India-US partnership has deepened long-term under Biden

This article was first published by Pacific Forum. It is republished with permission.

The September visit of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United States for meetings, both bilaterally as well as a part of the 2024 Quad Summit, has drawn the spotlight to the state of US-India relations under the Biden administration.

The Biden presidency has proven somewhat epochal in leading India and the United States on a multi-generational partnership requiring multiple administrations and many years of substantive efforts. Changes relate to

• US support for India’s technological rise and massive expansion of the partnership in the tech sector,
• US acknowledgement of India’s role as an important player in the Indo-Pacific region and a key partner in the US Indo-Pacific strategy,
• consolidation of Quad as an important grouping for regional and global good
• calling on active participation of both public and private players in shaping the bilateral partnership and
• keeping the partnership on track notwithstanding serious challenges.

Probably the most comprehensive and forward-looking initiative of the Biden era is the US push for India’s capacity building in the field of critical and emerging technologies. The two countries signed an Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) in May 2022 that has opened a wide range of areas for bilateral cooperation in fields including artificial intelligence, quantum technology, space, 6G mobile tech and semiconductor supply chain.

The two countries have forged a similar partnership in clean energy: the US-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 partnership that would help India achieve its 2030 clean energy target of 450 GW of renewable energy and help the US achieve its global