Sign In
Learn bits
World Affairs
Pradeep Kumar

10/06/21 13:00 PM IST

U.S. Senate passes huge innovation Bill

In news
  • The U.S. Senate passed a sweeping industrial policy Bill aimed at countering the surging economic threat from rival China, overcoming partisan divisions to support pumping more than $170 billion into research and development.
Highlights
  • With both American political parties increasingly worried about competition from Asia’s largest power, the measure cleared the chamber on a 68-32 vote, one of the most significant bipartisan achievements in Congress since Joe Biden’s presidency began in January.
  • It also represents the largest investment in scientific research and technological innovation “in generations”, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
  • The Bill now heads to the House of Representatives, which earlier passed a different version.
  • The two will have to be reconciled into a single Bill before it is sent to the White House for the President’s signature.
  • The package, a key provision of which addresses a shortage of semiconductors that has slowed U.S. auto production this year, will help the U.S. industry bolster its capacity and improve technology.
  • It is seen as crucial for U.S. efforts to avoid being out-maneuvered by Beijing as the adversaries compete in the race to technological innovation.
Key areas
  • The proposal aims to address a number of technological areas in which the U.S. has fallen behind China.
  • The Bill allocates $52 billion in funding for a previously approved plan to increase domestic manufacturing of semiconductors.
  • It also authorizes $120 billion over five years for activities at the National Science Foundation to advance priorities, including research and development in key areas such as artificial intelligence and quantum science.
Source: The Hindu

More Related Current Affairs View All

17 Sep

Reasons Behind the heavy rain in Uttarakhand, Himachal

'Dehradun and several other districts in Uttarakhand have experienced very heavy rainfall over the past few days, triggering landslides in multiple areas and causing rivers to swel

Read More

08 Sep

Rajasthan’s coaching centre Bill

'The Rajasthan Coaching Centres (Control and Regulation) Bill, 2025, is a significant piece of legislation passed by the Rajasthan Assembly to regulate and oversee the state's burg

Read More

28 Aug

IADT-1

'Recently, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully carried out its first Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-1), a crucial milestone in the preparation for the countr

Read More

India’s First Ai-Driven Magazine Generator

Generate Your Custom Current Affairs Magazine using our AI in just 3 steps