UNLOCKING INDIA'S TECH POTENTIAL

As India forges ahead with critical technology partnerships, it must streamline its bureaucratic machinery to fully capitalise on these strategic initiatives

- Rudra Chaudhuri

On January 31, 2023, in a packed room at the Chamber of Commerce in Washington D.C., the American and Indian National Security Advisors (NSA) formally launched the United States-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies, or iCET. The NSAs and their administrations - the National Security Council (NSC) in the US and the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) in India - anchor this novel process with the active support of the US state department and the ministry of external affairs (MEA).

Potential was the name of the game. An impressive 'fact sheet' highlighted priority areas for cooperation: space, defence, biotechnology, semiconductors, quantum technologies, critical minerals and such. Export control workshops became commonplace. A Strategic Trade Dialogue led by the Indian foreign secretary has been partially designed to engage the matter of controls. Legacy agreements were electrified, such as the GE F414 Engine agreement with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The American defence 'prime' General Atomics used the energy driven by iCET to return to the sale of MQ-9B HALE Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to India. Both agreements are being currently negotiated.