From jet engines to drones, space and 6G – Big takeaways from PM Modi’s US visit

New Delhi: From firming up a joint production plan for the jet engine to the assembly of MQ9B High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) drones in India to Artemis Accord – that allows joint safe exploration of Moon and Mars – Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s State visit to the US has wrapped up a number of key projects.

The other key agreements and announcement included leading American technology firm Micron Technology investing up to USD 825 million to build a new semiconductor assembly and test facility in India with support from the Indian government.

Prime Minister Modi and US President Joe Biden also launched two Joint Task Forces on advanced telecommunications, focused on Open RAN and research and development in 5G/6G technologies.


Public-private cooperation between vendors and operators will be led by India’s Bharat 6G Alliance and the US Next G Alliance, a joint statement released by the two countries said.

Another big development is the partnership in the field of quantum computing. The two countries have established a joint Indo-US Quantum Coordination Mechanism to facilitate collaboration among industry, academia, and government which will eventually work towards a comprehensive Quantum Information Science and Technology agreement. 

Also read: India & US are walking shoulder-to-shoulder in every field, says Modi in Oval Office
Big strides in defence partnership

The key developments from PM Modi’s trip to the US came in the defence sector. As reported by ThePrint, in what is being termed as beginning of a new era of the India-US partnership, American firm General Electric and India’s state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) have signed an MoU to jointly produce fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force (IAF) with “significant amount of transfer of technology and work being done indigenously”.

The deal could eventually end India’s quest since the 1960s to manufacture its own jet engine. While a number of countries, including India, make their own fighter aircraft, the technology of engine manufacturing has been aced by only a select few.

The joint statement referred to the jet engine deal as “landmark” and “trailblazing initiative” that will enable greater transfer of US jet engine technology than ever before. 

Another key development was the plan for India to procure 31 HALE drones, MQ-9B, from the US to beef up surveillance and attack capability of the Indian Navy, Army and the IAF.

The joint statement said MQ-9Bs will be assembled in India and will enhance the ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) capabilities of India’s armed forces.

As part of this plan, General Atomics will also establish a Comprehensive Global MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facility in India to support its long-term goals to boost indigenous defence capabilities.

The American firm has a tie-up with India’s Bharat Forge, part of the Kalyani Group, for its drone business.

As reported by ThePrint, the Navy will get 15 MQ-9B drones in maritime and anti-submarine warfare kits, while the Army and the IAF will get eight each of the land version.

While both the variants have the option of being armed, sources in the defence and security establishment said initially, all the drones will be unarmed.

During Modi’s visit, both countries also set up and launched the US-India Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X). As a network of universities, startups, industry and think tanks, INDUS-X will facilitate joint defence technology innovation, and co-production of advanced defence technology between the respective industries of the two countries.

The US Department of Defense’s Space Force has signed its first International Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Indian start-ups 114 AI and 3rdiTech. Both companies will work with General Atomics to co-develop components using cutting edge technologies in AI and semiconductors respectively, the joint statement said.
Joint forays into space

The joint statement said that both leaders “set a course to reach new frontiers across all sectors of space cooperation”.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will now work to develop a strategic framework for human spaceflight cooperation by the end of 2023.

India also signed the Artemis Accords which advance a common vision of space exploration for the benefit of all humankind. The Artemis Accords were established by NASA in 2020, in coordination with the US Department of State and seven other founding member countries.

As a part of the programme, NASA plans to land the first woman and the first person of colour on the Moon, make new scientific discoveries and explore more of the lunar surface than before.
Ukraine and global security

The two leaders expressed their deep concern over the conflict in Ukraine and mourned its tragic humanitarian consequences. 

They underscored the impacts of the war on the global economic system, including on food, fuel and energy security, and critical supply chains, and called for greater efforts to mitigate them.

Both countries further pledged to continue rendering humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine.  They also recommitted themselves to empowering the Quad as a partnership for global good. 

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Patna preps for Oppn meet: Bihar Congress awaits ‘jan nayak’ Rahul, BJP posters decry ‘thugs’

Patna: Usually open until the late hours, the Patna headquarters of the Janata Dal (United) was unusually quiet around 1 pm Thursday — a day before the Opposition meeting that party leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will chair — with only a handful of men loitering on the premises.

“Ye toh kuch chhutput neta hai, koi bada neta nahi aye aaj (these are small-time politicians, no big leader has turned up today),” said a private security guard posted at the entry gate.

The office of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), located across the road, was still welcoming visitors — primarily party workers from various parts of Bihar and reporters working with local media outlets.


Located a few kilometres away from Vir Chand Patel Path, which houses both the RJD and JD(U) offices, Sadaqat Ashram, the state head office of the Congress, offered a study in contrast — decked up to greet Rahul Gandhi, who will address party workers Friday ahead of the Opposition meeting.

Meanwhile, across Patna, a poster war has erupted over the grand showcase of Opposition unity ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. There are hoardings announcing the Opposition meeting, peppered with photos of the participating leaders — from Nitish, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee (Trinamool Congress) and their Tamil Nadu counterpart M.K. Stalin (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam), to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal (Aam Aadmi Party) and CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

There are quite a few posters from the Congress stable featuring Rahul Gandhi — seen blowing kisses as well as in his scruffy Bharat Jodo Yatra avatar.

Another poster takes a dig at former ally Nitish — now running the state government in coalition with Lalu Prasad’s RJD and the Congress — and his political somersaults. It seeks to remind the CM of his earlier assertion that he will never team up with RJD supremo Lalu Prasad ever again.

But the Opposition leaders aren’t particularly perturbed.

“The BJP is rattled by our unity. The language used by them in the posters is absurd,” said JD(U) spokesperson K.C. Tyagi.

“And most of the people they are calling thugs have been with the BJP at some point, be it Mamata Banerjee or [Peoples Democratic Party chief] Mehbooba Mufti, or even the JD(U). So, the BJP has to decide whether it was associated with thugs,” he added.

Most Opposition leaders were, however, tightlipped about the focus of the meeting, which will be held at Nitish’s official residence.

ThePrint had earlier learnt from sources in the participating parties that the meeting would be centred on identifying common issues on which the Opposition can unite, rather than seat-sharing.

Also Read: ‘BJP spreading fire of autocracy’: Stalin vows to join Nitish-led Oppn meet months after migrant row
‘Seat-sharing not a big issue’

Speaking to ThePrint, Bihar Congress chief Akhilesh Prasad Singh said the party had, “even before the Patna meeting… held a number of meetings with various Opposition parties on how to rid the country of BJP and RSS”.

“According to me, seat-sharing isn’t that big an issue. All parties will get seats based on their capability. Even earlier we’ve fought elections in an alliance,” he added. 

Prasad said a “little bit of push and pull is part of politics”. 

“For example, in Bihar, NCP, DMK, and AAP don’t have much ground. But the Left parties, JD(U) and RJD, and even the Congress have a presence here,” he added. “It’s not a big issue.” 

Meanwhile, K.C. Tyagi reiterated the need to adopt the ‘BJP-versus-one-Opposition-candidate’ formula.

“The 2024 Lok Sabha election is against the BJP and its wrong policies. Only those parties who think similarly have been called,” he said of the meeting. “All of them, taken together, influence 450 Lok Sabha seats. Our final aim will be to have one Opposition candidate against the BJP in all of these 450 seats. The Opposition should not make statements against each other. Rather, they should all work together to remove the BJP.”

Amid all this, speculation has been rife about the AAP threatening to stage a walkout from the meeting if the Congress did not commit to support it on the ordinance issue against the Modi government in Parliament. However, AAP sources dismissed such talk.
Mamata meets Lalu, Jayant Chaudhury to skip meet

Some leaders started arriving Thursday, with former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti being the first to land. Next was West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, who came with her nephew, MP and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. Mamata later met Lalu Prasad at his residence.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann also landed Thursday.

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Chaudhary Jayant Singh sent in a note of regret saying that he couldn’t attend the meeting due to pre-existing family commitments.

“I hope that this meeting will be an important stepping stone towards Opposition unity,” he said in the letter, which was released to the media. “I congratulate you for this successful endeavour.”

Back at Sadaqat Ashram, Congress leaders — including state in-charge Tariq Anwar — inspected the arrangements for Rahul’s visit during the day.

According to a tentative schedule shared by Congress sources, Rahul and party president Mallikarjun Kharge are expected to arrive around 11.30am Friday. Both will hoist the national flag at the party office, then unveil a statue of B.R. Ambedkar, before addressing a public meeting.

The Congress state unit is not hiding its excitement about the arrival of its “jan nayak”, as the posters address Rahul.

“This is the first time Rahul ji is coming to Bihar after walking 4,000 kilometres from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, against the politics of hate and division,” said Akhilesh Prasad Singh. “We want to give him a historic welcome.”

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