NATO// Ahead of Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s visit to India, and to bolster defence ties, US lawmakers approved amendments to a defence bill that seeks to bring India at par with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) allies for sale of defence equipment and technology transfer. Over the past 10 years, defence trade between the US and India is one of the strongest areas of the bilateral economic relationship. It has risen phenomenally from $300 million to over $14 billion. However, the lawmakers voted to increase restrictions on military assistance for Pakistan, including immediately blocking $450 million in aid, ignoring objections of the White House. This come as an opportunity for India to encourage the government to authorise combined military planning with the US for missions of mutual interest such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counter piracy, and so on.