India formally joins US-led coalition Pax Silica on AI, supply chain

India on Friday formally joined Pax Silica, a US-led strategic coalition to build secure and resilient supply chains for critical minerals and artificial intelligence (AI).

The Pax Silica declaration between India and the US was signed in the presence of Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, and US Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Gor said India’s entry into Pax Silica reflected the growing strategic convergence between the two democracies.

“This was about two great democracies saying we will build together, not just buy from one another. And now today, we take the next step. India joins Pax Silica,” Gor said.

He said a strategic coalition was being formed to shape the 21st-century economic and technological order by securing the full silicon stack.

Calling Pax Silica an effort to replace coercive dependencies with trusted industrial partnerships that empower free markets, the US ambassador said India’s participation was “strategic and essential.”

Addressing the gathering, Vaishnaw said that sustained collaboration could have dramatically accelerated India’s growth, but stressed that the country was now firmly on a forward trajectory.

“Today, our talented engineers are designing the most complex, most advanced two-nanometer chips here in India,” he said.

He said students in India now have access to the world’s best semiconductor design tools free of cost, which is already yielding results.

Later, speaking to reporters, Vaishnaw said the world trusts India because of its large talent pool and consistent foreign policy.

“As part of that, today, the Pax Silica was signed, which is very important for the semiconductor supply chain, semiconductor manufacturing and chip design, for establishing the entire semiconductor ecosystem in our country,” he said.

Vaishnaw added that India’s participation in Pax Silica would greatly benefit its electronics and semiconductor industries, noting that around 10 plants have already been established or are in the process of coming up, with the first semiconductor fabrication facility expected to begin commercial production soon.

“In that context, the most advanced two-nanometer chips are being designed in India today. A complete ecosystem is emerging in India. Pax Silica will be crucial for this, and the youth of India will benefit from it,” he said.

Launched in December, Pax Silica seeks to establish a secure, resilient and innovation-driven ecosystem for critical minerals and AI.

The Pax Silica Summit was held in Washington on December 12, where founding partners signed the declaration outlining a shared vision of deep economic and technological cooperation.

The declaration stresses that reliable supply chains are indispensable for mutual economic security and recognises artificial intelligence as a transformative force for long-term prosperity, while emphasising the need for trustworthy systems to safeguard shared interests.

“We believe that economic value and growth will flow through and across all levels of the global AI supply chain, driving historic opportunity and demand for energy, critical minerals, manufacturing, technological hardware, infrastructure, and new markets not yet invented,” it said.

Member nations of Pax Silica include Australia, Greece, Israel, Japan, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

Gor had last month announced an invitation to New Delhi to join the alliance.