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Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw termed India's entry into the Pax Silica Declaration as a "historic event," asserting that it is crucial to position India as a trusted partner in the global semiconductor supply chain.
Speaking exclusively to ANI on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit in the national capital on Friday, Vaishnaw said, "The semiconductor supply chain is very important for the entire world. There is a need for a resilient supply chain. We have seen the kind of disruptions which happened during COVID, and it can be weaponised. So that's why today the entire world is looking at India as a trusted country." Highlighting India's diplomatic and economic positioning, he added, "Our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji has positioned India as a trusted value chain, a trusted country which believes in freedom, which believes in democracy and that's why today Pax Silica, which is an agreement between many countries with US for the semiconductor supply chain and semiconductor value chain, today India also became a part of that Pax Silica." Vaishnaw emphasised that India's semiconductor ecosystem has witnessed rapid evolution over the past decade. "It's a very important historical event for us because our semiconductor industry has evolved very well in the last decade. Today, we are designing 2-nanometer chips. Our manufacturing ecosystem is coming up. Our equipment manufacturing ecosystem and material manufacturing ecosystem will also come up in the coming years. In that journey, it's very important to position India as a trusted country which the entire world would like to partner with," he said. India signed and joined the Pax Silica Declaration on the sidelines of the Global AI Impact Summit 2026, the first global AI summit hosted in the Global South. The US-led initiative focuses on artificial intelligence and semiconductor supply chain security, advancing a new economic security consensus among trusted partners. US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti and Jacob Helberg, US Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, were present during the signing ceremony. The declaration underscores the importance of reliable semiconductor supply chains for mutual economic security and recognises AI as a transformative force for long-term prosperity. With 10 semiconductor plants already in various stages of development and commercial production expected to begin soon, India's participation in Pax Silica is being seen as a significant step toward strengthening its role in the global technology value chain. (ANI)
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