WASHINGTON: In June 2008, amidst the strangeness of the US-India nuclear cooperation and strategic alliance, a district court in Washington DC awarded Parthasarathy Sudarshan, CEO of an electronics firm with offices in South Carolina, Singapore, and Bengaluru Parthasarathy Sudarshan) was sentenced to 35 months in prison. Parthasarathy was accused of conspiring to illegally export 500 i960 microprocessors to aid in the development of India’s ballistic missiles, space launch vehicles, and fighter aircraft, including the Tejas.
According to a TOI report, the i960 chips were so cheap that they could be bought from any store. This incident happened when China was ridiculed for equality with America. He was easily circumventing US export restrictions. And America was calm in the midst of it all. But it now appears that Washington has finally woken up to the Chinese threat and its misplaced mistrust of India that has been going on for generations.
In an unprecedented engagement, top officials from both India and the US are meeting this week to advance the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET). It aims to overcome mutual inhibitions and develop an eco-system driven by mutual trust. Following the decision taken by US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2022, a delegation of top Indian strategic and scientific leaders is meeting their American counterparts in Washington today to take ties to the next level. can be brought to
The composition of the Indian delegation itself gives an indication of what is going to happen. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is leading this delegation. In this, ISRO Chairman S. Somnath, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister Ajay Kumar Sood. Along with this, G Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Advisor to the Defense Minister, K.K. Rajaram, and Director General of Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) Sameer Kamat are also involved in this.
In support of ICET, the US Chamber of Commerce on Monday held a roundtable with industry executives across the spectrum of advanced technologies, including semiconductor design and manufacturing, commercial electronics, advanced telecommunications, commercial space, aerospace and defense, and information technology services.
The US India Business Council, which hosted the roundtable, said in the presence of US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, the officials discussed opportunities to promote the development of critical and emerging technologies such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence. A major topic during the roundtable was how the two governments would facilitate deeper collaboration on technology issues, including boosting the semiconductor supply chain.
