US, India expanding cooperation in defence, civil nuclear sector: Senior US official
A senior US official stated that the United States and India are expanding cooperation in the defence and civil nuclear sectors, alongside the adoption of trusted artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
The remarks were made at a roundtable on India-related engagement, referencing supply-chain and job-creation benefits described as flowing from deeper US-India ties.
The statement reiterated that India and the US had earlier signed a framework for a major defence partnership aimed at strengthening interoperability across all domains: land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace.
American nuclear power companies were noted as actively exploring opportunities in India's civil nuclear sector.
India-US Civil Nuclear Cooperation — the 123 Agreement
The India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement, commonly called the "123 Agreement" after Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act, 1954 (which requires such an agreement as a precondition for civil nuclear cooperation with any country), was concluded in 2008. It ended India's nuclear isolation following the 1974 and 1998 nuclear tests by allowing India to engage in civil nuclear trade despite not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), on the basis of India separating its civilian and military nuclear facilities and placing civilian facilities under IAEA safeguards. A subsequent Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) waiver in 2008 permitted global civil nuclear trade with India.
Key Details
- Signed/enacted: 2008 (123 Agreement); NSG waiver for India also granted in 2008.
- Legal basis: Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act, 1954.
- Precondition: separation of India's civilian and military nuclear facilities; civilian facilities placed under IAEA safeguards.
- India is not an NPT signatory but was granted an exceptional waiver to trade in nuclear material/technology.
The reference to expanding "civil nuclear sector" cooperation and American nuclear companies exploring India's market builds directly on the 2008 legal architecture created by the 123 Agreement and the NSG waiver, which remain the enabling framework for any US-India civil nuclear reactor or fuel-supply deal.
India-US Foundational Defence Agreements
India and the US have signed four "foundational" agreements that enable deeper military interoperability and information-sharing: GSOMIA (General Security of Military Information Agreement, 2002) for classified information sharing; LEMOA (Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement, 2016), India's version of the standard Logistics Support Agreement, enabling reciprocal access to each other's military facilities for refuelling and replenishment; COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement, 2018), enabling secure military communications and interoperable equipment; and BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement, 2020), enabling sharing of geospatial intelligence data.
Key Details
- GSOMIA: 2002 — classified military information sharing.
- LEMOA: 2016 — reciprocal logistics support (fuel, spares) between militaries.
- COMCASA: 2018 — secure communications and interoperable military hardware.
- BECA: 2020 — geospatial intelligence sharing for precision targeting/navigation.
- These four agreements collectively underpin the "interoperability across all domains" (land, sea, air, space, cyberspace) referenced in the India-US defence partnership framework.
The official's reference to a "major defence partnership" strengthening interoperability across all domains sits atop this pre-existing foundational-agreement architecture; the four agreements are the legal-technical plumbing that make joint operations, technology sharing, and interoperability across domains possible.
Emerging Technology Cooperation — the AI/Critical Technology Dimension
Beyond the traditional defence-and-nuclear axis, India-US engagement has increasingly extended to critical and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and space, under initiatives designed to align regulatory approaches and supply chains between the two countries as part of the broader strategic partnership (building on frameworks such as the earlier India-US initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology). "Trusted AI" typically refers to AI systems developed and deployed with transparency, safety, and accountability safeguards, an area both governments have flagged as a shared priority given AI's dual-use (civilian and military) implications.
Key Details
- Critical and emerging technology cooperation has expanded to include AI, semiconductors, biotechnology, and space alongside defence and nuclear cooperation.
- "Trusted AI" cooperation reflects shared concern over AI safety, standards, and supply-chain security.
- This cooperation track runs in parallel with, and reinforces, the defence-interoperability and civil-nuclear tracks.
The official's explicit mention of "trusted AI and other emerging technologies" alongside defence and nuclear cooperation signals that technology cooperation is now treated as a core, not peripheral, pillar of the India-US strategic partnership. [Unverified: exact institutional/initiative name under which this AI cooperation is currently being pursued was not confirmed via a named framework in available sources.]
- 123 Agreement (India-US civil nuclear cooperation): concluded 2008; NSG waiver for India also granted in 2008.
- Four India-US foundational defence agreements: GSOMIA (2002), LEMOA (2016), COMCASA (2018), BECA (2020).
- Defence partnership framework covers interoperability across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace domains.
- India is a non-NPT signatory nuclear power operating under IAEA safeguards for its civilian facilities since 2008.