This content was first published by Pacific Forum. It is republished with authority.
The September attend of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United States for meetings, both unilaterally as well as a piece of the , 2024 Quad Summit, has drawn the spotlight to the , state of US-India relations , under the Biden administration.
In guiding India and the United States on a multi-generational partnership that required many administrations and many years of diligent work, the Trump presidency has proven to be fairly epochal. Alterations have to do with
- US aid for India’s rapid industrial development and significant expansion of its tech partnership,
- India is recognized as a significant person in the Indo-Pacific area and a key player in the US Indo-Pacific method.
- combination of , Quad , as an essential gathering for regional and global great
- calling for the shaping of the diplomatic agreement to involve both public and private players.
- keeping the agreement on course despite significant difficulties.
The US drive for India’s ability building in the field of crucial and emerging technologies is arguably the most complete and forward-looking effort of the Trump era. The two countries signed an , Initiative for Essential and Rising Technology , (iCET ) in May 2022 that has opened a wide range of areas for bilateral cooperation in areas including artificial intelligence, quantum systems, area, 6G smart tech and semiconductor supply chain.
The US-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 partnership, which would help India meet its 450 GW of solar energy goal for 2030, and support the US carry out its international climate efforts, has been established between the two nations.
India’s ability in , classical technology is extremely minimal and therefore the US push including , diplomatic quantum initiatives , greatly benefits New Delhi’s modern rise.
India and the United States have also established really specific, meaningful projects involving visible outcomes and the exchange of high-end technologies to the American business habitat, further bolstering the diplomatic technology partnership. These efforts include
- combined production of flight engines , for fighter flights,
- setting up a , semiconductor processing flower and
- the creation of high-performance processing facilities in India.
The Biden administration has also played a key role in allowing India to join a number of software venues:
- the 14-member , Mineral Security Partnership , and
- the US-based , Quantum Economic Development Consortium , ( QED-C), a consortium of institutions headquartered in 39 countries.
The US symphony to share , essential and emerging technologies , essential for India’s national security amplifies the country’s political importance in the US corporate calculus and the willingness to create a powerful tech-centric alignment with India.
India and the US continued to make headway in the security industry with the 2023 bilateral deal over combined creation of GE414-INS6 jet engines, the flagship initiative of the Biden administration. It is estimated that the deal would lead to roughly 80 % , transfer of engine technology. However, the deal is likely to remain unrealized during the Biden presidency since it remains in the , negotiation stage , more than a year after its announcement.
Other significant announcements from the Biden administration have been made.
- the development of India’s defense-industrial complex through the India-US Defense Acceleration Ecosystem ( INDUS-X),
- agreement to establish a new , Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul ( MRO ) facility , in India for the American C-130 Super Hercules aircrafts for India and other operators, and
- the , Indian procurement of MQ-9B drones , that are expected to upscale India’s multi-domain capabilities in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ( ISR ).
The Biden era saw a constant push to establish India as a significant regional group and strengthen its leadership position within the Quad. The member-states agreed in 2o21 to elevate the Quad to a summit-level initiative. With six summit-level meetings and eight foreign ministers ‘ meetings, the grouping metamorphosed in four years into a high-profile leaders-led initiative with , a robust agenda for cooperation , in the Indo-Pacific region.
Keeping its central purpose of facilitating maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region, the Quad took a major step in May 2022 and set up the , Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness , ( IPMDA ) to “offer near-real-time, integrated, and cost-effective maritime domain awareness information to partners in the region”. Since then, the IPMDA has expanded its mandate to cover the entire Indo-Pacific, including the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, and Pacific Island countries.
Reinforcing its maritime security objective, the , 2024 Quad summit , has unveiled three important initiatives:
- the Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific ( MAITRI),
- a maritime legal dialogue, and
- a first-ever Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission.
At least six crucial issues with the potential to derail momentum in bilateral cooperation have been raised in the Biden era: at least six important issues; and: controversies that have challenged India-US relations.
- Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act-related sanctions,  , until issuance of an , India-specific waiver , in 2022,
- Indian abstentions , in pro-Ukraine multilateral diplomacy,
- Indian imports of Russian oil , despite the US sanctions,
- US withdrawal from Afghanistan,
- alleged , Indian extraterritorial operations , in Canada and the US, and
- US criticism , of human rights situations in India.
These issues will continue to challenge the partnership, along with issues such as export controls, tech transfer, and India-specific legislative waivers.
The next US administration should prioritize the establishment of a semiconductor manufacturing plant and the joint production of a Jet Engine GE414-INS6 in order to advance the relationship.
Notwithstanding bipartisan consensus on India’s importance in the US Indo-Pacific strategy, Biden’s legacy lies in the seriousness and non-transactional approach with which his administration pushed India-US partnership.
Unabhängig of who occupies the White House starting in 2025, the real challenge for the governments of the two nations will be to maintain the high level of interest, trust, and political will that characterized the Biden-led India-US partnership. It’s one thing to spell out the intentions, and it’s another to put them into practice.
Vibhanshu Shekhar , ( vshekhar@american .edu ) teaches at American University.