Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden bolstered the Indo-US partnership as the two countries signed major deals in various sectors on Thursday, June 22. These deals will not only strengthen Indo-US ties but will also play a significant role in countering China’s global influence.
In a joint statement, PM Modi and President Biden said that the partnership between the two countries will advance the aspirations of the people for “a bright and prosperous future grounded in respect for human rights, and shared principles of democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.”
Here are the details of the deals that have been agreed upon during PM Modi’s state visit to the United States:
India-US space cooperation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that India has decided to sign the Artemis Accords taking forward the Indo-US space cooperation.
NASA and ISRO have agreed to collaborate on a strategic framework for human spaceflight by the end of 2023. NASA will train Indian astronauts at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas, with the goal of launching a joint mission to the International Space Station in 2024.
“The leaders celebrated the delivery of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite to ISRO’s UR Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru, India, and looked forward to NISAR’s 2024 launch from India,” according to a joint statement.
President Biden commended India for signing the Artemis Accords, which advance a shared vision of space exploration for the benefit of all humanity.
Artemis Accords
The Artemis Accords ensure that space exploration is done safely, sustainably, and transparently, in complete line with international law. Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States are the original members of the Artemis Accords. With more countries developing a presence in space, whether through research stations, satellites, or rocket launchers, the Artemis Accords provide a set of rules to foster exploration, science, and commercial operation.
Micron to invest $825 million for a semi-conductor facility in India
Alongside space cooperation, the United States and India are joining forces to develop a semiconductor ecosystem that encourages supply chain diversification.
Micron Technology, Inc. has announced plans to invest up to $825 million in Gujrat to develop a new semiconductor manufacturing and testing plant with government help. The total $2.75 billion investment would generate up to 5,000 new direct and 15,000 community job opportunities over the following five years. PM Modi and US President Biden both lauded the decision.
According to a press statement released by Micron Technology, the new facility will enable assembly and test manufacturing for both DRAM and NAND products, in addition, to meeting demand from domestic as well as international markets.
Over the next several years, Micron’s facility in Gujarat will create up to 5,000 new direct Micron jobs and 15,000 community jobs.
Indo-US cooperation in the telecommunication sector, Quantum computing, and Artificial Intelligence
Prime Minister Modi and US President Joe Biden launched two Joint Task Forces on modern telecommunications, focusing on Open RAN and 5G/6G research and development.
According to a joint statement made by the two countries, public-private cooperation between vendors and operators would be led by India’s Bharat 6G Alliance and the United States Next G Alliance.
Another significant advancement is the collaboration in the realm of quantum computing. The two countries have formed a joint Indo-US Quantum Coordination Mechanism to enhance collaboration between industry, academia, and government, with the goal of eventually reaching a complete Quantum Information Science and Technology accord.
PM Modi and President Biden also vowed to advance AI education and workforce efforts, promoting business prospects, and mitigating discrimination and bias through joint and worldwide engagement on trustworthy and responsible AI, including generative AI. The US also supports India’s leadership as Chair of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence.
Indo-US defence partnership deepens as US’s GE Aerospace signs deal with India’s HAL
On Thursday, the US defence giant GE Aerospace announced that it has signed an MoU with India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to manufacture fighter jets for the Indian Airforce. GE Aerospace will be producing its F414 jet engines in India for HAL’s Light Combat Aircraft Mk 2.
With the signing of this MoU, India is set to become the fifth country in the world to produce jet engines, joining the United States, Russia, France, and the United Kingdom. Along with bolstering its military capabilities and expanding defence production, the deal will assist in replacing India’s aging fighter fleet.
In their joint statement on Thursday, PM Modi and President Biden committed their governments to work collaboratively and expeditiously to “support the advancement of this unprecedented co-production and technology transfer proposal.”
Amidst PM Modi’s visit, ‘in-country’ renewable H1B visas for skilled Indians
As part of the people-to-people initiative, the US government announced on Thursday the introduction of ‘in-country’ renewable H-1B visas. The decision is anticipated to make the process of renewing H-1B visas easier for various Indians who are currently working in the United States on H-1B visas. Indian professionals would no longer need to travel abroad to renew their work visas. Notably, the H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to hire foreign workers in specialized vocations requiring theoretical or technical ability.
“The leaders welcomed an announcement by the US Department of State that it would launch a pilot to adjudicate domestic renewals of certain petition-based temporary work visas later this year, including for Indian nationals, with the intent to implement this for an expanded pool of H1B and L visa holders in 2024 and eventually broadening the program to include other eligible categories,” the Modi-Biden joint statement reads.
India to procure MQ9B reaper drones for the Indian armed forces
In major breakthrough for the India-US strategic and defence partnership and a major positive outcome of PM Modi’s visit to the US, India will be buying 31 MQ9B Predator drones from the US-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) via government-to-government and foreign military sales route for roughly US$ 3 billion.
Both Prime Minister Modi and President Biden commended India’s plans to get General Atomics MQ-9B HALE UAVs. The MQ-9Bs, which will be constructed in India, would improve India’s military forces’ ISR capabilities across domains. According to the joint statement by the two leaders, General Atomics will also develop a Comprehensive Global MRO facility in India as part of this plan to help India’s long-term aims of increasing indigenous defence capabilities.
This comes after the US last year offered Transfer of Technology (ToT) to facilitate India in manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The negations that were ongoing since last year finally materialized on Thursday.