Hillary to 'upgrade' Indo-US ties to 3.0 version

Invoking IT language, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says time has come to "upgrade" Indo-US ties and she would be discussing the contours of '3.0' version of it when she visits New Delhi next month.

Addressing the influential US-India Business Council's 34th anniversary here yesterday and a "significant crowd" that included bigwigs from the IT industry, Clinton said "our official ties are past due for an upgrade."

"We find ourselves at the beginning of a third era. I'll call it US-India 3.0. The new governments in Washington and New Delhi will build this future together" and that she would be discussing the details of that partnership with India next month as she visits New Delhi in the highest level of contact since the Congress-led UPA returned to power.

"I hope that an expanded partnership between the US and India will be one of the signature accomplishments of both new governments in both countries, and I do plan to make that a personal priority," she said.

"The formation of India's new government is an opportunity to strengthen our ties and launch new initiatives.

Now that the government is in place, we are moving quickly to strengthen our ties," she said, assuring Indian-Americans that Obama administration was "fully committed" to implementing the "landmark" Indo-US civilian nuclear deal.