Role of Mission Innovation on clean energy & carbon-neutral planet was also discussed during a meet on science and technology

India and the European Union have agreed to develop and adopt a long-term strategic perspective for their collaboration in research and innovation. The two sides have also decided to create an action-oriented agenda which can be implemented within the agreed timeline. Such decisions were taken at the recently concluded 13th India-EU Joint Steering Committee on Science and Technology.

During the meeting, which was hosted by the European Commission, the Indian side led by Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology proposed Implementation Arrangement (IA) for co-funding future joint projects under India-EU Science, Technology, and Innovation Cooperation to streamline the process of collaboration and to address certain issues on project evaluation, selection, funding, monitoring, and also IPR sharing, data sharing, material equipment transfer mechanism and so on.

Taking into account the Joint Statement and the ‘EU-India Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2025’, adopted at the EU-India July Summit, both sides have shown keen interest for possible cooperation on ICT, in particular, cyber-physical-systems (ICPS), including artificial intelligence and robotics, circular economy and resource efficiency (waste-to-energy, plastics), electric mobility and sustainable food processing and so on.

The important role of Mission Innovation to concentrate efforts on research and innovation to accelerate the clean energy transition, necessary for a carbon-neutral planet, was underlined, cooperation on health beyond Covid-19 pandemic areas through global fora was also reinforced.

Both sides also underlined the cooperation on polar sciences and discussed future cooperation under Horizon Europe at the virtual meeting.

The two sides reiterated their commitment to human capital development, including researchers’ training and mobility, based on mutual interests and reciprocal promotion of each other’s equivalent programmes, aiming at a more balanced flow of researchers between Europe and India.

Indian side presented the key elements of new Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP 2020), which aim to create a fit for purpose, accountable research ecosystem promoting translational as well as foundational research; indigenous development of technology, technology indigenization; facilitating open Science; equity and inclusion.

During 2014-2020, 42 collaborative projects amounting to a total of EUR ~157 Million funding (EUR 113 from H2020 & EUR 44 from Government of India) have been funded.

The majority of these collaborations took place in the form of flagship calls on water, a new generation influenza vaccine, and smart grids cooperation. The mobility of researchers from both sides was significantly increased over the years, and cooperation among scientists and research organisations from India and Europe strengthened.