Ties strained, US keeps India out of critical mineral group

In a move that has raised questions in New Delhi over the future trajectory of India–US strategic and technology cooperation, the US has announced a new high-technology and supply chain initiative, Pax Silica, while keeping India out of the inaugural grouping.

The US-led initiative brings together Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Australia to build what Washington describes as a secure, resilient and innovation-driven global silicon and artificial intelligence supply chain. Notably, India has been excluded, even as all other Quad members--the US, Japan and Australia--are part of the new framework.

Pax Silica is aimed at reducing dependence on coercive supply chains, particularly in critical minerals, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, energy inputs, logistics and AI infrastructure. According to the US State Department, the initiative seeks to protect technologies foundational to artificial intelligence and ensure that “trusted partners” can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.

Announcing the initiative, US officials said Pax Silica represents a new economic security paradigm rooted in close cooperation among countries hosting the world’s most advanced technology companies and investors. The bloc will focus on the entire technology stack--from critical minerals and power generation to chip fabrication, data centres, frontier AI models and global logistics networks.

While Washington stressed that Pax Silica is a “positive-sum partnership” and not designed to isolate other countries, India’s absence has drawn attention given New Delhi’s repeated emphasis on becoming a global semiconductor and electronics manufacturing hub, as well as its central role in US-led Indo-Pacific frameworks.

The initiative is widely seen as part of a broader US strategy to counter China’s dominance in high-technology and critical supply chains. The name Pax Silica itself is viewed as a deliberate counter to “Pax Sinica”, signalling a coalition-led economic order for the AI age.

Under the framework, participating countries have committed to pursuing joint projects to address vulnerabilities in AI supply chains, promote co-investment and joint ventures, protect sensitive technologies from undue foreign control, and build trusted digital infrastructure such as data centres, fibre-optic networks and foundational AI models.

In India, the opposition Congress seized on the development to attack the government, linking India’s exclusion to a downturn in bilateral ties with Washington.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said reports of India being kept out of the nine-nation grouping were “perhaps not very surprising” given what he described as a sharp deterioration in Trump–Modi relations since May 10, 2025. “Undoubtedly it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group,” Ramesh said, noting that Pax Silica was clearly conceived as a counter to China’s technological dominance.

He also pointed to the timing of the announcement, coming a day after the Prime Minister publicly highlighted a telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump. Ramesh referred to the earlier bonhomie between the two leaders, marked by high-profile events in Ahmedabad, Houston and Washington DC, and suggested that the current reality stood in contrast to that phase.

The government has so far not officially commented on India’s exclusion from Pax Silica. However, the development is likely to trigger quiet diplomatic engagement, particularly as India has invested heavily in semiconductor incentives, critical minerals partnerships and technology cooperation with the US and its allies.