April 27, 2023
Under the agreement, a new UK-India Net Zero Innovation Virtual Centre will be established
The first-ever UK-India scientific deep sea voyage will be launched
India will be named a partner for the UK's International Science Partnerships Fund
The partnership between the two countries will create skilled jobs, improve lives, and drive economic growth
India has recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United Kingdom (UK) to strengthen bilateral collaboration in scientific research and development. The signing was undertaken by Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh in presence of his UK counterpart.
The MoU is set to establish a new UK-India Net Zero Innovation Virtual Centre focused on industrial decarbonisation and to launch the first-ever UK-India scientific deep sea voyage.
The agreement is intended to remove obstacles to collaboration and enable quicker and deeper joint research schemes to address global challenges such as climate change, pandemic preparedness, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. The UK’s Science Minister, George Freeman, said the partnership between the two countries will create skilled jobs, improve lives, and drive economic growth.
In addition, India will be named a partner for the UK’s International Science Partnerships Fund, and two new joint research programs will be initiated: one for farmed animal diseases and health at a funding for GBP 5 million that will be matched by India and another one for technology and skills for GBP 3.3 million, also matched by India, for development in areas such as AI, machine learning, and bio-imaging.
Other bilateral agreements struck at the Science and Innovation Council meeting include several joint research calls between the UK’s Research and Innovation and India’s Department for Science and Technology, a partnership to decarbonise India’s pharmaceutical and fine chemicals industries, and the fourth annual meeting of the RS/INSA Yusuf Hamied programme, a scheme to enhance university partnership between both the countries. Collaborative activities under the MoU will be supported by joint funding agreed upon by both sides on a case-by-case basis.
Singh also expressed excitement about India hosting the G20 in 2023 and invited the UK to join the July meeting dedicated to science, technology, and innovation.
Source: Economic Times