Modi and Biden discuss technology, 6G, Chandrayaan-3 and more

US President Joe Biden arrived in India last evening to attend the G20 Summit in the country. Shortly after his arrival, President Biden held a bilateral talk with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi where they discussed a range of technological issues between the two countries. India and the US on Friday, while sharing a vision of secure and trusted telecommunications, resilient supply chains, and global digital inclusion, welcomed the signing of a pact between Bharat 6G Alliance and Next G Alliance, operated by Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, as a first step towards deepening public-private cooperation between vendors and operators.

In a joint statement issued by India and the US after the bilateral discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden, the endeavour towards building resilient global semiconductor supply chains was re-emphasised.

In this respect, the two leaders noted 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’s announcement to invest $400 million in India over the next five years to expand research, development, and engineering operations in India.

President Biden congratulated PM Modi and the scientists and engineers of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Chandrayaan-3’s historic landing at the south polar region of the Moon, as well as the successful launch of India’s first solar mission, Aditya-L1.

Having set a course to reach new frontiers across all sectors of space cooperation, the leaders welcomed efforts towards the establishment of a Working Group for commercial space collaboration under the existing India-US Civil Space Joint Working Group.

“Determined to deepen our partnership in outer space exploration, ISRO and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have commenced discussions on modalities, capacity building, and training for mounting a joint effort to the International Space Station in 2024, and are continuing efforts to finalise a strategic framework for human space flight cooperation by the end of 2023,” the statement said.

India and the US also intend to increase coordination on planetary defence to protect the Earth and space assets from the impact of asteroids and near-Earth objects, including US support for India’s participation in asteroid detection and tracking via the Minor Planet Center, it added further.

The leaders expressed satisfaction at the ongoing implementation of announcements made in June 2023 by US companies, Micron, LAM Research, and Applied Materials.

They further acknowledged the setting-up of two joint task forces focussed on collaboration in the field of Open RAN and research and development in 5G/6G technologies.

A 5G Open RAN pilot in a leading Indian telecom operator will be undertaken by a US Open RAN manufacturer before field deployment. The pact was signed in the presence of Modi and Biden.

The two leaders reaffirmed technology’s defining role in deepening their strategic partnership and lauded ongoing efforts through the India-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) to build open, accessible, secure, and resilient technology ecosystems and value chains, based on mutual confidence and trust, which reinforce shared values and democratic institutions.

The US and India intend to undertake a midterm review of iCET in September to continue to drive momentum toward the next annual iCET review, co-led by the National Security Advisors of both countries, in early 2024, the statement added.

–Written with inputs from IANS