ (GIS) scheduled in Indore on January 11 and 12.
Hankey was speaking to select mediapersons here on Tuesday following a meeting with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. He spoke on various issues, including culture, business, education, defence and agriculture. Talking about visa issue, he said the US was strengthening the visa processing staff and resources to reduce the time for issuing visas. This will help the visa aspirants. He said, “We have already issued 82,000 visas to Indian research students. Currently, 2 lakh students are studying there. Our priority is issuing visas to students and in case of medical emergencies.
Touching upon the issue of semi-conductors, Hankey said India and the US were studying this issue and working on it together. Similarly, India and the US are working in the field of solar panels. The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is working closely with India in such sectors as clean energy, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and food-processing. The US is also working with India in technologies in the form of software and hardware. Development of drones is one such area. Joint military operations are also being carried out.
“US companies have investments in Madhya Pradesh, too. Tractor manufacturing company John Deer has a manufacturing plant here and Procter and Gamble, too. The US wishes to help MP in the agriculture sector. It is looking positively towards the forthcoming ‘Global Investors’ Summit’, which will be held in Indore next January.
