STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP:
The plant would make infrared, gallium nitrade and silicon carbide chips as India attempts to develop a semiconductor value chain

The US and India reached an agreement to work together on setting up a semiconductor fabrication plant in the South Asian nation, giving a boost to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to bolster manufacturing in the country.

The proposed plant would make infrared, gallium nitride and silicon carbide semiconductors, according to a White House readout that followed a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Modi in Delaware on Saturday.

The setting up of the facility would be enabled by support from the India Semiconductor Mission and a “strategic technology partnership between Bharat Semi, 3rdiTech Inc and the US Space Force,” the readout said.

Photo: Reuters

India’s strategic geopolitical position in Asia has provided a fresh spotlight on the country and the opportunities it can afford in the field of technology.

Modi in the past decade has repeatedly said he would position India as an alternative to China, and it has already begun to pull away some of its manufacturing from Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co.

India is attempting to develop the entire chip value chain, Indian Minister of Railways, Information and Broadcasting, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said earlier this month.

It aims to increase its electronics sector to US$500 billion by the end of the decade.

The countries also announced efforts to fund projects “catalyzing India’s domestic clean energy supply chain build out” for about US$1 billion through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Modi is visiting the US for the annual Quad Leaders’ Summit and in the three-day trip, he is holding bilateral meetings with its leaders, addressing the UN General Assembly and meeting with the Indian diaspora and US technology industry executives.

Modi on Sunday met with Alphabet Inc’s Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), and Eli Lilly and Co CEO David Ricks among others. He also addressed an Indian diaspora event in Long Island, New York.

The next Quad meeting is scheduled to be held in India next year.