During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first state visit to the US, he learned a lot that will help them work together better in important areas like defense, space, and trade.
Some of the most important news is:
Making fighter jet engines in India as a team – In a historic deal, GE Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) signed an MoU to work together to make fighter jet engines for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk-II (Tejas) of the Indian Air Force.
The deal could lead to the joint production of GE Aerospace’s F414 engines in India. GE Aerospace is still working with the US government to get the export license it needs for this to happen.
As part of the LCA-Mk.II program, GE Aerospace had promised to make 99 engines for the IAF. This agreement will move that plan forward.
With this visit, we are demonstrating once more how India and the United States are collaborating on nearly every human endeavor and delivering progress across the board.
Our bottom line is simple: We want people everywhere to have the opportunity to live in dignity. pic.twitter.com/LLR2dn1vp6
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 23, 2023
Armed drones: India and the US are expected to announce a huge deal for India to buy General Atomics MQ-9 “Reaper” armed drones. This would strengthen India’s national security and surveillance powers not only in the Indian Ocean but also along the border with China.
Compared to the MQ-1 Predator, the General Atomics MQ-9 “Reaper” can carry 500% more weight and has nine times as much power.
In 2024, the US and India will work together to send an Indian scientist to the International Space Station.
India has also chosen to join the Artemis Accords, a group of like-minded countries that work together on civil space exploration. NASA and ISRO have also agreed to work together on a mission to the International Space Station in 2024.
The Artemis Accords are a set of non-binding rules for civil space research and use in the 21st century. They are based on the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 (OST). It is an effort led by the United States to get people back to the moon by 2025. The final goal is to send people to Mars and beyond.
Semiconductor manufacturing: Prime Minister Modi asked the American chip maker Micron Technology to make more semiconductors in India because the country has competitive benefits in different parts of the supply chain for the product. He also asked Applied Materials to come to India to work on improving process technology and packing.
Modi also asked General Electric to do more in India in the areas of aircraft and clean energy.
India will set up a mission in Seattle, and the US will open two new consulates in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. This will help people get along better with each other.
The US is about to start offering H-1B visas that can be renewed in the country. This is a big change that will help thousands of Indian workers living in the US keep their jobs without having to travel overseas to renew their work visas.
The highly sought-after H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that lets US companies hire foreign workers in specialty jobs that require theoretical or technical knowledge. Technology firms use it to hire tens of thousands of people from India and China every year.
