India-France Innovation Roadmap 2030 Framework
On 17 February 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Emmanuel Macron elevated the bilateral relationship to a "Special Global Strategic Partnership" and inaugurated the India-France Year of Innovation 2026. The Innovation Roadmap 2030 builds upon the Horizon 2047 Roadmap and aligns India's Viksit Bharat 2047 vision with France's France 2030 ambition, focusing on co-development in critical technologies, strengthening trusted technology ecosystems, and deepening academic mobility.
Trusted AI Partnership
The roadmap establishes 'Trusted AI' as a central pillar, building on the India-France Declaration on Artificial Intelligence of February 2025. Both countries will promote safe, secure, and trustworthy AI systems aligned with democratic values and human rights, with specific focus on preventing discrimination and misinformation. They will prioritize cooperation on child safety online through privacy-preserving age assurance, safety-by-design architectures, and outcome-based safety standards for AI systems interacting with children. The framework emphasizes privacy-preserving data sharing, leveraging India's Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA) and France's trusted data spaces for secure, consent-based data flows in research, healthcare, and public services.
Academic Mobility and Qualifications Recognition
France has committed to welcoming 30,000 Indian students by 2030. The countries will expand the Mutual Recognition of Qualifications (MRQ) agreement first concluded in 2018 to encompass broader academic disciplines, regulated professions, and emerging technology domains. This expansion aims to facilitate dual-degree programs, doctoral co-supervision arrangements, and enhance academic mobility. Nineteen specific agreements were signed between Indian institutions (IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Tirupati, IIT Hyderabad, IISc Bengaluru) and French counterparts including Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Paris-Saclay University, Université Côte d'Azur, and others covering areas such as translation, incubation, acceleration, energy sustainability, climate change, AI, digital platforms, and Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT).
Technological Sovereignty and Industry Initiatives
The roadmap emphasizes the centrality of the Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (CEFIPRA) with enhanced focus on innovation and scaling strategically relevant technologies. The India-France Innovation Network (IFIN) will be governed by a joint steering committee. Specific initiatives include the establishment of a Franco-Indian Campus for Aeronautics Training and Careers in Kanpur in partnership with MSDE, and the India-France InnoXchange Bridge to create a dedicated research and entrepreneurship corridor between the two countries. Both countries will also explore enhanced interactions between SME ecosystems and strengthen space cooperation through simultaneous events: Bengaluru Space Expo (7-9 September) and International Space Summit in Paris (9-10 September) focusing on Earth observation and human exploration, including French Zero-G capabilities and India's future space station in Low Earth Orbit.
Health Data Collaboration and Global Challenges
Building on the pilot project between India's ICMR and France's Health Data Hub, both countries will work on consent-based architectures for secure data sharing that can be scaled and adapted to additional sectors. They will encourage joint work between data intermediaries, technical standard bodies, and regulators to advance interoperable, rights-protecting data infrastructures for AI innovation and public-interest research.