Clinton is scheduled to arrive in Mumbai on Friday night on an official visit to India during which high-level discussions are likely to promote bilateral co-operation in the $30 billion Indian civil nuclear power programme and the $43-billion bilateral trade. She will be flying-in from the Czech Republic capital, Prague.
India's top businessmen are expected to meet her at the iconic Taj Hotel. The sea-facing hotel bore the brunt of a terror attack in November last year.
Clinton is expected to meet Ratan Tata who leads India's premier conglomerate, the Tata group, along with other top industrialists like Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries and Godrej group Chairman Adi Godrej. A few top Tata group officials are also expected to attend the meet.
Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy's wife Sudha Murthy, who is deeply involved with corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and Chanda Kochhar, who heads India's largest private sector bank, ICICI, are also expected to interact with the US Secretary of State. Gita Piramal is also understood to be one of the invitees from India Inc.
This is Hillary Clinton's first visit to India after assuming charge as the US Secretary of State in the Obama administration early this year.
The global economic meltdown has particularly affected the United States. The measures taken by its government to beat the recession are likely to be discussed in the meet.
India's relatively strong growth of 6 per cent and its resilient economy has emerged as a strong focus area for the US in recent years and Clinton's visit is expected to give a further boost to the burgeoning trade-ties between the two countries.
Clinton will be staying at the Ratan Tata-owned Taj Hotel's new wing. Usually, foreign dignitaries are put up in the hotel's heritage wing which is under renovation following the November 26 terror strike. She will, therefore, be staying in the tower section of the hotel.
