India on Friday signed a declaration to join the Pax Silica Alliance, a US-led initiative focused on strengthening resilient Semiconductor Supply Chains for critical minerals and artificial intelligence. The declaration was signed during the ongoing India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, marking a significant milestone in deepening technological cooperation between India and the United States.
The move comes at a crucial time, as both nations are working to finalise a proposed bilateral trade agreement and expand collaboration across strategic sectors. By becoming part of the Pax Silica Alliance, India aligns itself with a coalition that aims to secure access to essential resources required for next-generation industries, particularly AI and semiconductor manufacturing.
What Is the Pax Silica Alliance?
The Pax Silica Alliance aims to improve technological cooperation and make sure that critical minerals, energy, infrastructure, and advanced hardware have safe, varied supply chains. One of the main goals is to create a stable economic framework that will help AI-driven growth in all member countries.
Australia, Greece, Israel, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, Singapore, the UAE, and the UK are all members right now. Adding India to the alliance makes it reach one of the world’s fastest-growing digital economies.
The coalition’s statement stressed that stable supply chains are necessary for both sides’ economic security. It said that economic value and growth will flow through every level of the global AI supply chain more and more, creating record demand for energy, manufacturing, technology hardware, and new markets that haven’t been invented yet.
Boost for India’s Semiconductor Ambitions
Ashwini Vaishnaw, India’s Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, said that India’s membership in the Pax Silica Alliance would greatly help the country’s electronics and semiconductor industries.
He said that India’s first semiconductor fabrication plant will soon start making products for sale. He says that ten semiconductor-related plants have already been built or are almost done being built. He also said that Indian engineers are currently working on some of the most advanced 2-nanometer chips in the world.
Vaishnaw stressed that India is quickly developing a full semiconductor ecosystem. He said that the Pax Silica Alliance would be very important for making this ecosystem stronger, especially by making sure that people can get the minerals and technology they need to make advanced chips.
He also said that the global semiconductor industry will need almost a million more skilled workers in the next few years. He said that India is in a good position to provide a large part of that talent pool, especially since students now have access to cutting-edge tools for designing semiconductors.
Political Undertones
Vaishnaw also criticized the opposition in his speech, saying that previous governments had missed chances to speed up India’s technological progress. He said that if India had had the same momentum since independence, its economic growth would have happened much sooner. He did, however, stress that the current path is setting India up to be a world leader in semiconductors and electronics starting in 2014.
He also said that even though critics may keep asking about progress, the country needs to stay focused on its long-term goals and global goals.
US Perspective: Strategic and Essential
Sergio Gor, the US ambassador to India, said that India’s role in the Pax Silica Alliance was “strategic and essential,” not just symbolic. He said that India’s strong engineering talent pool is a key asset for the coalition.
Gor also talked about how India’s ability to process critical minerals is getting better, which is important for making semiconductors and AI hardware. He said that policies that strengthen US-India technological cooperation would help AI innovation and global adoption for many years to come.
He says that trusted AI technologies made possible by this partnership can be shared around the world, making economies safer for countries that share the same values.
A New Chapter in Tech Diplomacy
India’s joining the Pax Silica Alliance marks a new stage in tech diplomacy around the world. India strengthens its position as a key player in the emerging technology order by joining a framework that focuses on resilient supply chains, AI growth, and semiconductor leadership.
As the competition to be the best at AI heats up, the Pax Silica Alliance could help shape not only supply chains but also the way technology works together in the future.
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