Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Joe Biden. File | Picture Credit score: ANI
In a transformative collaboration with the USA, India will get its first nationwide safety semiconductor manufacturing facility that may produce chips to be used in army {hardware} in each nations, in addition to in telecommunications networks and important electronics.
The formidable joint undertaking between India and the US was introduced following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden in Wilmington on Saturday (September 21, 2024).
The 2 leaders hailed the first-ever India-US partnership for semiconductor manufacturing as a “landmark settlement,” in line with a joint reality sheet on the Modi-Biden talks.
The undertaking might be made doable with assist from the India Semiconductor Mission and might be a part of a strategic know-how partnership between Bharat Semi, 3rdiTech and the US Area Drive.
It won’t solely turn into India’s first multi-material manufacturing unit, however one of many world’s first for nationwide safety, individuals aware of the matter mentioned.
“That is the primary time the US army has agreed to accomplice with India on these high-value applied sciences and is a defining second as it’s as essential because the civil nuclear deal,” they mentioned.
“President Biden and Prime Minister Modi hailed a landmark settlement to determine a brand new semiconductor manufacturing facility targeted on superior sensing, communication and energy electronics for nationwide safety, next-generation telecommunications and inexperienced power functions,” the actual fact sheet famous.
He mentioned, “The manufacturing unit, which might be arrange with the purpose of producing infrared, gallium nitride and silicon carbide semiconductors, might be made doable with the assist of India’s semiconductor mission in addition to a strategic know-how partnership between Bharat Semi, 3rdiTech and the US Area Drive.”
“The manufacturing unit, to be generally known as ‘Shakti’, will deal with three pillars important to trendy warfare: superior sensing, superior communications and high-voltage energy electronics,” the individuals cited above mentioned.
Talking at a information convention, Exterior Affairs Minister Vikram Misri described the transfer as “a massively encouraging improvement” and added that “nationwide safety components” had been concerned on either side.
“There might be functions of the merchandise in areas of nationwide safety,” he mentioned.
Explaining the importance of the undertaking, he mentioned: “This can be a completely different manufacturing unit within the sense that it was arrange with the purpose of producing infrared, gallium nitride and silicon carbide semiconductors,” he mentioned.
“And it will likely be supported by the Indian Semiconductor Mission in addition to the Strategic Expertise Partnership. I believe what this represents is, to start with, the expansion and the massive design and manufacturing functionality that’s latent within the Indian semiconductor sector,” he added.
The undertaking will go down in historical past books as a defining second in India-US relations, one of many individuals mentioned on situation of anonymity.
India’s present import invoice for these semiconductors for nationwide safety is estimated to be $1 billion a yr.
The actual fact sheet mentioned Modi and Biden praised mixed efforts to facilitate resilient, safe and sustainable semiconductor provide chains, together with by means of GlobalFoundries’ (GF) creation of the GF Kolkata Energy Centre in Kolkata.
He mentioned the undertaking will improve mutually useful hyperlinks in analysis and improvement in chip manufacturing.
“Leaders welcomed the steps our trade is taking to construct secure, safe and resilient provide chains for the U.S., Indian and worldwide automotive markets, together with by means of Ford Motor Firm’s submission of a letter of intent to make use of its Chennai plant to fabricate for export to world markets,” the doc mentioned.
He mentioned Modi and Biden lauded ongoing efforts to construct broader cooperation round 5G deployment and next-generation telecommunications.
This contains plans by the USA Company for Worldwide Improvement to increase the Asia Open RAN Academy with an preliminary funding of $7 million to develop this workforce coaching initiative the world over, together with in South Asia with Indian establishments.
Printed – September 23, 2024 11:55 am IST