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 The visit by Kerry, and a trip by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel
next month, follow the resounding election win of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi in May and are meant to create a good climate for
Modi's planned visit to Washington in September.
Analysts say it is only once Modi meets President Barack Obama that
the United States may have a more realistic hope for progress on big
defense projects, on removing obstacles to U.S. firms' participation
in India's nuclear power industry, and for firmer statements of
shared interests in Asia.
"India will play a much greater role in Asia under the Modi
administration, but it will do so for its own reasons and under its
own terms," said Ashley Tellis of Washington's Carnegie Endowment
for International Peace think tank.
Four years ago, Obama declared the U.S.-India relationship would be
"one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century" and last week
the State Department called it one of "enormous strategic
importance."
But while the two countries are in many ways natural allies, as big
democracies with shared concerns about Islamist militancy and the
rise of China, the relationship falls far short of Obama's
rhetorical billing.
 Disputes over protectionism and intellectual property rights have
soured the business climate and India has remained cautious about
committing to U.S. strategic designs, given concerns that U.S.
power, eroded by domestic budget battles, may be waning.
The relationship took a dive last year after an Indian diplomat was
arrested in New York on charges of mistreating her domestic help, an
episode that provoked outrage and resentment in New Delhi.
Modi, whose Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party swept to an
overwhelming victory after years of shaky Indian coalitions, has yet
to make clear how closely he plans to work with Washington.
The potential for tension was always high. He was banned from
visiting the United States after Hindu mobs killed more than 1,000
people, most of the Muslims, while he was chief minister of his home
state of Gujarat.
The Obama administration sought to turn a new page by quickly
inviting Modi to Washington after his election, and was pleased by
his quick positive response.
Kerry will be heading the U.S. team at the annual Strategic Dialogue
with India on Thursday, and will be accompanied by U.S. Commerce
Secretary Penny Pritzker.
MODI MYSTERY
The BJP has a strong streak opposed to Western dominance of world
affairs and this meshes with the rise of the BRICS block of five
powerful emerging nations, which includes China, that see themselves
as a counterbalance to U.S. hegemony.
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One of Modi's first moves on the world stage since taking office was
to sign up to a BRICS development bank intended to wrest control
over global finanacial institutions away from the United States and
Europe.
On Friday India threatened to block a worldwide reform of customs
rules agreed last December, prompting a U.S. warning that its
demands on food stockpiling could kill global trade reform.
The deadline for agreeing the trade facilitation deal falls
during Kerry's time in New Delhi and a failure to overcome India's
objections by next week could overshadow his visit.
The Indian stance has fueled doubts about the extent of Modi's
commitment to pushing through economic reforms seen as necessary to
spur growth and attract investment.
U.S. officials say Modi's first budget contained some positive
signs. But ownership limits in the defense sector were not relaxed
enough to allow U.S. firms the controlling stakes they seek in joint
ventures, which will make them reluctant to share technology India
craves.
Nisha Biswal, U.S. assistant secretary of state for South Asia,
spoke this month of the U.S. desire for Indian growth and its
greater involvement in Southeast and East Asia, where China's
territorial claims have caused increasing alarm.
India, which for decades had close military links with the Soviet
Union while leading the world non-aligned movement, is cautious
about being too closely associated with U.S. strategic policy, not
least because of its economic links with China.
"They will resist packaging their initiatives as a favor done to the
United States, or as part of grand American strategy," said Tellis,
of the Carnegie think tank.
"They may end up doing pretty much what the United States wants, but
they will do so their own way."
(This version of the story was refiled to remove an extraneous word
in the third paragraph.)
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington and Frank Jack Daniel
and Sanjeev Miglani in New Delhi; Editing by David Storey)
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