Mint Explainer | What could Pax Silica mean for India?

The proposed initiative follows earlier US-led efforts such as the 2022 Mineral Security Partnership and the more recent Quad Critical Minerals Initiative. Together, these pacts reflect a growing effort by Washington and its allies to align technology, critical minerals and geopolitics, as competition with China intensifies.

Mint explains what Pax Silica is and why it matters for India.

Pax Silica is the US government’s attempt to identify trusted partner nations to strengthen efforts in AI and to create a robust global supply chain for silicon and related materials, according to the US State Department. ‘Pax’ is Latin for ‘peace’, while ‘Silica’ refers to the compound refined to make silicon—the foundational element in semiconductor chips.

The grouping will include the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, and Australia, and potentially India if it joins. Each nation is expected to contribute “distinct strengths" across domains ranging from critical minerals and advanced manufacturing to semiconductor capability, AI innovation and deep industrial ecosystems, according to the US government.

Australia’s role illustrates this logic. The country was the world’s largest lithium producer in 2023, accounting for about half of global supply of the critical mineral used in batteries, according to OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) data.

“Together, these participants are home to the most important companies and investors powering the global AI supply chain, including but not limited to: Sony, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Samsung, SK Hynix, Temasek, DeepMind, MGX, Rio Tinto, and ASML," the US government said in a 12 December statement.

The initiative is premised on the view that technology, computing and the minerals that enable them will shape economic and strategic power in the 21st century. In creating Pax Silica, the US has argued that “economic security is national security, and national security is economic security," according to the same statement.

For India, participation would signal a seat at the table in shaping future supply chains that underpin AI and advanced computing. Secretary in the ministry of electronics and information technology S. Krishnan said on 12 January that it is crucial for India to be part of groups such as Pax Silica that focus on critical mineral security.

“From a strategic point of view, it's important that India be at the high table on these important issues. Fundamentally, it's about addressing the supply chains for critical minerals and materials. It's important for a country like India to be part of that. I think it's a recognition, again, of the trust," Krishnan said, responding to a question on Pax Silica at an event in Delhi.

India’s existing policy push in AI and semiconductors aligns closely with the goals of Pax Silica. The India AI Mission, approved in 2024 with a ₹10,372 crore outlay over five years, seeks to democratise artificial intelligence, support startups and build foundational models for Indian languages.

The India Semiconductor Mission is an even larger effort, with a ₹76,000 crore corpus allocated in 2021 to position the country as a chipmaking hub.

India’s scale in technology services also strengthens its case. The country hosts more than 2,975 global capability centres (GCCs) and accounts for the world’s largest share of such centres, according to a 2024 Nasscom–Zinnov report. As of FY24, GCCs employed nearly 1.9 million professionals, the Economic Survey 2024-25 said.

Large multinational investments underline this positioning. In December 2025, Microsoft announced a $17.5 billion investment in India over four years from calendar year 2026 to 2029 to build AI and cloud infrastructure.

Pax Silica also reflects how economic tools have increasingly been deployed for strategic ends.

“The technical difference between strategic and economic partnerships or compacts has narrowed over the past few years, with economic policy being weaponised and supply chains becoming critical infrastructure," said Sankalp Gurjar, who teaches geopolitics at Pune’s Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics.

The initiative comes as both India and the US seek to reduce their dependence on China, which dominates several critical supply chains, including rare earths and their downstream products, Gurjar said.

China’s export halt on rare earth magnets—used across defence, electronics, renewable energy and electric vehicles—has rattled industries globally. In response, India announced support for a domestic magnet manufacturing industry with a ₹7,280 crore outlay over seven years. China currently mines about 60% of the world’s rare earth raw material and refines about 90% of it into magnets.

“In Pax Silica, India could potentially bring to the table scale, as it provides a large market for new technology. It is important to understand that India is itself deeply integrated into the global tech ecosystem, with some of the world's biggest MNCs operating here, plans to set up GCCs, etc," Gurjar said.