INDUS-X, which stands for enhanced strategic and defence partnership between India and the U.S., was launched on June 21 last year.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

“The India-U.S. Defence Acceleration Ecosystem has advanced the commitment of the two strategic partners to building a defence innovation bridge under the Critical and Emerging Technology Initiative,” the U.S. has said on the partnership’s first anniversary.

INDUS-X, which stands for enhanced strategic and defence partnership between India and the U.S., was launched on June 21 last year by the U.S. Department of Defence and the Indian Ministry of Defence during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington, DC.

“In its first year, INDUS-X has advanced both countries’ commitment to build a defence innovation bridge under the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET),” the Department of Defence said in a press release on June 21.

The iCET was launched by Prime Minister Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the QUAD summit in Tokyo on May 24, 2022.

“INDUS-X has strengthened private sector cooperation between the United States and India by facilitating partnerships among defence technology companies, investors, and researchers,” the press release said.

“The third INDUS-X Summit will take place in Silicon Valley in September 2024 with a focus on harnessing private capital for defence innovation,” it said, citing a recent announcement by the White House.

The summit will be co-hosted by the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) and Stanford University. The India-U.S. defence and strategic ties have been on an upswing in the last few years.

The two countries have inked key defence and security pacts over the past few years, including the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 that allows their militaries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies.

The two sides also signed COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) in 2018 which provides for interoperability between the two militaries and also provides for the sale of high-end technology from the U.S. to India.

In October 2020, India and the U.S. sealed the BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) pact to further boost bilateral defence ties. The pact provides for the sharing of high-end military technology, logistics and geospatial maps between the two countries.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and U.S. NSA Jake Sullivan during a meeting, in New Delhi, on June 17, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his U.S. counterpart Jake Sullivan, who is on a two-day visit, on June 17 underscored the vital importance of adapting each other’s technology protection toolkits and resolved to prevent the “leakage” of sensitive and dual-use technologies to countries of “concern” as they chaired the second meeting of the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET).

Mr. Sullivan arrived just hours after reports confirmed that Nikhil Gupta was extradited to the U.S., and while neither side confirmed the Pannun case was discussed, it was expected to be high on the agenda.

During the second iCET meeting, the two NSAs set the vision for the next chapter of our strategic technology partnership, according to a joint fact sheet issued after the dialogue. “They underscored their commitment to orienting our cooperation around breakthrough achievements in priority critical and emerging technology areas, by focusing our efforts on co-production, co-development, and research and development opportunities to ensure we stay at the leading edge of innovation and enhancing coordination with like-minded nations to deliver secure, reliable, and cost-competitive technology solutions for the Indian and American people and our partners around the world.”

Mr. Sullivan also held talks with External Affairs minister S. Jaishaknar and later called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Met US NSA Jake Sullivan. India is committed to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership for global good,” Mr. Modi said on social media ‘X’.

On June 18, both the NSAs are scheduled to address the India- US iCET roundtable with Industry heads organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry. Mr. Sullivan’s India visit for the dialogue was cancelled twice earlier due to geopolitical developments.

India and the U.S. are currently in advanced stages of talks for purchase of 31 MQ-9B Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, local licensed manufacture of the General Electric GE-414 engines as well the Stryker infantry vehicles. “Welcoming the discussions on India’s planned acquisition of the MQ-9B platforms, the possible co-production of land warfare systems, and progress on other co-production initiatives outlined in the India-U.S. Roadmap for Defense Industrial Cooperation,” the fact sheet said in this regard.

On semiconductors, a priority area for both countries, the fact sheet announced the launching of a new strategic semiconductor partnership between General Atomics and 3rdiTech to co-develop semiconductor design and manufacturing for “precision-guided ammunition and other national security-focused electronics platforms.”

The fact sheet also outlined several steps both countries envisage to take in the new and emerging areas in the near future which in a large way would also address dependencies on China. For instance, on rare-earth minerals it outlined, “Promoting India’s vital role in the Mineral Security Partnership, including through co-investing in a lithium resource project in South America and a rare earths deposit in Africa, to responsibly and sustainably diversify critical mineral supply chains.”

The ambitious iCET was announced by Mr. Modi and U.S. President Joseph Biden on the side lines of the Quad Summit in Tokyo in May 2022 and was launched by the NSAs in January 2023 comprising key technology sectors including space, semiconductors, advanced telecommunications, artificial intelligence, quantum, biotechnology, and clean energy. Subsequently, new areas were included including biotechnology, critical minerals and rare earths processing technologies, digital connectivity and digital public infrastructure and advanced materials.

Pannun investigation

Mr. Sullivan’s India visit began just hours after reports confirmed the extradition of Indian national Nikhil Gupta, who is accused of being involved in murder-for-hire plot against Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, from Czech Republic to the US. Mr. Gupta, 52, was arrested in the Czeck Republic last year at the request of the US government. He is expected to be produced before a federal court in New York on Monday.

India, which has come under intense pressure from the US and other countries, has instituted a high-level probe into the matter. To questions few days back from the accompanying White House press corps if the issue would be raised by Mr. Biden with Mr. Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy, Mr. Sullivan without giving a direct response said the topic would continue to be discussed “at very senior levels”.