Tech Giants Announce Major Investments in India, Reinforcing Growth-Oriented Policy

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to the United States, he met with several CEOs, including Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Tim Cook of Apple, and Sam Altman of OpenAI. 

PM Modi met captains of industry from various fields, including semiconductors, manufacturing, space, and start-ups, at the "Hi-Tech handshake" mega event at the White House in Washington DC on his last day of the US visit.

Following these meetings, tech giants like Amazon and Google made significant investment commitments in India, while Microsoft emphasized the power of technology, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), to improve the lives of Indians. 

These investments and collaborations in areas such as e-commerce, digitization, semiconductor production, and space exploration reflect the growing importance of India as a strategic market and partner in the technology sector. 

Here are the details of the investments and initiatives announced during PM Modi's visit:

Amazon's $26 Billion Investment:

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced on Twitter that the company would invest a total of $26 billion in India by 2030. This investment includes the previously announced plans to invest $12 billion in cloud infrastructure in India by 2030. The investment aims to support startups, create jobs, enable exports, and empower individuals and small businesses to compete globally. Amazon's statement mentioned that this investment would support an estimated average of 131,700 jobs in Indian businesses each year.

Google's $10 Billion Investment:

Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced that Google would invest $10 billion in India's digitization fund. Pichai praised PM Modi's vision for Digital India, considering it a blueprint for other countries. Additionally, Google revealed plans to open its global fintech operation center in Gujarat.

Microsoft's Commitment to Indian Tech:

Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella discussed the power of technology, especially AI, to enhance the lives of Indians during his meeting with PM Modi. Microsoft expressed deep commitment to the growth of Indian technology, emphasizing its impact on India and global markets. Microsoft had recently launched Jugalbandi, an AI-driven chatbot for government assistance in India, powered by language models from AI4Bharat and reasoning models from Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service.

Micron Technology's Semiconductor Facility:

Micron Technology announced plans to build a $2.75 billion semiconductor assembly and test facility in Gujarat, India. Under this agreement, Micron will invest more than $800 million, while the remaining funding will come from India. This initiative aims to boost semiconductor production in the country. Additionally, US-based Applied Materials will establish a new semiconductor center for commercialization and innovation in India, and Lam Research will launch a training program for 60,000 Indian engineers.

ISRO-NASA Joint Mission:

India signed the Artemis Accords, a framework for space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA's lunar exploration plans. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and NASA agreed to collaborate on a joint mission to the International Space Station in the coming year.

GE Aerospace-HAL Deal:

GE Aerospace signed an MoU with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to produce fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force. The agreement includes the potential joint production of GE Aerospace's F414 engines in India, strengthening defense cooperation between the two countries.