ATE above you state:
You CAN claim the Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116) for the income tax paid to India on the U.S.-sourced income (FYI: ANY income earned while inside the U.S. is considered to be U.S.-sourced, even if the pay originates in india).
You also state:
Note that if you claim a credit for U.S. taxes paid on your Indian return, you CANNOT claim a similar credit on yor U.S. tax return.
In other words, claim the credit on one tax return or the other, but NOT both.
I agree that the income from services performed in the U.S. is generally (not always) U.S. source income. A fundamental concept regarding the foreign tax credit is that no foreign tax credit is allowed on U.S. source income. See the foreign tax credit limitation in Code § 904. Although nonresident aliens are allowed to claim foreign tax credits for foreign source effectively connected income, this is not allowed with respect to U.S. source income. I reviewed that India-U.S. Income Tax Treaty and I see nothing in the treaty that would override the rule that the U.S. can tax the U.S. source effectively connected income. As a result, no foreign tax credit could be claimed in the U.S. for the Indian taxes paid.
I recognize that these rules are complex. I am the first to admit that I sometimes make mistakes and I am always learning in this area. You provide good, solid advice to many posters. However, in another posting the Texas Tax Expert had expressed some frustration with the number of inaccuracies in the posts on this forum. I too at times have this frustration. I do not have time to do the research to prove all of what I suspect to be inaccurate.
Frequently your use of capitals and bolding conveys a sense of supreme confidence (e.g. above "You CAN claim the Foreign Tax Credit . . . "), when at times the advice is inaccurate. If you are unsure of the answer to a question, it may be better not to respond at all.