NEW DELHI/LONDON: India and the UK have entered into a landmark agreement on science, research, and innovation, according to the island nation’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
The countries have agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding on research and innovation to help facilitate several new joint research programmes, where India will partner with the UK’s initial £119 million International Science Partnerships Fund, said a statement by the department.
The agreement was finalised towards the end of April following a meeting between India’s Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh and UK Science Minister George Freeman.
Quicker collaboration: The agreement on research between the two countries will enable quicker, deeper collaboration on science that will drive economic growth, create skilled jobs, and improve lives in the UK, India, and worldwide, the official release said.
The agreement will remove red tape standing in the way of major collaborations, while unleashing a raft of new joint research schemes aiming to deliver progress on some of the biggest issues facing the world, from climate change and pandemic preparedness through to AI and machine learning.
Programmes include the establishment of a new UK-India Net Zero Innovation Virtual Centre focusing on industrial decarbonisation and launching the first ever UK-India scientific deep-sea voyage.
Funding for research: India will match the £5 million UK funding, India, for research into Farmed Animal Diseases and Health. Another £3.3 million UK funding, matched by India, towards a technology and skills partnership programme that will enable researchers from the two nations develop skills, technologies, and knowledge in areas such as AI, machine learning and bio-imaging.
It also includes creation of UKIndia Net Zero Innovation Virtual Centre, hosting the Hydrogen Valley and Industrial Decarbonisation Living Lab – to help decarbonise manufacturing and transport.
Within its gamut are several UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Indian Department for Science and Technology (DST) joint research calls, including programmes on sustainability and solid earth hazards.
