New Delhi. Asal Baat news. On 17 February 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Emmanuel Macron elevated the bilateral relation...
On 17 February 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Emmanuel Macron elevated the bilateral relationship to a “Special Global Strategic Partnership” and jointly inaugurated the India-France Year of Innovation 2026, calling for expanded and diversified cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, innovation, research, technology, digital technology and cyber space, health, culture, economy, educational links and people-to-people ties.
Building upon the Horizon 2047 Roadmap and the shared innovation journey of the two countries, India and France recognize innovation as a central driver of economic resilience, sustainable development, strategic autonomy, and technological and industrial sovereignty. Both sides agree that a strengthened innovation partnership will help unlock the full innovation potential of the two countries and contribute to solutions for global challenges.
The two sides recognize that India’s vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 and France’s ambition under France 2030 provide strong convergences for building a future-oriented innovation partnership, paving the way for new investment opportunities in disruptive innovations. India and France are therefore adopting the India-France Innovation Roadmap 2030 as a framework to guide their collaborative efforts towards advancing co-development in critical and emerging technologies, strengthening trusted technology ecosystems, deepening academic and research mobility, and delivering concrete outcomes for people, the planet and shared prosperity.
This Roadmap consists of the following key elements:
I. Partnership for 'Trusted AI' a central pillar of innovation partnership: Building on the India–France Declaration on Artificial Intelligence of February 2025 and the AI Action and Impact Summits hosted by France and India in 2025 and 2026 respectively, both countries agree to make 'trusted AI' a central pillar of their innovation partnership.
● Safe, secure and trustworthy AI systems: Both sides will work together to promote safe, secure and trustworthy AI systems that are aligned with democratic values and human rights, prevent discrimination and the dissemination of misinformation, and support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. They will encourage cooperation between regulators, standards bodies, and technical experts to advance interoperable, risk-based approaches to AI governance, including for frontier and generative models, while ensuring that innovation and national development are not stifled.
| Agreements |
|---|---|
| 1. | Amendment to existing Memorandum of Understanding to add cooperation in translation, incubation and acceleration between IIT Bombay and Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IPP), France |
| 2. | Amendment to existing Memorandum of Understanding to add cooperation in translation, incubation and acceleration between IIT Bombay and Paris-Saclay university, France. |
| 3. | Cooperation between faculty, administrative staff, departments and research institutions between IIT Bombay and Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France. |
| 4 . | Academic and scientific exchange and collaboration in education and research between IIT Delhi and Institut Mines-Télécom, France |
| 5. | Innovation and entrepreneurship partnership, especially Energy, Sustainability and Climate Change between IIT Delhi and Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT) and Racines de France, France. |
| 6. | Innovation and entrepreneurship partnership, focused on Energy, Sustainability and Climate Change between IIT Delhi and Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT) and DDI (Descartes Développement & Innovation) incubator |
| 7. | Innovation and entrepreneurship partnership to address global challenges and accelerate research into market-ready products and solutions between IIT Delhi and Foundation for Innovation and G2i Venture Management Private Limited (Represented by its French entity SC Conseil) |
| 8. | Expression of Interest to explore academic, innovation, entrepreneurship and research collaboration in mobility, AI, digital platforms, sustainability, smart transportation systems and innovation ecosystems between IIT Gandhinagar and Comuto SA / BlaBlaCar, France |
| 9. | Strategic academia-industry partnership in Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT), with focus on building a national ecosystem in India between IIT Tirupati and Safran Electronics & Defense, France |
| 10. | Declaration of Intention between the IITs, IISC and UDICE networks to promote academic, scientific and research collaboration in areas of mutual interest |
| 11. | Memorandum of Understanding for collaboration on 3D computing systems between IIT Hyderabad and Crimson Energy Experts and Dassault Systeme |
| 12. | Memorandum of Understanding between CYRAN AI and Safran Aircraft Engines |
| 13. | Renewal of the Student Exchange Agreement between IIT Madras and Université de Limoges (UNILIM) |
| 14. | Student Exchange Agreement between IIT Madras and ESCP Business School |
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