Congress Targets PM Modi Over India’s Exclusion From US-Led Pax Silica Initiative

The Congress on Saturday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi after India was not included in a US-led strategic initiative aimed at building a secure global silicon supply chain, saying the exclusion reflects a downturn in ties between New Delhi and Washington and represents a missed strategic opportunity for the country.

The opposition party said it was perhaps not very surprising that India was left out of the initiative, given what it described as a sharp downturn in relations between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Modi since May 10, 2025. It added that India would have benefited from being part of the grouping.

Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at the prime minister, linking India's absence from the initiative to recent diplomatic developments. In a post on X, Ramesh said reports suggested that the United States had excluded India from a nine-nation coalition launched to reduce China's dominance over high-tech supply chains. He noted that the initiative has been named Pax Silica, positioning it as a counter to Pax Sinica.

According to Ramesh, the countries currently included in the grouping are the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Australia. He said that given the sharp downturn in Trump-Modi ties since May 10, 2025, India's exclusion was not unexpected and that it would have been to India's advantage to be part of the group.

Ramesh also said the development came a day after Prime Minister Modi had publicly spoken about a telephone conversation with President Trump, whom he described as Modi's once-upon-a-time good friend, recalling their past public interactions in Ahmedabad, Houston and Washington DC.

The US-led Pax Silica initiative has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain through close cooperation among trusted partners. According to the US State Department, the initiative aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect materials and capabilities critical to artificial intelligence, and ensure that aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.

With India excluded, all other Quad members, the United States, Japan and Australia, are part of the initiative.

Meanwhile, India will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19 and 20. Announced by Prime Minister Modi at the France AI Action Summit, it will be the first global AI summit hosted in the Global South and will focus on the principles of People, Planet and Progress.

Prime Minister Modi and President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership during a telephone conversation. The call came on the same day that Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on a proposed bilateral trade agreement, which is expected to provide India relief from the Trump administration's 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.

In a social media post after the call, Modi described the discussion as warm and engaging. He said the two leaders reviewed progress in bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments, adding that India and the United States would continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity.