On the occasion of India-US initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET), led by Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan in New Delhi, the US and India decided to further extend their joint work on supply chain, semiconductors, and critical minerals.

The two countries have a new strategic semiconductor collaboration aiming a joint development semiconductor design and production techniques for precision-guided ammunition.

Considered vital to the automotive, telecommunications, and defense industries, semiconductors have become a major geopolitical arena, with China, Japan, and the US making significant investments in local capacity building.

The strategic collaboration is aimed at making investors in India's semiconductor sector to sustain the development of the country's strong ecosystem for information and communication technologies.

India has granted three bids for semiconductor plants to bolster the country's ecosystem for semiconductor manufacture. Under it, projects are expected to significantly boost India's electronics manufacturing industry and require an estimated expenditure of Rs 1.26 trillion.

The first semiconductor fabrication plant (fab) in India is planned for establishment in Dholera, Gujarat, and will be built by Tata Electronics and Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (PSMC) of Taiwan. Morigaon, Assam is said to house semiconductor plant operated by Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Pvt Ltd (TSAT). In Sanand, Gujarat, CG Power will open a semiconductor plant in collaboration with Stars Microelectronics, Thailand, and Renesas Electronics Corp., Japan.

On the fringes of the India-Joint Committee Meeting on Science and Technology, the two nations decided to create an India-US Advanced Materials R&D Forum to increase cooperation between researchers from the private sector, government laboratories, and American and Indian institutions.

Additionally, they pledged to expeditiously finalize a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding on Critical Minerals between the US Department of Commerce and the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Mines, as well as to push for further areas of cooperation in supply chains for vital minerals like germanium, gallium, and graphite.

The two nations decided to establish a cooperative program on the exploration, characterization, and assessment of rare earth elements and key mineral deposits between the US Geological Survey and the Geological Survey of India.