What's Riding on This Week's India Visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry

US Secretary of State John Kerry visits India this week as Washington tries to revitalize ties it sees as a counterbalance to China's rising power, but rapid progress is unlikely.

The visit by Mr Kerry, and a trip by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel next month, follow the resounding election win of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May are meant to create a good climate for Mr Modi's planned visit to Washington in September. (Read)

Analysts say it is only once Mr Modi meets President Barack Obama that the United States may have a more realistic hope for progress on big defense projects, on removing obstacles to US firms' participation in India's nuclear power industry, and for firmer statements of shared interests in Asia. (Also Read: Eyes on Defence Deals, Western Powers Court PM Modi)

One of  Mr Modi's first moves on the world stage since taking office was to sign up to a development bank created by the BRICS block of five powerful emerging nations which includes China and is intended to wrest control over global financial institutions away from the United States and Europe.

On Friday, India threatened to block a worldwide reform of customs rules agreed last December, prompting a US warning that its demands on food stockpiling could kill global trade reform. (Read)

The deadline for agreeing on the trade facilitation deal falls during Mr Kerry's time in New Delhi and a failure to overcome India's objections by next week could overshadow his visit.

"India will play a much greater role in Asia under the Modi administration, but it will do so for its own reasons and under its own terms," said Ashley Tellis of Washington's Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank.

Four years ago, President Obama declared the US-India relationship would be "one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century" and last week the State Department called it one of "enormous strategic importance."

The relationship took a dive last year after an Indian diplomat was arrested in New York on charges of mistreating her domestic help, an episode that provoked outrage and resentment in New Delhi.

Mr Modi was banned from visiting the United States after riots in Gujarat during his first term as Chief Minister killed more than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims. A Supreme Court inquiry has said there is no prosecutable evidence of Mr Modi's alleged complicity in the violence, as alleged by some of his critics.

The Obama administration sought to turn a new page by quickly inviting Mr Modi to Washington after his election, and was pleased by his quick positive response. (PM Modi Accepts Obama's Invitation To Visit US In September)