US science delegation in India to seek deeper ties in space, AI emergency techs, energy

NEW DELHI: To boost Indo-US ties in key areas, a high-level American delegation from the premier National Science Foundation (NSF) on Friday called on space, science and technology minister Jitendra Singh to discuss bilateral cooperation in areas of space, technology, earth & ocean science and emerging technologies, and proposed to take the relations in these areas to the “next level”.

The US delegation also discussed deeper cooperation in areas of artificial intelligence (AI), cyber security , quantum, semiconductor, clean energy, advanced wireless, biotechnology, geosciences, astrophysics and defence.

The US NSF, led by its director Sethuraman Panchanathan, also promised to open new avenues of cooperation in areas like critical minerals, smart agriculture, bio-economy and 6G technologies. Panchanathan was happy to note that this was his third meeting with the Indian minister in the last six months and that “points to the seriousness of the approach”. He also conveyed his intention that more joint calls would be taken from March on identified projects.

Jitendra Singh said these are the best of times for both India and America to forge a durable and strong bond for global leadership in fighting global challenges, and hoped that the US will come to the aid of its natural ally, the oldest and largest democracies of the world, when it comes for technology transfer in critical areas, as there is no other option but to collaborate. He said there is a clear sign of willingness and optimism to achieve the desirable goals. During the delegation-level talks, Singh said both sides have already identified sectors for collaboration.

The minister told the US delegation that PM Modi had in the last eight and a half years taken personal interest in science, technology and innovation and tried to implement social sector schemes through science-based solutions to bring ease of living for the common man. He pointed out that since 2014, in every I-Day speech, PM Modi has flagged key scientific challenges and projects like cleanliness, hydrogen mission, digital healthcare system, deep ocean mission, clean energy and startups.

Singh told the NSF delegation that the Indian diaspora is one of the world’s largest and powerful communities in shaping global discourse, particularly in technological innovation landscape. He said both the countries must explore avenues for the US and India to jointly identify, nurture and promote deep-tech startups in areas of mutual interest.