Editor's note: In an interview with Live Mint, Arun Singh discusses what a Biden presidency means for India.

NEW DELHI : Joseph Biden of the Democratic Party is all set to take office as the 46th President of the US in January. So what are the implications for India? According to Arun K Singh, former Indian ambassador to the US, the Biden campaign had released an Agenda for the Indian American community on 15 August, in which it had stated that “Biden will deliver on his long-standing belief that India and the US are natural partners, and a Biden Administration will place a high priority on continuing to strengthen the US-India relationship." But India could face challenges in dealing with Biden on climate change, human rights and US policy on Pakistan. On China, the US under Biden will also look to India as it seeks to develop a more reliable and less China centric, supply chain. Edited excerpts.

The election scenario in the US, it was a rather unprecedented situation wasn’t it?

Indeed, it was. In the recent past, normally the losing candidate has conceded on election night itself, or at the very latest, the next day. One exception was in 2000, when incumbent Vice President Al Gore first conceded in an extremely close race, and then took back the concession when subsequent trends in the deciding vote count in Florida suggested that he could possibly win. Votes were contested, matter went to Courts, and it was eventually resolved 36 days after the elections when the US Supreme Court ordered a halt to further counting, with his Republican rival George W Bush in the lead. In this instance, the trend was clear, a President- elect has been declared by the media and others, as was done in past, although official certified results take somewhat longer. But incumbent President (Donald) Trump, given his personality, does not want to concede, and would prefer to be seen as forced out “unfairly" by “voting fraud" or “biased court decisions". This would polarize US society further, and dent US soft power internationally as a vibrant and disciplined democracy. This could also make for a complicated transition process in the days ahead