Modi hails 17 new agreements, says India-Netherlands ties will gain ‘unparalleled momentum’

During the India-Netherlands state visit on 16–17 May 2026, two headline outcomes stood out: the signing of an MoU between Tata Electronics and ASML for Indi...

What Happened

During the India-Netherlands state visit on 16–17 May 2026, two headline outcomes stood out: the signing of an MoU between Tata Electronics and ASML for India's first commercial semiconductor fabrication plant, and the return of 11th-century Chola copper plates from Leiden University to India.
The Tata-ASML partnership formalizes Dutch lithography technology support for India's Dholera fab in Gujarat, which will produce India's first domestically manufactured 300 mm chips at 28–110 nm nodes.
The Anaimangalam copper plates — 21 large and 3 smaller copper sheets bearing inscriptions in Tamil and Sanskrit from the reign of Rajendra Chola I — were repatriated to India after over 300 years at the Netherlands' Leiden University, following diplomatic pursuit since 2012.
The two countries also signed an MoU on the National Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal (Gujarat) between the National Maritime Museum of Amsterdam and India's Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways.
The 17-agreement package also included the launch of an India-Netherlands Green Hydrogen Roadmap and a Kalpasar Project water cooperation Letter of Intent.

Static Topic Bridges

ASML and Global Semiconductor Supply Chains

ASML Holding N.V. (Netherlands) is the world's sole manufacturer of Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines — the equipment essential for producing the most advanced semiconductor chips at 7 nm and below. Its machines play a role in the production of approximately 99% of all semiconductors globally.

ASML's EUV machines use plasma-generated light at 13.5 nm wavelength to etch nanoscale circuits onto silicon wafers
A single ASML EUV machine costs between €320 million and €400 million and weighs as much as two aircraft
Market capitalization (Jan 2026): ~USD 527 billion — Europe's largest technology company
ASML also produces Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems used for chips at older process nodes (28 nm–110 nm) — the segment relevant to the Dholera fab
The MoU signed at the Hague covers deployment of ASML's lithography systems, training, and support for Dholera's ramp-up

Connection to this news: The Tata-ASML partnership is strategically significant because ASML controls the chokepoint of global chip manufacturing — its willingness to support India's fab reflects a geopolitical alignment on semiconductor supply chains away from China-dependence.

India Semiconductor Mission and the Dholera Fab

India's India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), launched under the ₹76,000 crore Semicon India programme, provides up to 50% fiscal support for approved semiconductor fabrication projects. The mission aims to position India as a globally competitive destination for chip design and manufacturing.

Tata Electronics' Dholera fab: total investment ₹91,526 crore (~USD 11 billion) — India's first commercial 300 mm semiconductor fab
Capacity: 50,000 wafers per month (WSPM)
Node focus: 28 nm to 110 nm — chips for automotive, mobile, AI, and communications applications
Government support: 50% of eligible project costs covered by ISM under the Fiscal Support Agreement (March 2025)
Dholera designated a Special Economic Zone in April 2026
Civil construction at site: ~50% complete as of mid-2026; first commercial chip production targeted by late 2026
"Brain Bridge" initiative connects Eindhoven University and University of Twente with 6 Indian IITs and Dutch Semicon Competence Centre for talent development

Connection to this news: The ASML MoU resolves a critical technology access question for the Dholera fab — ASML's lithography systems are not available off-the-shelf to all buyers; formal partnership signals technology transfer at scale.

The Chola Dynasty and Its Copper Plate Tradition

The Chola dynasty (9th–13th century CE) is considered one of India's greatest medieval empires, renowned for its maritime reach across Southeast Asia, temple architecture, bronze casting, and sophisticated administrative records preserved on copper plates (tamra patra or tamra shasan).

Anaimangalam (Leiden) copper plates: 21 large + 3 small copper sheets; total weight ~30 kg; royal seal of Rajendra Chola I (r. 1012–1044 CE) bearing the tiger emblem
Inscriptions in Sanskrit (royal genealogy) and Tamil (administrative grant details)
Content: formalizes the gifting of Anaimangalam village to the Chulamanivarma Buddhist vihara at Nagapattinam — documenting Chola patronage of Buddhism alongside Shaivism
Historical significance: one of the most important surviving administrative records of the Chola empire; demonstrates Chola maritime connections with Buddhist kingdoms of Southeast Asia
How they reached Netherlands: taken in the 1700s by Florentius Camper during the Dutch colonial period when Nagapattinam was under Dutch control
India had been pursuing repatriation since 2012 through diplomatic channels involving the Indian government, Dutch government, and Leiden University

Connection to this news: The return of the copper plates is part of India's broader diplomatic effort to repatriate cultural artefacts taken during the colonial era — a growing element of cultural diplomacy that also carries symbolic weight for Tamil cultural identity.

India's Cultural Repatriation Diplomacy

India has systematically pursued the return of cultural artefacts taken during colonial and pre-colonial periods. Repatriation has emerged as a soft-power dimension of bilateral diplomacy.

Notable repatriations since 2014: artefacts returned from USA (over 250 pieces), UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and now the Netherlands
Legal instrument: UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (1970) — India is a signatory
The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act (1972) governs India's domestic framework for declaring and protecting cultural property
India also signed an MoU for the Lothal National Maritime Heritage Complex — connecting it to the National Maritime Museum of Amsterdam for exhibit and research collaboration

Connection to this news: The Chola copper plates repatriation demonstrates how cultural heritage has been woven into the fabric of bilateral diplomacy, with both the Netherlands and India framing it as a gesture of mutual respect alongside technology and trade agreements.

Key Facts & Data

Anaimangalam copper plates: 11th century CE, reign of Rajendra Chola I, originally from Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu
Held at: Leiden University, Netherlands, for over 300 years
Repatriation pursued diplomatically since: 2012
Tata Electronics Dholera fab investment: ₹91,526 crore (~USD 11 billion)
Fab capacity: 50,000 wafers/month at 28–110 nm node
ASML market cap: ~USD 527 billion (Europe's largest tech company)
ASML is the sole producer of EUV lithography machines globally
India Semiconductor Mission programme outlay: ₹76,000 crore
India's Green Hydrogen target: 5 MMT per annum by 2030 (National Green Hydrogen Mission, approved January 2023; outlay ₹19,744 crore through 2029–30)
Kalpasar Project: proposed large freshwater reservoir across Gulf of Khambhat; Dutch model = Afsluitdijk (32 km dam, operational since 1932, separates Zuiderzee from North Sea)
Lothal (Gujarat): site of ancient Indus Valley civilization port — proposed National Maritime Heritage Complex connects Indian and Dutch maritime heritage