Building on the progress made over the last two decades, during the presidencies of Bill Clinton and George W Bush, the Obama administration, as it had promised, took the relationship to a new level.
2010 will not only be remembered as a year when India saw the sixth ever US presidential visit -- and the third consecutive one -- but also a year when Obama endorsed India for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, thus formally taking note of emergence of India on the world stage.
"This is my first trip to India, but this will be my longest visit to another country since becoming president. And that's because I believe that the relationship between the US and India will be one of the defining and indispensable partnerships of the 21st century," Obama had said during the US-India Business Council and Entrepreneurship Summit in Mumbai in November.
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India, US came close on Afghan issue
In fact, during Obama's India visit, the two sides agreed to identify projects which they can do together. It looks like the first such project would be in the agriculture sector.
Even though the trust deficit between the two countries on the issue of Pakistan remained -- albeit a bit less -- the US towards the end of the year appeared to be more closer to the Indian argument that the key to terrorism in the region lies in Pakistan and some elements in its establishment.
This was reflected in various statements coming from the top officials of the Obama administration, asking Pakistan to do more in the war against terrorism.
Obama omits K-word despite Pak pressure
Despite repeated assertions -- and even demands, if some news reports are to be believed -- at the highest level in Pakistani leadership, including by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the Obama administration refused to offer mediation between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.
In the South Asian neighborhood, be it Sri Lanka, Bangladesh or Nepal, the two countries increased their area of cooperation. And to the surprise of many, the US and India this year started a sub-dialogue on South East Asia.
At least two rounds of such dialogue were held this year, which many experts believe is an effort to check the increasing influence of China in the region. However, both India and the US have denied this.
On Myanmar, the US this year appeared to tow the Indian policy of engagement with the military leaders. Cooperation in counter-terrorism is one area where India and the US have quietly made tremendous stride this year which, in fact, started late last year during the state visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Washington.
Post 26/11, India, US strengthen defence ties
Photographs: Mark Wilson/Reuters
Post 26/11, the access given to David Coleman Headley, a key plotter of the terror strike, is something visible to the public in the open, but intelligence and security agencies of the two countries have established institutional mechanism of cooperation.
Defence ties were further strengthened as US Defence Secretary Robert Gates visited India followed by a return visit by Defence Minister A K Antony to Washington.
India also placed multi-billion-dollar orders for buying defence equipment from the US, giving a big boost to its economy through creation of thousands of jobs.
When all the ordered aircraft are delivered, India will have the second largest C-17 fleet in the world behind the US.
During the year, the US also announced the removal of Indian space and defence entities from its commerce department's entity list as India aligns its export controls with global standards. This was one of the key irritants in the relationship between the two countries.
Besides endorsing New Delhi for a permanent position in the UN Security Council, the US this year announced its decision to support India's full membership in four multilateral export control regimes -- Nuclear Suppliers Group, Missile Technology Control Regime, Australia Group and Wassenaar Arrangement.
The two countries took further steps towards the implementation of their civilian nuclear deal, even though there are few issues that remained to be shorted out. The US has expressed its concerns over certain provisions of India's nuclear liability bill.
Bis sector, the bitter point in Indo-US ties
Photographs: Rafiq Maqbool/Reuters
Even though the Obama visit resulted in several big business deals, US companies, which played a key role in the passage of the civilian nuclear bill, expressed dissatisfaction over the nuclear liability bill.
Very often, they expressed their frustration over the development, as they had not been able to get the business.
Indian companies, on the other hand, forcefully raised their voice against anti-outsourcing and restrictive measures being implemented by the US.
Indian firms termed as unjustified and discriminatory a legislation passed by the Congress to fund the Mexico border protection measures by increasing fee on H-1B and L1 visas. Similarly, they were up in arms against Ohio's anti-outsourcing regulations.
Irritants in relations: Meera Shankar pat-down, WikiLeaks
Now, the two countries were working to ensure that these irritants in the bilateral relationship are removed. Towards the end of the year, the pat-down of Indian ambassador to the US Meera Shankar at a domestic airport in the US and unauthorised release of state department cables, including those on India, by WikiLeaks seemed to have some impact on the otherwise positive relationship between the two countries.
However, after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent phone call to External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, it now appears the relationship is mature enough to face these challenges and march ahead.
"The secretary and minister agreed that the unauthorised release of classified cables would not affect cooperation between India and the United States," US state department spokesman P J Crowley said.
The talks between the two leaders also laid the groundwok for the relationship next year, when Krishna has invited Clinton to visit India for the second round of the Strategic Dialogue, dates for which will be decided later.
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