India Joins Pax Silica Supply-Chain Initiative

India has formally joined the Pax Silica group, a U.S.-led initiative aimed at building resilient supply chains for electronics and critical minerals. The move was announced during the India AI Impact Summit.

Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw signed the accession document along with Jacob Helberg, Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment from the United States.

Member Countries

Other signatories to Pax Silica include:

• Canada
• Japan
• South Korea
• European Union

Aim of Pax Silica

The initiative seeks to:

• Build trusted supply chains for electronics and critical minerals
• Reduce dependence on countries seen as potential strategic risks
• Protect technologies vital for artificial intelligence
• Promote joint ventures and strategic co-investment
• Secure ICT infrastructure, fibre-optic networks, data centres, and AI models

The effort is widely seen as an attempt to counter China’s dominance in key sectors like critical minerals and electronics manufacturing, which has led to major price differences between Chinese products and those made elsewhere.

India’s Perspective

India has long expressed concerns over Chinese involvement in sensitive infrastructure, especially telecom networks and other strategic sectors. Joining Pax Silica aligns with India’s push for trusted supply chains, domestic manufacturing growth, and secure technology ecosystems.

Significance

• Strengthens India–U.S. tech partnership
• Boosts semiconductor and electronics ecosystem cooperation
• Enhances supply-chain resilience in AI and digital infrastructure
• Signals geopolitical alignment in critical technologies

Source: IE