India, US to launch new collaborations in quantum tech, biomanufacturing; cooperation on telecommunications announced

India and the United States have agreed to initiate new collaboration in quantum science and technology and develop a joint strategic framework for biopharmaceutical supply chain optimization.

The two countries on Monday released a joint fact paper after the second meeting of the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (ICET) in the national capital.

The meeting was chaired by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and visiting US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. iCET will be launched by New Delhi and Washington in January 2023.

The Biden administration has confirmed to reduce barriers to US exports to India for high-performance computing and source code technologies.

According to the joint statement, the two countries will promote public-private collaboration for open RAN field trials and roll-out between India’s Bharat 6G Alliance and the US Next G Alliance.

The project will be supported by US funding.

According to the joint fact paper, the two countries have agreed to initiate new collaborations in quantum science and technology, including launching a workshop on post-quantum cryptography at the University of California, Los Angeles, and facilitating visits of Indian technical experts from academia and the private sector to US national laboratories and quantum institutes.

The two countries have also decided to enhance cooperation in quantum communications, post-quantum migration and security, and digital twins technology.

They will also work to promote joint research and development to generate public benefits through commercialization of technology.

India and the United States celebrated the long-term collaboration of the US-India Science and Technology Endowment Fund, supported by the Department of State, and the upcoming announcement of the winners of the “Quantum Technologies and AI for Transforming Lives” competition, which will promote joint R&D to generate public good through commercialization of technologies.

They also welcomed the membership of the Indian Centre for Advanced Computing Development in the multilateral information exchange mechanism, the US Accelerated Data Analytics and Computing Institute, as the Biden-Harris Administration continues to work with the US Congress to reduce barriers to US exports to India for high performance computing and source code.

The two NSAs also agreed to combine capabilities in the field of biotechnology and biomanufacturing.

They commended the launch of the Track 1.5 Biopharmaceutical Supply Chain Consortium – “Bio-5” – on June 5 with key industry and government stakeholders from the United States, India, ROK, Japan, and the European Commission to enhance resilience in supply chains for active pharmaceutical ingredients, key starting materials, and promote high-impact R&D collaboration.

The two sides noted the establishment of a first-time joint funding opportunity between the National Science Foundation and the Department of Biotechnology, through which the two organisations will support collaborative research proposals to foster biotechnology innovation and advance the bioeconomy, the statement said.

They further agreed to “develop a joint strategic framework to build biopharmaceutical supply chain optimization to strengthen global supply chains and reduce dependence on single-source suppliers, supported by Bio-5, led by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of State from the US side and the Department of Biotechnology, Department of Pharmaceuticals, and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare from the Indian side.”

The two National Security Advisors welcomed the launch of the “Bio-X” initiative, which will promote biotechnology collaboration and enhance the competitiveness of biotechnology industries in both countries by leveraging synergies among domestic programmes, including in areas such as molecular communications and the Internet of Bio-Nano Things.

India and the US have agreed to pursue advanced telecommunications opportunities. This includes task force collaboration on 5G and 6G research and development.

The two sides discussed the recent finalization of the U.S.-India Open RAN Acceleration Roadmap, ongoing collaboration between the 5G and 6G R&D Task Forces, and ongoing efforts between U.S. and Indian industry to drive large-scale deployment of Open RAN in India and the U.S.;

New Delhi and Washington will build partnerships to deploy high-quality, cost-effective Open RAN technology at scale, including a US$5 million USAID Edge Fund grant to Qualcomm and Mavenir to test their ORAN stack in India in partnership with Bharti Airtel, with Qualcomm contributing an additional US$9.4 million to the project.

They will also promote Open RAN workforce development opportunities in India through USAID’s Emerging Technologies in the Indo-Pacific program.

This is an 18-month, US$410,000 activity aimed at integrating Open RAN-related educational content into Indian technical training programs and promoting collaboration between Indian institutions and the Asia Open RAN Academy in the Philippines.

The two countries will cooperate on secure and reliable telecommunications products and components and product-level security.

The two sides agreed to “strengthen cooperation in 6G technologies through working groups that will potentially focus on developing 6G related technologies such as network sensing, intelligent reflective surfaces, human-centric cognition-based wireless access frameworks, and other priority areas.”

India and the US, with US financial support, will also create public-private collaborations between vendors and operators of the two countries led by India’s Bharat 6G Alliance and the US Next G Alliance for Open RAN field trials and roll-out in both countries, the statement said.