Indian govt, firms spent over $1.5 mn on US lobbying

With the US holding key to a vast number of issues affecting India and its corporates, the Indian government and companies together spent over USD 1.5 million last year on lobbying in the American power corridors.
However, the cost incurred by Indian government and companies on lobbying with US lawmakers in 2010 marks a significant drop of about one-third vis-a-vis spending in the previous year, when this figure stood at about USD 2.2 million.

The issue of lobbying has created a big controversy in recent months in India after leakage of taped conversations between a corporate lobbyist and a number of people from politics, business, the media and other areas.
The controversy led to talk of the Indian government also considering framing regulations for lobbying activities.
 
Top