NSA of India & US Co-chair 2nd India- US meeting on ICET In New Delhi

The 2nd meeting of the India-US initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) was held between the two countries on 17 June 2024 in New Delhi. The meeting was co-chaired by the National Security Advisor (NSA) of India, Ajit Doval and the United States (U.S) NSA Jake Sullivan. Jake Sullivan is the first high-ranking official of the American government to visit India after the Narendra Modi government was sworn in for the third consecutive time.

2nd India-US initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET)

During the Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit to the United States in May 2022,India and the USA agreed to set up India-US iCET to expand the bilateral strategic technology partnership, defence and industrial cooperation between the two governments,academic institutions and businesses of the two countries..

The iCET focuses on deepening and expanding strategic cooperation in space, semiconductors, advanced telecommunications, artificial intelligence, quantum, biotechnology, and clean energy between the two countries.

The first iCET meeting was held in Washington, D.C., USA, in January 2023.

India US agree to deepen cooperation 

After the end of the meeting a joint statement was issued by both the countries which expressed their commitment to further cooperation in certain fields.

Cooperation and Partnership in Innovation 

Both the Indian and the U.S will provide $ 90 million fund over the next five years to the U.S.-India Global Challenges Institute. 

The institute will promote research partnership between India and the American Universities and Institutes engaged in research in the field of  semiconductor technology and manufacturing; clean energy; healthy equity and pandemic preparedness, sustainable agriculture and food security  and other critical and emerging technologies.

Partnership In Space 

• Indian space agency ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) and the American space agency NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) will jointly develop and launch the Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite. The satellite will map the entire Earth twice every 12 days, which will be helpful in combating climate change and other global challenges;
• NASA will provide training to the ISRO astronauts in space flights and human space missions.
• India will participate in the U.S. Space Command’s Global Sentinel Exercise at Vandenberg Space Force Base, to be held in February 2025.

Research in Telecommunication and Machine Learning 

• The  Indian Department of Science and Technology and The National Science Foundation of America will invest around US$5 million in joint funding for research projects in next-generation telecommunications, autonomous vehicles, and machine learning. 

Collaboration in the field of Semiconductor

• The General Atomics company of the U.S. and the Indian company 3rdiTech will jointly focus on co-developing semiconductor design and manufacturing.