Workshop on India – U.S. Collaboration ‘Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology’ organized ahead of Prime Minister’s Visit to the United States
New Delhi : Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming State visit to the United States, the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum organized a workshop in New Delhi, under the ICT, Emerging Technologies & Digital Infrastructure Working Group of the India-U.S. CEO Forum. The Working Group, anchored by Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder & Chairman Bharti Enterprises and Pamela Reeve, Chair of the Board, American Tower Corporation, includes Indian companies such as Tata Consultancy Services, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra and Mahindra, Infosys and Reliance Industries, and U.S. companies such as Hewlett Packard Enterprises, Deloitte, Fedex Corporation, Deere & Company and Mastercard, amongst others.
The workshop brought together a diverse range of stakeholders, including government leaders and industry experts, to explore opportunities in critical and emerging technology. India and the U.S. are working towards enhancing collaboration and promoting economic growth through digital trade and trusted partnerships. The insights and recommendations from the workshop hold immense potential to shape the future of technology and foster greater cooperation between the two countries.
Prominent participants included senior representatives from the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Department of Telecommunications (DoT), National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET), Government of India.
The inaugural session featured the launch of a Report on “The Future of the India-US Strategic ICT Relationship”. The report highlighted the need to recognize digital trade as a central pillar of partnership; the need to leverage initiatives such as iCET for strengthening the supply chain for critical industries, and development of digital infrastructure for inclusive growth and universal connectivity. With regards to accelerating digital connectivity for the last mile, Himani Pande, Joint Secretary DPIIT, said ‘One of the key pillars of the government has been “Har Ghar Jal”, we are now moving in the right direction of “Har Ghar Internet”
The workshop also featured three panel discussions on key priority areas. The first panel focused on the evolution of 5G and Open Radio Access Network (ORAN), emphasizing the role of openness, standards, and interoperability in shaping next-generation networks. The second panel delved into the future of artificial intelligence (AI), exploring its rapid evolution, emerging use cases, and responsible innovation. The third discussion centered around creating a future-ready digitally skilled workforce, highlighting the importance of reskilling, upskilling, and public-private partnerships to bridge the skilling gap. Each session highlighted the significance of bilateral and multilateral collaboration in fostering the growth of the digital economy and shaping the future of technology.
Strengthening the strategic technology partnership has emerged as a key priority for India and the United States, particularly through the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET). In January, the Indian and American National Security Advisors held the first high-level iCET dialogue, identifying key areas of cooperation, such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence, defense, innovation, space, advanced telecom, and semiconductors. Speaking on India-U.S. collaboration under iCET, Satyajit Mohanty, Joint Secretary, National Security Council Secretariat, Government of India highlighted “iCET is a recognition of the Indo-US potential to drive mutually complementary partnerships and aspire through it, for global good. iCET aims at forging technology value chain partnerships and shall focus on outcome oriented cooperation, involving the industry and academia of both countries. The key to the success of iCET lies in mitigating the regulatory issues which companies face in forging deep-tech cooperation.”
On technology partnerships and cooperation under iCET, Rudra Chaudhuri, Director, Carnegie India stated that “more discussion and dialogue with respect to adoption of ORAN. Cost factors need to be considered and the stack architecture should be understood. This should be a crucial part of iCET negotiations on both sides. If India and the US joined build ORAN, it will be a solution, not just for India but the rest of the world as well.”