US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have hailed a landmark arrangement to establish a new advanced semiconductor fabrication plant.

The chip manufacturing plant will be focused on advanced sensing, communication, and power electronics for national security, next generation telecommunications, and green energy applications. The two leaders praised combined efforts to facilitate resilient, secure, and sustainable semiconductor supply chains including through GlobalFoundries’ (GF) creation of the GF Kolkata Power Center in Kolkata, West Bengal.

The unit is the result of combined efforts to facilitate resilient, secure, and sustainable semiconductor supply chains. The new semiconductor facility will enhance mutually beneficial linkages in research and development (R&D) in chip manufacturing and enable game-changing advances for zero and low-emission as well as connected vehicles, Internet of things (IoT) devices, artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres, the White House said in a statement.

The fab, which will be established with the objective of manufacturing infrared, gallium nitride and silicon carbide semiconductors, will be enabled by support from the India Semiconductor Mission as well as a strategic technology partnership between Bharat Semi, 3rdiTech and the US Space Force, the statement said.

Long-term partnership

The two leaders noted GlobalFoundries (GF’s) plans to explore longer term, cross-border manufacturing and technology partnerships with India which will deliver high-quality jobs in both the countries. They also celebrated the new strategic partnership between the US Department of State and the India Semiconductor Mission, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in connection with the International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund.

The leaders welcomed steps to build safe, secure, and resilient supply chains for US, Indian, and international automotive markets, including through Ford Motor Company’s submission of a Letter of Intent to utilise its Chennai plant to manufacture for export to global markets, the statement added.

Meanwhile, Biden and Modi also highlighted additional cooperation on building across AI, quantum, and other critical technology areas. They highlighted the second convening of the US-India Quantum Coordination Mechanism in Washington in August and welcomed the announcement of seventeen new awards for binational research and development cooperation on artificial intelligence and quantum via the US-India Science and Technology Endowment Fund (IUSSTF).

On emerging tech

They welcomed new private sector cooperation on emerging technologies, such as through IBM’s recent conclusion of MoU with the Indian government, which will enable IBM’s watsonx platform on India’s Airawat supercomputer and drive new AI innovation opportunities, enhance R&D collaboration on advanced semiconductor processors, and increase support for India’s National Quantum Mission.

The leaders commended ongoing efforts to build more expansive cooperation around 5G deployment and next-generation telecommunications which included the US Agency for International Development’s plans to expand the Asia Open RAN Academy with an initial $7 million investment to grow this workforce training initiative worldwide, including in South Asia with Indian institutions.