India-US pledge to promote technology sharing, research, talent & skill development

Both countries have expressed their commitment to give a big boost to their collaborations in all fields including much sought after technology and defence. They hailed the signing of an MoU on Semiconductor Supply Chain and Innovation Partnership.

India and the US have expressed their commitment to promoting policies and strategies that tend to take their relations to the next level. In their joint statement, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Biden said, we need to adopt regulations that facilitate greater technology sharing, co-development and co-production opportunities between U.S. and Indian industry, government and academic institutions. 

Both countries have expressed their commitment to give a big boost to their collaborations in all fields including much sought after technology and defence. PM Modi and President Biden hailed the signing of an MoU on Semiconductor Supply Chain and Innovation Partnership as a significant step in the coordination of our countries’ semiconductor incentive programs.

Both leaders said, this partnership will promote commercial opportunities, research, talent, and skill development in both countries. They also welcomed an announcement by Micron Technology, Inc. to invest up to $825 million to build a new semiconductor assembly and test facility in India with support from the Indian government. 

The combined investment valued at $2.75 billion would create up to 5,000 new direct and 15,000 community jobs opportunities in the next five years. The leaders also welcomed Lam Research’s proposal to train 60,000 Indian engineers through its Semiverse Solution virtual fabrication platform to accelerate India’s semiconductor education and workforce development goals and an announcement by Applied Materials, Inc. to invest $400 million to establish a collaborative engineering center in India.

PM Modi and President Biden shared a vision of creating secure and trusted telecommunications, resilient supply chains and enabling global digital inclusion. To fulfill this vision, the leaders launched two Joint Task Forces on advanced telecommunications, which are focused on Open RAN and research and development in 5G/6G technologies. 

In the process, the Public-private cooperation between vendors and operators will be led by India’s Bharat 6G Alliance and the U.S. Next G Alliance. Both leaders said, we are partnering on Open RAN field trials and rollouts including scaled deployments in both countries with operators and vendors of both markets, backed by U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) financing. 

PM Modi and President Biden also welcomed participation of Indian companies in the U.S. Rip and Replace Program. They endorsed an ambitious vision for 6G networks including standards cooperation, facilitating access to chipsets for system development and establishing joint research and development projects. 

Both leaders also welcomed the establishment of a joint Indo-U.S. Quantum Coordination Mechanism to facilitate collaboration among industry, academia, and government. They said, our work toward a comprehensive Quantum Information Science and Technology agreement will pave the way for greater collaborations. 

President Biden also welcomed India’s participation in the Quantum Entanglement Exchange and in the Quantum Economic Development Consortium to facilitate expert and commercial exchanges with leading, like-minded quantum nations. 

The US and India will sustain and grow quantum training and exchange programs and work to reduce barriers to India-U.S research collaboration. The leaders welcomed the launch of a $2 million grant program under the India-U.S Science and Technology Endowment fund for the joint development and commercialization of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and quantum technologies and encouraged public-private collaborations to develop high performance computing (HPC) facilities in India.

The leaders also welcomed 35 innovative joint research collaborations in emerging technologies funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Indian Department of Science and Technology (DST). Under a new implementation arrangement between NSF and DST, both sides will fund joint research projects in computer and information science and engineering, cyber physical systems and secure and trustworthy cyberspace. 

Furthermore, NSF and India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will bring fresh funding for joint projects in applied research areas such as semiconductors, next generation communication, cyber security, sustainability and green technologies and intelligent transportation systems.

However, PM Modi and President Biden also acknowledged the profound opportunities and significant risks associated with AI. Accordingly, they committed to develop joint and international collaboration on trustworthy and responsible AI, including generative AI to advance AI education and workforce initiatives, promote commercial opportunities and mitigate against discrimination and bias. 

The Biden led US administration also supports India’s leadership as Chair of the Global Partnership on AI. The leaders applauded Google’s intent to continue investing through its $10 billion India Digitization Fund, including in early-stage Indian startups. Through its AI Research Center in India, Google is building models to support over 100 Indian languages.

Both leaders hailed deepening bilateral cooperation on cutting-edge scientific infrastructure including a $140 million in-kind contribution from the Indian Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Fermi National Laboratory toward collaborative development of the Proton Improvement Plan-II Accelerator for the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility— the first and largest international research facility on U.S. soil. 

Both leaders also welcomed the commencement of construction of a Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in India. They called on their administrations to extend these partnerships to advanced biotechnology and biomanufacturing, and enhance biosafety and biosecurity innovation, practices, and norms.