Congress Criticises Modi Over India's Exclusion from Pax Silica

NEW DELHI: The Indian National Congress party has sharply criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asserting that it is "not very surprising" that India has been excluded from a new initiative led by the United States, known as Pax Silica. Congress officials attribute this exclusion to a significant decline in the relationship between Modi and former US President Donald Trump.

This statement follows reports suggesting that India is not part of Pax Silica, a nine-nation initiative designed to diminish China's influence over critical high-tech and semiconductor supply chains. The initiative aims to promote cooperation among allied nations to secure their technology supply chains.

Congress general secretary for communications, Jairam Ramesh, expressed his views on social media platform X, stating, "According to various news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative launched to mitigate Chinese control over high-tech supply chains. The agreement is termed Pax Silica, in clear reference to Pax Sinica, which denotes China's dominance in global supply chains."

The nations currently involved in this initiative are the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. Ramesh further remarked, "Given the significant downturn in Trump-Modi relations since May 10, 2025, it is perhaps unsurprising that India has not been included. It would have undoubtedly been to our advantage to be part of this group."

These comments emerged shortly after a telephone conversation between Prime Minister Modi and Trump, during which they discussed the importance of sustaining bilateral economic relations. Ramesh took the opportunity to criticise Modi, noting the timing of the news regarding India's exclusion came just a day after Modi had published a post celebrating his phone call with Trump, whom he had previously regarded as a close ally.

The recent call coincided with the conclusion of two days of discussions between India and the US regarding a proposed trade agreement that could alleviate the 50% tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Indian goods. Modi characterised the conversation as "warm and engaging" in a social media update, although he did not mention the trade negotiations.

What is Pax Silica?

According to the US State Department, "Pax Silica is the Department of State’s flagship initiative focused on artificial intelligence and supply chain security, promoting a new economic security consensus among allies and trusted partners." The term "Pax" historically signifies peace, stability, and prosperity, and is applied to the foundations of modern artificial intelligence and computing.

This US-led initiative seeks to establish a secure and resilient technology ecosystem, enhancing innovation across the entire value chain from critical minerals and energy to advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, artificial intelligence infrastructure, and logistics.

The primary objectives of Pax Silica include reducing coercive dependencies, protecting materials and capabilities essential to artificial intelligence, and assisting aligned nations in developing and deploying advanced technologies at scale. It aims to collaborate with countries that host advanced technology firms to unlock the economic potential of the AI era and to create a sustainable economic order that fosters AI-driven prosperity across partner nations.

In parallel, India is preparing to host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026, scheduled for February 19-20. This summit will centre around the themes of "People, Planet, and Progress." PM Modi announced this event at the France AI Action Summit, marking it as the inaugural global AI summit hosted in the Global South.