The USD 858 billion defence bill passed by the US Senate seeks to strengthen defence ties with India, including supporting efforts to reduce India’s reliance on Russian-built military equipment and funds billions of dollars to take measures to address the challenges posed to America’s national security by China. The National Defence Authorisation Act, known as the NDAA, was approved by the Senate with 83-11 votes on Thursday. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives with 350-80 votes on December 8. Now it heads to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign it into law. As passed…