Ed. Note: This post is part of the Spotlight on Commerce series, which highlights members of the Department of Commerce who are contributing to the president's vision of winning the future through their work.

Anita Ramasastry is the Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Market Access and Compliance

In my role as the Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Market Access and Compliance, I develop and advance strategies to keep markets open for U.S. exporters. In the International Trade Administration, we do this by trying to reduce or eliminate trade barriers in other countries. Recently I was asked to establish a new initiative focused on preventing corruption in global trade. In addition, as part of the President’s National Export Initiative, I coordinate new strategies for increasing trade in six growing markets including Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey. I also am a member of the Commerce Department’s Internet Policy Task Force – tasked with promoting the growth of the knowledge economy and supporting our Internet and technology companies overseas. In this role, I have focused on how restrictions on Internet data flows can be a trade barrier, hindering innovation and competition in many markets.

Before coming to the International Trade Administration, I was a tenured law professor at the University of Washington, School of Law in Seattle, where I taught and researched commercial and banking law. My research focused on the impact of corruption on economic development in countries with natural resources.

President Obama has spoken of the devastating cost of corruption. And the need for change: “In too many places, the culture of the bribe is a brake on development and prosperity.  It discourages entrepreneurship, destroys public trust, and undermines the rule of law while stifling economic growth. With a new commitment to strengthening and enforcing rules against corruption, economic opportunity and prosperity will be more broadly shared.”

Guest blog post by Scott Ermeti, Vice President, Marketing and International Business at Pelican Products.

Ed note: Pelican Products is a manufacturer of watertight protective cases, submersible flashlights and ATEX certified torches.

We are nearing the end of Secretary Locke’s weeklong “India High Tech Business Development Mission” and by nearly all measures it has been a success for Pelican Products.  As a mid-sized American manufacturer of high-performance protective cases & packaging solutions and portable lighting equipment, it would have been very difficult for us to have received such a fine and rapid indoctrination to the Indian market elsewhere. 

Multiple meetings and presentations have educated us on the enormous opportunities that exist here:

• The Indian “middle class” is made up of more than 300 million persons; larger than the entire U.S. population
• The Indian economy is forecasted to grow at a rate of 7-9% for the next five years.
• The Indian government is forecasted to spend:
  • $50 billion dollars in Aerospace and Defense improvements in the next five years
  • $1 trillion in infrastructure improvements such as roads, bridges, and airports in the next five years.
• Currently manufacturing makes up only 16% of Indian GDP, but the goal is to increase that percentage to 25% over the next 10 years.

Guest blog post by Dr. Albert Green, CEO of Kent Displays. 

Ed note: Founded in 1993, Kent Displays, Inc. is a world leader in the research, development and manufacture of Reflex™ No Power LCDs for unique, sustainable applications including electronic skins, writing tablets, smartcards and eReaders. Improv Electronics was formed in 2010 as the consumer products subsidiary of Kent Displays. 2010 sales of its first product, the Boogie Board™ LCD Writing Tablet, exceeded forecast by 10 times. Its paperless LCD technology represents a significant opportunity to reduce global paper consumption for everyday tasks such as memos, reminders, to do lists, sketching and other writing and drawing activities.

Kent Displays is honored to be a representative on this trade mission to India. It’s only a few days into the mission, and the benefits of participating are already immeasurable. I cannot begin to express my gratitude to the U.S. Commerce Department and Secretary Gary Locke for organizing the trip and selecting Kent Displays for the business delegation.

Going into the trade mission, Kent Displays had limited focus on the India market. We considered a greater focus in the past, but decided that the upfront exploratory effort to “get the ball rolling in India” would require a commitment beyond our available resources.

By participating in the mission, we hope to gain a better understanding of its business, government and consumer dynamics. We also expect to establish relationships with business and government leaders that would help identify immediate and future business opportunities. In the final analysis, this mission is the impetus for convincing us that now is the time to explore business possibilities in India. 

Today, Secretary Locke kicked off a high-technology trade mission in New Delhi to promote exports of leading U.S. technologies and services related to civil nuclear energy, civil aviation, defense and homeland security, and information and communications technology. The mission will continue through February 11, and also make stops in Bangalore and Mumbai. 

His first stop was at a neighborhood grocery store in New Delhi that is using technology developed by a U.S. company to market its products, manage its customers and organize its business operations.  Intuit, based in Mountain View, Calif., created “GoConnect,” a new innovative mobile and web-based marketing service that is helping Indian micro and small businesses grow and improve the way they communicate with their customers. Intuit’s new application was first announced during the President Obama’s visit to India.

"Intuit's GoConnect technology is a prime example of the kind of mutually beneficial trade that creates jobs in both countries, creating opportunities from the Intuit offices in Northern California to a neighborhood grocery store in the streets of New Delhi," said Secretary Locke. "We look forward to finding more commercial opportunities like these during this trade mission."

GoConnect was developed in both India and the U.S. The data is hosted in Intuit's data center in Quincy, Washington.