By Aroonim Bhuyan
New Delhi/Nice, June 15. India and France have adopted the ‘India-France Innovation Roadmap 2030’, outlining an ambitious framework to strengthen cooperation in artificial intelligence, research, academic mobility, innovation ecosystems and critical technologies following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron in Nice on June 14.
The roadmap builds on the elevation of bilateral ties to a Special Global Strategic Partnership announced by the two leaders on February 17, 2026, and the launch of the India-France Year of Innovation 2026. It is designed to complement the Horizon 2047 Roadmap and align India’s Viksit Bharat 2047 vision with France’s France 2030 strategy.
The two countries described innovation as a key driver of economic resilience, sustainable development, strategic autonomy and technological sovereignty, saying closer cooperation would unlock new opportunities and help address global challenges.
A major focus of the roadmap is the creation of a partnership centred on “trusted AI”. Building on earlier declarations and the AI Action and Impact Summits held by France and India in 2025 and 2026, respectively, both sides pledged to promote safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems consistent with democratic values and human rights. They also agreed to enhance cooperation among regulators, technical experts and standards bodies to develop interoperable and risk-based AI governance frameworks.
Child safety in the digital space has been identified as a priority area. India and France will work together on privacy-preserving age assurance systems, safety-by-design approaches and standards for AI systems that interact with children. Both countries also highlighted the importance of privacy-preserving data-sharing frameworks and noted the complementary strengths of India’s Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA) and France’s trusted data spaces and health data platforms.
The roadmap places strong emphasis on people-to-people ties and academic exchanges. Both countries reaffirmed support for France’s goal of hosting 30,000 Indian students by 2030 and agreed to expand cooperation in STEM education, research partnerships and talent mobility.
India and France also agreed to pursue an updated and broader Mutual Recognition of Qualifications framework. The proposed expansion would cover additional academic disciplines, regulated professions and emerging technology sectors, facilitating dual-degree programmes, doctoral collaborations and enhanced academic mobility. Several educational institutions from both countries have also concluded agreements to boost student exchanges and joint research.
Highlighting the role of industry-academia collaboration in promoting innovation-led growth and resilient supply chains, the two sides underscored the importance of the Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (CEFIPRA), the India-France Innovation Network (IFIN) and the Franco-Indian Campus in Life Sciences for Health.
Both countries committed themselves to ensuring technological sovereignty through expanded cooperation involving research laboratories, startup ecosystems, the Joint Science and Technology Committee, Station-F, FRIND-X and the newly launched India-France Innovation Network. They also discussed the possibility of creating a joint steering committee for the governance of IFIN.
Among the new initiatives announced was the establishment of a Franco-Indian Campus for Aeronautics Training and Careers in Kanpur in partnership with India’s Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. The campus is expected to strengthen training and workforce development in the strategic aerospace sector.
The two sides also endorsed the proposed India-France InnoXchange Bridge, aimed at creating a bilateral research and entrepreneurship corridor. The initiative would provide reciprocal access to laboratories, technology platforms, investors and innovation clusters, enabling startups and innovators to undertake collaborative research and market-entry programmes in both countries.
Recognising the role of small and medium enterprises in economic growth and innovation, India and France agreed to explore mechanisms for closer interaction between their SME ecosystems.
The roadmap also reaffirmed the long-standing space partnership between the two countries. India and France will host major space events in September, including the Bengaluru Space Expo from September 7 to 9 and the International Space Summit in Paris on September 9 and 10. These events are expected to provide momentum for deeper cooperation in Earth observation, human space exploration, French Zero-G capabilities and India’s planned low-Earth orbit space station.
In the health sector, both sides agreed to build AI-enabled and research-driven solutions through secure, consent-based data-sharing architectures. Expanding ongoing cooperation between India’s ICMR and France’s Health Data Hub, the two countries will promote interoperable and rights-protecting data infrastructure that supports AI innovation and public-interest research, including for partners in the Global South.
India and France said the implementation of the Innovation Roadmap 2030 would be guided by mutual trust, shared democratic values, strategic autonomy and a commitment to open, inclusive and human-centric innovation.
