G20 summit: US finds India as a capable partner in technology space 

In June this year, PM Modi was on a state visit to the US. And now, US president Joe Biden is in India for the G20 summit. The meetings between the two leaders, in June and on September 8 ahead of the G20 Summit, have highlighted the fact that US sees India as a capable partner in technology space.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State, Ministry of Electronics and IT had told Business Today that “the US has recognised India as a partner for AI, semiconductors, supercomputing, high-performance computing, and quantum [computing]". "Americans are not going to pick a partner that is not capable,” he had said.

Following the meeting with the two leaders during the late hours on September 8 in New Delhi, the two nations now intend to undertake a midterm review of iCET in September 2023 to continue to drive momentum towards the next annual iCET review, co-led by the National Security Advisors of both countries, in early 2024. In May 2022, the US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) for elevating and expanding strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation between the governments, businesses, and academic institutions of the two nations. It covered areas including semiconductors, defence innovation and technology cooperation in space, quantum technology and more.

The leaders reiterated their support for building resilient global semiconductor supply chains, noting in this respect a multi-year initiative of Microchip Technology, Inc., to invest approximately $300 million in expanding its research and development presence in India and Advanced Micro Device [AMD]’s announcement to invest $400 million in India over the next five years to expand research, development, and engineering operations in India. The leaders expressed satisfaction at the ongoing implementation of announcements made in June 2023 by US companies, Micron, LAM Research, and Applied Materials. 

The United States reiterated its commitment to working together with India in the quantum domain, both bilaterally and through the Quantum Entanglement Exchange, a platform to facilitate international quantum exchange opportunities; and welcomed the participation of India’s S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata, as a member of the Quantum Economic Development Consortium. It was also recognized that the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay joined the Chicago Quantum Exchange as an international partner.

This partnership isn’t just restricted to technology collaboration but also research collaboration. The leaders welcomed the signing of an MoU between Indian universities, represented by the Council of Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT Council), and the Association of American Universities (AAU) to establish the India-U.S. Global Challenges Institute, with a combined initial commitment of at least $10 million. The Global Challenges Institute will bring together leading research and higher-education institutions from across two nations, including beyond AAU and IIT membership, to advance new frontiers in science and technology, spanning collaboration in sustainable energy and agriculture, health and pandemic preparedness, semiconductor technology and manufacturing, advanced materials, telecommunications, artificial intelligence, and quantum science. They also welcomed the growing number of multi-institutional collaborative education partnerships, such as those between New York University-Tandon and IIT Kanpur Advanced Research Center, and the Joint Research Centers of the State University of New York at Buffalo and IIT Delhi, Kanpur, Jodhpur, and BHU, in the areas of critical and emerging technologies.

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