India Tech Tracker - February 2024

MONEYCONTROL | FEBRUARY 29, 2024

The Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of three semiconductor plants in Gujarat and Assam, including India’s first semiconductor fabrication plant. The total estimated investment for the proposal is Rs. 1.26 lakh crore. The proposal includes a semiconductor fab, a joint venture between Tata Electronics and Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (PSMC), which will be constructed in Gujarat’s Dholera at a projected cost of Rs. 91,000 crores. Additionally, a chip assembly and testing unit in Assam set up by Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Pvt. Ltd. has also been approved by the Cabinet, along with a semiconductor plant by CG Power and Japan’s Renesas in Gujarat’s Sanand.

 

MONEYCONTROL | FEBRUARY 28, 2024

Nvidia is exploring the possibilities of building sovereign AI with the Indian government using DPIs, said vice president for enterprise sales and business development, Shankar Trivedi. The growing startup ecosystem, strong infrastructure and DPIs pervasiveness can be used to build many new applications, he added. Recently, Nvidia founder Jensen Huang had voiced the need for countries to own their data and the intelligence that is built using it. The current development follows the September 2023 announcement by Nvidia and Reliance Industries to build Indian languages trained foundational large language models and the more recent partnership announcement with India Inc to set up AI data center facilities.

 

OECD | FEBRUARY 21, 2024

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has constituted a new expert group to encourage international collaboration on data and privacy and AI. Based on the growing consensus around the interlinkages between new and advanced models of AI and data, the group will seek to achieve synergy between governments, AI and Privacy communities through promoting knowledge exchange. Data protection experts, policymakers, civil society, industry, and academia will constitute this new group. Building interoperability, identifying intersections between the privacy and AI domains, and exploring the prospects of aligning AI and privacy efforts using OECD legal instruments are the main goals of this group.

 

MINT | FEBRUARY 19, 2024

In a bid to ramp up domestic chip production, the United States government has announced a $1.5 billion grant to GlobalFoundries with the aim to build and expand chip production facilities in New York and Vermont. Similar awards are expected for semiconductor manufacturing projects in Arizona, Texas, New York, and Ohio in the coming weeks. Other chip makers have also applied for the U.S. government to finance a portion of the cost of building chip-manufacturing infrastructure. These include Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Samsung Electronics, and Micron Technology. A round of due diligence will be carried out before an agreement with GlobalFoundries is finalized. The award is expected to provide stability to the supply chain in the auto and aerospace industries and reduce overseas dependence. The grants are a part of the $53 Billion Chips Act of 2022, introduced by the Biden administration to bolster chip making capabilities of the United States after its global share in chip manufacturing plummeted to 12 percent in 2020 from 37 percent in 1990.

 

THE HINDU | FEBRUARY 9, 2024

Microsoft has announced a partnership with Indian startup Sarvam AI—previously involved in developing artificial intelligence (AI) models at IIT Madras based AI4Bharat, to develop voice-based generative AI. This followed Microsoft’s announcement earlier this week to equip 2 million Indians with AI skills by 2025. The tech giant will also make its large language models available on Azure. The partnership for voice-based tools is aimed at fostering inclusion and accessibility by making voice-driven AI solutions available to all, regardless of their linguistic background. Sarvam AI raised $41 million in a Series A funding in December 2023 and has been working on building GenAI models based on Indic languages and contexts.

MORNING POST | FEBRUARY 28, 2024

In a recent executive order, the White House set forth new restrictions on the transaction of sensitive personal data about Americans and people connected to the U.S. government to “countries of concern”. The move aims to prevent “adversaries” of the United States from using sensitive data for malicious activities, including espionage and blackmail, that threaten U.S. national security. The scope of the order includes transactions of genomic data, personal health data, biometric data, geolocation data, government-related data, financial data, and certain personal identifiers. Countries that are likely to be targeted by the order include China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, and Cuba, as per a senior Justice Department official. This is the first time the United States has sought restrictions on data transfer to specific locations.

 

BUSINESS STANDARD | FEBRUARY 28, 2024

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has designated home secretaries, both at the central and state levels, as competent authorities empowered to order the deletion of surveillance records after six months. An amendment to the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Interception, Monitoring and Decryption of Information) Rules, this move aims to clearly designate the authority responsible for managing surveillance data. Previously, the security agency responsible for surveillance was the body with whom this authority rested, subject to authorization by a competent court or the Ministry of Home Affairs.

 

NIKKEI ASIA | FEBRUARY 23, 2024

The U.S. assistant secretary of commerce for export administration, Thea D. Rozman Kendler, stated that the United States’ restrictions on exporting advanced chips to China will not extend to mature or legacy chips. The clarification came in response to growing apprehensions about legacy chips being covered under the increasing ambit of export controls that began in October last year. Secretary Kendler emphasized that export controls serve national security interests and are unlikely to change regardless of the election outcome. In an interview with Nikkei Asia, she also praised export restrictions on Russia, citing their effectiveness in limiting Russia’s access to arms and materials amid the conflict with Ukraine.

 

THE HINDU | FEBRUARY 20, 2024

A draft regulatory framework for AI will likely be released by the Government of India by June or July 2024, said Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar recently. While speaking at the NASSCOM leadership Summit, he said that AI’s economic potential for growth will be harnessed while addressing potential risks. He also spoke of the need for a global governance framework for AI, given its ubiquitous and boundary agnostic nature. Such a framework, he said should deal with issues of safety and trust in AI. Speaking on the government’s approach, Chandrasekhar said that clear guidelines should be set for platforms with a focus on issues like bias and misuse during model training.

 

MINT | FEBRUARY 17, 2024

Major technology companies, including Adobe, Amazon, Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, TikTok, and X, have made a collective, voluntary effort to implement measures to prevent the malicious use of AI tools in disrupting democratic elections globally. The pact was announced at the Munich Security Conference. The framework for the agreement focusses on the threat posed by deepfakes generated by AI and suggests specifying ways to detect and label AI-generated content to prevent the spread of false information in the electoral process. Others that have joined this initiative include chatbot developers Anthropic and Inflection AI, voice-clone startup ElevenLabs, chip designer Arm Holdings, and security companies McAfee and TrendMicro.

MONEYCONTROL | FEBRUARY 27, 2024

The U.S. Consulate has collaborated with the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) to launch the U.S.-India Cyber Security Initiative to enhance IT connections. The initiative, unveiled at the MCCIA Pune Business International Business Summit, aims to unite global cybersecurity experts to create jobs, foster people-to-people ties, and address the rapid advancements in digital technologies. U.S. Consul General Mike Hankey highlighted the priority of cyber issues in the U.S.-India bilateral relationship, emphasizing the need for a secure cyberspace to ensure global prosperity. The initiative will collaborate with research institutions, industry, and civil society to enhance cyber defenses and protect sensitive information.

 

NIKKEI ASIA | FEBRUARY 24, 2024

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) opened its first chip plant in Japan, with plans to produce chips for Sony and Renesas by the end of 2024. This is TSMC’s first overseas production facility to begin operations since 2018. The facility, backed by Sony and Denso, will manufacture chips ranging from 12 nanometers to 28 nanometers, aims to address the global chip shortage. TSMC plans to invest over $20 billion in Japan, including a second fab for more advanced chips. Analysts view Japan as an attractive destination for Taiwanese chipmakers, citing synergies and strong partnerships.

 

ECONOMIC TIMES | FEBRUARY 17, 2024

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed by India and Colombia to share successful digital solutions that can be implemented at a population scale for digital transformation. The intention of the MoU is to promote digital transformation (namely, INDIA STACK). This can be done through capacity-building programs, the exchange of public officials and experts, the development of pilot solutions. Additionally, private sector contacts may also be encouraged for the mutual benefit the digital ecosystems of both countries. A statement by the MeitY said that India was keen on partnering with Columbia for digital transformation to aid the smooth adoption of DPI in the country.

 

HINDUSTAN TIMES | FEBRUARY 17, 2024

The Strengthening the Quad Act, aimed at intensifying cooperation between India, Japan, Australia and the United States, was passed by the United States House of Representatives with an overwhelming majority. The legislation seeks to foster greater cooperation between the four countries in the Indo-Pacific on a wide range of issues including technology, energy, climate mitigation, and disaster management, resilient supply chains, including in critical minerals and global health security among others. It also called for the setting up of a Quad Intra-parliamentary Working Group, while asking the U.S. secretary of State to present an update on Quad initiatives and activities within 180 days. Quad leaders have announced these issues as priorities in their joint statements after summits over the past three years. The Secretary of State has also been tasked with producing a summary of proposals agreed to by Quad leaders on “security cooperation, intelligence sharing, economic partnerships, and multilateral coordination.”

 

THE HINDU | FEBRUARY 12, 2024

Amid India’s push for increased economic ties with Sri Lanka and Mauritius, India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services have been rolled out in the two countries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described it as linking historic ties with modern digital technology. Additionally, India’s RuPay card services were also launched in Mauritius in a virtual ceremony. The availability of UPI settlement services for Indian nationals travelling to Sri Lanka and Mauritius as well as for Mauritian nationals travelling to India is expected to enable hassle-free travel between the neighboring countries. Earlier this month, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) partnered with French player Lyra to introduce UPI mechanism in France.

ASEAN

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Australia will commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of ASEAN-Australia Dialogue relations this year. To observe fifty years of this collaboration, the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit has been scheduled for March 5–6, 2024. The thirty-sixth ASEAN-Australia Forum, already underway in Melbourne, will finalize details and plan preparations for the Special Summit.