"Quad Good As Dead," Says Expert As India No Longer In ‘Priority List’ Of US
Navroop Singh urges India to focus on domestic technology as US relations shift to a transactional approach.
(File Photo: Narendra Modi/X)
Intellectual property attorney and author Navroop Singh has suggested that India is no longer a priority for the United States. He added that India “should not expect any technology sharing” from the US going forward.
Sharing his thoughts on X (formerly Twitter), Singh also raised questions over the relevance of the Quad and the Indo-Pacific pivot.
“India is no more in the priority list of the US. The Indo-Pacific Pivot & Quad is in quandary and good as dead,” Singh wrote, signalling a shift in the engagement between India and the United States.
He highlighted that India must adjust its expectations regarding access to advanced technology from the US, particularly in telecom and digital infrastructure.
Singh pointed out that “data localisation by RBI norms have not been rescinded, so that part stands,” implying that certain regulatory and strategic frameworks in India continue unaffected by US influence.
He added that India can rely on domestic solutions for critical telecom infrastructure.
“We can make our own routers like by Tejas Network etc., Install them instead of CISCO. The Americans are not obligated to share source code of telecom equipment. You have issue, don’t buy, don’t install,” he wrote.
He highlighted that Indian telecom companies are already reducing reliance on foreign hardware. “Ask local companies like Tejas Network to supply local routers/nodes under PLI schemes, which are already there. Even Jio has started making its own telecom equipment.”
Singh said that many Indian telecom companies have already teamed up with global firms such as Cisco, Nokia and Siemens “to replace Huawei routers/hardware” in their networks.
Singh emphasised that technological collaboration with the US is now “transactional” and limited. “Don’t expect Americans to share any technology going ahead,” he said, adding, “Small tweaks to please Silicon Valley & Wall Street will happen. The idea is small concessions for larger interests of labour intensive sectors while protecting agri & dairy.”
He even underlined the importance of selective engagement, recognising China’s lead in “rare earths, auto magnets, APIs” while acknowledging American dominance in “Big Technology.”
Singh ended his post by saying that India’s approach should focus on trade-offs to safeguard strategic autonomy, protect agriculture and dairy sectors, and maintain independent foreign policy choices, including trade with Russia and China.
“That’s perfectly fine, it’s a trade-off. For our strategic autonomy, Russian oil & arms, trade with China, independent foreign policy, protect agri & dairy, it's a very small give away,” he wrote.
Here’s his post:
Singh’s remarks come against the backdrop of Washington’s increasingly tough approach towards New Delhi. The US has slapped India with the highest tariff of 50%, including a 25% penalty linked to Russian oil purchases, while accusing the country of profiteering and indirectly backing the war in Ukraine. It has also raised H-1B visa fees to $1,00,000.
As India remains the largest beneficiary of H-1B visas, the raise is being seen as yet another pressure tactic by the US on India, according to reports.
