U.S.-India Agreements: Drones, Jet Engines, Space Cooperation, Semiconductor Investment, and Maritime Collaboration

The U.S. and India announced a series of agreements on Thursday, on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first state visit to the U.S. The deals include India's purchase of 31 armed MQ9 Reaper drones for upwards of $3 billion, and an agreement between General Electric (GE) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the co-production in India of GE 414 jet engines for the Tejas Mk 2 light combat aircraft. The defense ministries of the two countries also launched the inaugural session of an innovation platform, 'INDUS-X' in Washington DC on June 21, hosted by the U.S. India Business Council (USIBC), to foster defense industrial collaboration. The U.S. will also announce a pilot program to renew visas domestically for certain petition-based temporary workers.

This program could expand to cover H1b and L skilled visas by 2024 and to other categories eventually. Additionally, India and the U.S. have agreed to open two new consulates in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, and India will reopen its consulate in Seattle. In space cooperation, India will sign on to the U.S.-led Artemis Accords, a framework of 25 countries for space exploration and cooperation. The two countries also announced a framework for human spaceflight this year and have agreed a mission to the International Space Station in 2024. In the field of critical and emerging technology, U.S. chip manufacturer Micron Technology will invest $800 million in India, and India will contribute up to $2.75 billion for a semiconductor testing and assembly facility. American companies Applied Materials and Lam Research also announced investments in India, and Applied Materials plans to establish a center for semi-conductor innovation and commercialization in India.

Lam Research announced a training program for 60,000 engineers in India. India and the U.S. will deepen their maritime cooperation, with the U.S. joining the Indo Pacific Oceans Initiative. This will enable an easy sharing of threat assessments and create opportunities to cooperate beyond the bilateral relationship. Announcements in the field of AI and cancer diagnosis and therapeutics, off-shore and onshore wind power and 'green hydrogen' have also been made. The U.S. President is expected to raise the issue of democratic backsliding in India. He has been asked in strong terms by his fellow Democrats on Capitol Hill to discuss democratic norms and human rights in India with Mr. Modi. U.S. officials have said Mr. Biden approaches some of the issues “with humility” given the challenges to democracy in the U.S.