India signs MoU with EU on semiconductor ecosystem; set to enhance resilience in supply chain

Bolstering their technology collaboration, India and the European Union (EU) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the semiconductor ecosystem today, November 24. The initial agreement was signed by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and the EU Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton. As part of the agreement, both India and the EU will share experiences and best practices, and identify areas for collaboration to bolster the semiconductor ecosystem among other action points.

Vaishnaw made the announcement on X and posted, “MoU signed between India and EU to deepen cooperation on semiconductor ecosystem and enhance resilience in semiconductor supply chain”.

As per a statement by the EU, the co-chairs of the EU-India Trade and Technology Council (TTC), executive vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis and vice-president Vera Jourova, held a stock-taking call with Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal to weigh up the work done under the EU-India TTC so far, and lay the ground for the next Ministerial meeting.

The inaugural TTC Ministerial Meeting took place in Brussels on May 16, 2023, subsequent to the official launch on February 6, 2023. The announcement regarding this meeting was made by Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on April 25, 2022, in New Delhi.

India-EU sign MoU on semiconductors

According to the EU statement, both partners intend to do the following under the MoU:

• Share experiences, best practices and information on our respective semiconductors ecosystems;
• Identify areas for collaboration in research, development and innovation among universities, research organisations and businesses;
• Promote skills, talent and workforce development for the semiconductors industry and facilitate collaboration via the organisation of workshops, partnerships and the promotion of direct investments;
• Ensure a level playing field in the sector, including by sharing information on granted public subsidies.

As for the next steps, India and the bloc will continue meeting regularly and report the development under the TTC. The next TTC Ministerial Meeting has been planned for early 2024 in India.