Union Minister of State for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Jitendra Singh, held a bilateral meeting with Italy's Minister of University and Research, Ms. Anna Maria Bernini, to strengthen the India-Italy scientific partnership under their Strategic Partnership framework. The discussions focused on translating this partnership into practical scientific collaboration, strengthening institutional mechanisms, and exploring new opportunities for joint research in emerging technology areas.
The collaboration builds on a longstanding foundation, with the first Inter-governmental Agreement in Science & Technology signed in 1978 and renewed in 2003. India-Italy relations were elevated to a Strategic Partnership in 2023, followed by the Joint Strategic Action Plan (JSAP) for 2025-29 announced in November 2024. An MoU was signed between India's Ministry of Science and Technology and Italy's Ministry of University and Research in April 2025 during a visit by an Italian delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani.
Under the Science & Technology Agreement, the Department of Science & Technology (DST) and Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs have supported bilateral activities through the Indo-Italian Executive Programme of Cooperation (EPOC), with over 150 joint projects implemented. The current EPOC for 2025-27 was signed on April 10, 2025, agreeing to jointly fund 10 proposals for Mobility of Researchers and 10 proposals for Significant Research.
The Second India-Italy Science and Innovation Dialogue 2026 is being organized as a continuation of this engagement, with participation from academic institutions, research institutes, incubators, and technology incubation hubs. Both sides are planning to launch a new joint research call in 2027 focusing on Artificial Intelligence, High-Performance Computing and Big Data; Clean Technologies, Hydrogen, Renewable Energy and Energy Transition; and Advanced Biotechnology and Biomedical Research including gene therapy, mRNA technologies, and biomanufacturing.