Explain the significance of your proposed study plan and your selected region, language, and culture to U.S. national security, broadly defined. You should also describe how your proposed study plan relates to your academic and career goals, including your plans to fulfill the service requirement.
Havingstrong political and economic relations with india is imperative and increasingly important to the United States’ national security today and in the future. The White House believes that the united states and india relationship will be one of the defining partnerships for the 21st century. With the second largest population density, and only growing, as well as strategically placed next to Pakistan and Afghanistan, having a stable india economically, politically, and a strong health care infrastructure is vital to the United States’ national security.
Considering India’s vital regional role in East and West Asia, India’s future and stability is vital to US nationalsecurity making india is one of the usa’s most important strategic partners on a global scale.
The US administration considers India as the most important emerging strategic partner facing China. India is also important for US politics, national security and economy due to “unabated growth of Islamic militancy in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and India’s convenient location between the shipping lanes of the South Pacific and the Persian Gulf” (Kamdar, 2007).
The fast-pacing economic growth of India has been successful in attracting huge ventures by chief U.S. corporations. There is a development between the two countries’ trade and investment. between the two countries is booming. India is important for American corporations for the reason that the eastern country can make US profit about $20-$40 billion as a result of the nuclear agreement alone. India is being admired by the USA for demonstrating a new maturity in making out the need to leave the Nonaligned Movement and anobligation to multilateralism behind. Indian-Americans also play crucial role in the future of the relationship between the two countries. (Kamdar, 2007).
In the contemporary era, both United States and India are dependent on each other for having a secured future.

Within the framework of the Third Annual U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue held on June 13 2012, India’s Minister of External Affairs Shri S.M. Krishna and the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton agreed on the joint statement envisaging strategic issues of joint partnership in the areas of politics, economy, healthcare, human development and education. The joint negotiations once again confirmed the remarkable strategic importance and expansion of the bilateral relationship since 2010 when the last Dialogue of this kind was held among these countries. Strategically both countries committed their joint intentions to broaden and deepen global strategic partnership by mutually promoting peace, shared prosperity and stability (Blechman, 2012).
The years of joint strategic areas in various important areas have shown that the developmental strategies of both countries have much in common as India and the U.S. share common values in geopolitical, national security, economic, social (healthcare and education) and technological domains.
Strategic Cooperation between these countries is initially based on comprehensive regional consultations where their leaders establish a shared vision for peace, security, stability, and prosperity in Asia and the Indian Ocean and the Pacific region. In particular, the United States welcomes India’s efforts to solidify regional economic connectivity by promoting transit, regional trade and energy linkages (U.S. Department of State, 2012).
National security
National security is a top issue on the bilateral agenda and therefore both countries much emphasize on the strategic importance of maritime security, peaceful settlement of maritime disputes, freedom of navigation, and unimpeded commerce in line with the applicable international legislation, and the. As well as this, based on the bilateral consultations both countries refer to the important global issues, such as countering piracy, counternarcotics, maritime safety, as well as disaster relief and humanitarian aid.
With regard to in defense relations, India and the United States have already performed a lot of various military exercises and exchanges over the last six years in close cooperation with civilian relief and development agencies. In particular, the Government of India has issued defense contracts worth $9 billion to the U.S. companies. In turn, over the past decade the US has been tremendously supporting India’s military modernization. The countries continuously strengthen defense cooperation by increasing the transfer of strategically important technologies and resources, as well as joint research and development (R&D) projects to increase the joint production of defense items (Center for American Progress, 2012).
With respect to intelligence, counterterrorism, Homeland security and cyber security, the two countries launched the implementation of thoroughly elaborated action plan aimed to share best intelligence and counter-terror practices, support bilateral exchange of operational approaches, and promote the development of strategic security programs aimed at other countries of strategic importance. The particular focus on science and technology arrangements by the leaders of two countries intends to mobilize all the available resources to withstand the potential challenges and threats induced by cyberspace crimes. Thus, the countries continually advance counterterrorism measures and enhance law enforcement.
Foreign policies of both countries are aimed at maritime security by curbing the problem of piracy off the coast of Somalia. The governments are jointly planning to further advance the coordination of the joint anti-piracy measures and address the problem of hostages (U.S. Department of State, 2012).
Another important issue of bilateral cooperation in the national security domain concerns Afghanistan since both countries had each signed Strategic Partnership Agreements with Afghanistan. The US and India are continually holding joint consultations on Afghanistan while seeking new opportunities to promote a stable, sovereign, democratic, and prosperous Afghanistan. The leaders of both countries therefore explore various opportunities to further promote Afghanistan’s development in the areas of core strategic importance: mining, agriculture, capacity building, energy and infrastructure. To achieve these goals in Afghanistan, the leaders of both countries agree that it is vital to eliminate safe havens and destroy the available terrorism infrastructure which serves as the basis for violent extremism in Pakistan and Afghanistan (Merica, 2012).
Economic issues, trade and agriculture
Both countries win strategic competitive advantages on the global and regional markets by promoting bilateral trade in goods and services which overall amount reached unprecedented $100 billion at the end of 2012. The First Infrastructure Debt Fund in India united the efforts of Indian and U.S. financial institutions and significantly strengthened bilateral trade and significant investment into India’s infrastructure sector worth $1 trillion.
Both countries jointly work to promote bilateral investment and trade flows. These efforts include the facilitation of workforce and capital flows across the countries, the increase of annual investment and the rise of business tourism. Namely, permanent encouragement of R&D and innovation considerably strengthen the economic interaction between the two countries (Blechman, 2012).
Health and innovation
Within the healthcare framework, both countries strategically aim to advance bilateral research and cooperation in the areas of applied sciences, STEM education, health and medical services, as well as technology commercialization to further promote science and engineering.
2012 marked the end of the 25-year-long Vaccine Action Programme which marked the collaborative research initiative between the two countries. Today, both countries (represented by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Biotechnology of India) jointly implement the research on stem cell regenerative medicine as part of broad collaboration in the health sector between the two countries (U.S. Department of State, 2012).
Conclusion
Over the last decade the US regards India as a strategic partner in the Asian region. Both countries have much in common in terms of national security, defense and geopolitical concerns. Within the framework of strategic consultations and Annual dialogues the leaders of both countries develop joint initiatives on the continual improvement in various fields of strategic importance. The following meeting of the Strategic Dialogue is due to take place in New Delhi this year where the leaders of both countries will once again prove the strategic importance of India in today’s strategic geopolitical stance of the USA (U.S. Department of State, 2012).
• Introduction
The Republic of India (Bharat/Hindustan) is located in South Asia. It is the second most densely populated country in the world. The front lineof the Indian land “stretches from the Arabian Sea on the west to the Bay of Bengal on the east and touches Pakistan” on the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan on the north, Bangladesh in the northeast and Myanmar on the east. New Delhi is the capital of India whereas Mumbai is the largest city(“India,” 2012).
• Public Health Care
Regardless of the fact that India has a highly sensitive governmental system, high-quality scientific skills in a lot of fields and a far-reaching set-up of public health organizations for research, training, and diagnostics, India has rather pitiable health outcomes. It, therefore, is suggestive of the fact that the health system perhapsis misdirecting its hard work, or may be feeble, defective, and designed with flaws. Three broad areas have been reported in the public health system of India to have weaknesses (Gupta &Rani, 2004).
First, the system has failed to notice a number ofessential public health functions like public health rules and policies and their enforcement. Second, bottomlesssupervisiondefects havegot in the wayof successfulutilization of resources consisting of“inadequate focus on evaluation, on assessing quality of services, on dissemination and use of information, and on openness to learning and innovation” (Gupta &Rani, 2004). Third, the central government functions in segregation and has a need of working more closely with extra chiefactors including the sub-national governments, private sector and with communities. However, it has been concluded by researchers that the public health system in India needs tohave another look atits priorities and superior management practices. By doing so, health outcomes could be made better in a substantial manner (Gupta &Rani, 2004).
• Politics
India is said to have the largest democratic system in the world. It has the highest number of people with voting rights and the biggest number of political parties that participate in election campaign. It was in 1949 that a Constituent Assembly adopted India’s Constitution which became effective in January 1950. The Indian republic is regarded“as a sovereign socialist democratic republic whose duty it is to secure justice, liberty, equality and fraternity for its citizens” (Harrison et al., 2007). The Constitution supports a parliamentarygovernment within a federal structure.
Indian politics experience different political scenarios and issues. Some are of national nature while some are related to the regional level. A number of communities only ask for more economic and social rights for themselves. On the other hand, some demand more independenceand self-sufficiency so that their cultures can survive within the Indian states. However, the republic of India has been successful in surviving as a single state with egalitarian and autonomous character with all its problems.
• Economy
As far as the economy of India is concerned, the country seems to have two separate countries within it i.e. village India and urban India. While village India is characterized by its long-established agricultural system having tens of millions of inhabitants living below the poverty line, the urban India is symbolized as one of the most heavily industrialized regions in the world having an ever-increasing middle-class populace and a rapidly-developing economy. Agriculture contributes more or less twenty percent in the GDP and about 60% of the Indians are employed in the sector. Rice, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, pulses and corn are grown in vast quantities. The major nonfood crops include cotton, jute and oil seeds(“India,” 2012).
In India, there are more livestock per capita than any other country in the world. However, as Hindu populace is against the slaughter of cattle owing to their religious beliefs, the economic value of the cattle is severely limited. India has vast quantities of mineral resources including “coal, iron ore, mica, manganese, bauxite, and titanium”(“India,” 2012). Regrettably, despite having such large amounts of mineral resources, they are not fully exploited at present.
In current times, the industry in India has been expanded and diversified to a great extent. About twelve percent of the Indian workforce has been employed by the industrial sector. Large textile works, huge iron and steel complex, steel plants, computer, electronics, and armaments industries are the major industries in the country. It is also a chief producer of “machine tools, transportation equipment, chemicals, and cut diamonds”(“India,” 2012)along with having an important computer software industry. India’s large film industry, renowned as Bollywood, also contributes greatly to the country’s economy. The service industries in India have turned out to be a chiefcause of economic growth. In recent years, the number of international call centers has increased rapidly thereby providing employment for the increasing workforce(“India,” 2012).
India’s major exports include “clothing and textiles, gems and jewelry, engineering products, chemicals, leather goods, computer software, cotton thread, and handicrafts”(“India,” 2012). “Crude oil, machinery, gems, fertilizers, and chemicals”(“India,” 2012)are the country’s leading imports. It has close trading partnership with USA, UAE, China, Singapore, UK and Switzerland.
• Importance of India to USA
The US administration considers India as the most important emerging strategic partner facing China. India is also important for US politics, national security and economy due to “unabated growth of Islamic militancy in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and India’s convenient location between the shipping lanes of the South Pacific and the Persian Gulf” (Kamdar, 2007).
The fast-pacing economic growth of India has been successful in attracting huge ventures by chief U.S. corporations. There is a development between the two countries’ trade and investment. between the two countries is booming. India is important for American corporations for the reason that the eastern country can make US profit about $20-$40 billion as a result of the nuclear agreement alone. India is being admired by the USA for demonstrating a new maturity in making out the need to leave the Nonaligned Movement and anobligation to multilateralism behind. Indian-Americans also play crucial role in the future of the relationship between the two countries. Indian-Americans are one of the most well-to-do immigrant groups in USA and are also one of the most highly qualified. As a consequence, they are very vital to the American economy and politics (Kamdar, 2007).
In the contemporary era, both United States and India are dependent on each other for having a secured future.

India’s Healthcare System and Its Impacts on US
Introduction
Trends relating to health in the world are a key consideration in the effective implementation of national security policies in the United States. In addition, concerns regarding global health entail measures that aim at tackling the spread of diseases form one region to another and reversing health problems whose global impacts on politics and economicsare adverse. Detection of diseases and execution of appropriate response and control measures is important in tackling various threats relating to national health in the US. The improvement of health in the global scope has significant levels of correlation with the state of health in the United States and matters of security at both the national and international level. An evaluation of various global health events such as the SARS epidemic of 2003 demonstrates that the health care system in a certain part of the world plays a central role in the realization of political stability, fruitful diplomatic relationships and economic growth throughout the world.
India’s Public Healthcare System
A significant percentage of India’s population faces various disease threats due to the high levels of poverty, cost of health care, poor nutrition and infrastructure. Despite the fact that India has become a center for medical tourism, underinvestment in its public health care system has made health care unaffordable. The poor health care system has promoted the spread of diseases, poor nutrition and sanitation. The state of India’s healthcare system creates an environment that is conducive for the spread of global health problems. These problems are likely to have significant global impact due to the lack of appropriate systems to control spread across borders. For example, most of India’s medical personnel and facilities are located in urban centers (Srivastava, 2011). This means that disease outbreak in rural areas are likely to remain uncontained. Another illustration of the ineffectiveness of India’s health care system is the large number of avoidable deaths. Furthermore, the rising trend in lifestyle diseases among the urban middle and upper class demonstrates India’s inability to address matters on national health. Poor health care and poverty are key factors that promote global health crises.
India’s Healthcare Impacts on US
The United States is one of the major beneficiaries of globalization. In this regard, trends in globalevents are a key factor within the US economy. Due to the high level of direct foreign investment, the US has interests in political and socioeconomic matters throughout the world. In implementing various policies on investment, the US considers the long-term impacts of foreign investments concerning national defense and security. To address various concerns relating to economy and politics,the government of United States must acknowledge the need to view matters of public health in the global context. The lack of an effective health care system in India should be a concern for the US since an inappropriate response to diseases poses threats to the global security, economy and politics due to the possibility of diseases spreading internationally and interruption of international travel and commerce (McDonough, 2011).
Information on India’s public health care system provides the United States with insights on appropriate responses to health events that present the possibility of negatively affecting its interests. In this regard, US government agencies can provide funds, human resources and other forms of assistance that will help in the improvement of health worldwide. Investing in the improvement of global health helps the United States to establish safeguards against outbreaks of diseases, contaminants that threaten the benefits United States derives from travel and commerce (Loustaunau & Sobo, 1997). Evaluating data on India’s healthcare system provides information regarding the spread and control of health problems that the US can use to improve its national public health. Such data may help in establishing health care systems that effectively respond to cross-border disease treats so that the effects of such events remain minimal. Monitoring systems that help in the early detection of disease outbreaks will help to improve response time.
Globalization introduces various health risks as travel and trade take a global perspective. This phenomenon creates distribution chains that increase the possibility of outbreak of diseases and infections internationally due factor such the consumption of low-quality pharmaceuticals and consumer goods containing contaminants (Johnson & Stoskopf, 2010). Diseases lead to rising levels of poverty and economic and political instability. Because of globalization, consequences of poverty and economic and political crises in one country are likely to have a global impact. Evidence shows a correlation between poverty and civil strife and rising levels of insecurity throughout the world. Therefore, the United States should use its capacity of resources to improve healthcare in India in order to safeguard its own national security, and ensure economic and political stability.
Conclusion
Diseases such as the Avian Flu have had significant impacts on the United States’ healthcare system. The amount of resources directed towards tackling healthcare crises due to this flu, and its effects on travel and trade demonstrates the need for active participation in solving global health problems. Thus, cooperation between countries is important in order to ensure effective tackling of healthcare crises and sustenance of socioeconomic and political stability.