India and the US must remain at the forefront of technology as part of their larger strategic interest and to protect and defend their value systems, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval told an industry roundtable focused on critical and emerging technologies on Tuesday.
Doval and his American counterpart Jake Sullivan addressed the industry roundtable of CEOs and thought leaders, held as part of efforts to mobilise private sector investment and partnerships in strategic technology sectors, a day after co-chairing the second meeting of the India-US initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET).
Sullivan is the first senior official of the Biden administration to visit India following the formation of a new coalition government and the iCET meeting agreed on the next steps in the strategic technology partnership and pledged to remove long-standing barriers to strategic trade.
“The US and India have got to remain at the forefront of technology in case we need to protect and defend our value systems and it is part of a larger strategic interest,” Doval told the roundtable organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and held behind closed doors.
He highlighted the role of industry in technology and the progress of iCET since its inception in January 2023, and said, “iCET has achieved more than we could imagine.” He also referred to the progress made in the defence innovation roadmap and startups, and emphasised the importance of the semiconductor industry, according to a statement from CII.
Sullivan pointed to three important buckets for technology partnerships – innovation, production, and deployment. In the important field of innovation, he emphasised the need for government support for the private sector.
There is bipartisan support in the US for Indian industry and building an ecosystem and supply chain manufacturing is key to production, he said.
Doval and Sullivan assured private industry that they welcome industry communications highlighting specific issues and due diligence will be done to resolve barriers holding up deeper and closer India-US ties.
The core of iCET is the idea of India and the US supporting each other and encouraging greater collaboration in the technology ecosystem, jointly innovating and finding solutions to challenges, Sullivan said.
The iCET represents a landmark initiative between the two countries focused on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, biotech, and defense innovation. It is also a significant development in India-US relation as it elevates the bilateral strategic partnership to new heights.
The roundtable drew strong participation from Indian and US industry and CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee said that under the iCET, the two countries are working on AI, biotech, critical materials and minerals, semiconductors and other sectors to help enable deeper engagement between the two sides.
Representatives from industries spoke of their experiences of collaboration and the ways they plan to take India-US collaboration further through government facilitation, including by streamlining processes and regulations.
Banerjee said CII will send a series of industry delegations to the US, starting this month, and requested reciprocal visits by US delegations.