Jake Sullivan, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA) of the United States of America (USA) was on a 2-day visit to New Delhi, Delhi from 17th to 18th June 2024.
- Jake Sullivan and Ajit K Doval, NSA of India co-chaired the second meeting of the India-US initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) on 17 June 2024 at Hyderabad House, New Delhi.
About iCET:
i.The iCET was launched by PM Modi and US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Quad Leaders’ Summit held in Tokyo, Japan on 24 May 2022.
- The inaugural iCET meeting was held in January 2023 in Washington, D.C., USA.
ii.The iCET framework focuses on cooperation in new and emerging technologies, including semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, defence innovation, space and advanced telecommunications.
Key Highlights of the 2nd iCET Meeting:
i.During the meeting, the NSA of India and the USA highlighted the importance of adapting each other’s technology protection toolkits and committed to mitigating the leakage of sensitive and dual-use technologies to the concerned countries.
ii.They also committed to take the desired action in the coming time to look into the prevailing barriers to bilateral strategic trade, technology, and industrial cooperation, including in the commercial and civil space sector.
iii.They discussed the collaboration in diverse domains of new and emerging technologies, including Semiconductors, Artificial Intelligence(AI), Quantum, Defence Innovation, Space and Advanced Telecommunications.
iv. India and the USA are currently in advanced stages of talks for the purchase of 31 MQ-9B Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, local licensed manufacture of the General Electric GE-414 engines as well the Stryker infantry vehicles.
v.The joint factsheet released issued after the meeting stated that, Both countries are planning to launch a new semiconductor partnership between General Atomics and 3rdiTech to co-develop semiconductor design and manufacturing for precision-guided ammunition and other national security-focused electronics platforms.
vi.A new partnership between US Space Force and Indian startups, 114ai and 3rdiTech, to work on advancements in space situational awareness, data fusion technologies, and infra-red sensor semiconductor manufacturing.
ISRO and NASA to launch NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR)
India and the USA are making preparations to launch the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Synthetic Aperture Radar(NISAR) to combat climate change and other global challenges.
i.NISAR, a joint Earth-observing mission between NASA and ISRO, will be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh) on India’s southeastern coast.
ii.The NISAR will be the first radar imaging satellite to use two different radar frequencies (L-band and S-band) to measure changes in our planet’s surface less than a centimetre across.
iii.The tenure of the NISAR mission is three years and can scan nearly all the land and ice surfaces of the Earth twice every 12 days. It would be able to measure water, agriculture, and coverage of greenery across the Earth’s surface.
iv.NISAR will measure changes in ice sheets and glaciers, wetlands and forests, and land around volcanoes and earthquake faults.
India, USA working to Train ISRO Astronaut for ISS
i.NASA administrator Bill Nelson has announced that NASA will collaborate with India, which will include a joint effort of boarding the International Space Station (ISS) with an Indian astronaut.
- This announcement was made after the discussions that were held in the iCET Dialogue between NSA Jake Sullivan and Ajit Doval.
ii.NASA will assist in training two Indian astronauts, one of whom will be flying to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2024.
About the United States of America(USA):
President– Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.
Currency– United States Dollar (USD)
Capital– Washington, D.C.
