Bharat Innovates 2026 Inauguration and Partnerships
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron jointly inaugurated the maiden edition of Bharat Innovates 2026 at the Palais des Expositions de Nice, France. The event, implemented by India's Ministry of Education, serves as a premier platform for advancing innovation-led partnerships between India's deep tech innovators and global stakeholders, showcasing India's rapidly growing innovation ecosystem.
Event Participation and Sector Coverage
The event featured 120 Indian innovators, 15+ Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), and over 500 global stakeholders including global CEOs, industry leaders, and venture capital firms. The showcase highlighted advancements across 13 key sectors: advanced computing, semiconductors, space technology, biotechnology, energy, healthcare, and manufacturing.
Keynote Address and Academic Focus
Infosys Founder N. R. Narayana Murthy delivered the opening keynote, emphasizing the role of academic institutions in creating globally competitive technology enterprises. He highlighted that enduring enterprises are built through complementary talent, shared values, disciplined innovation, transparent governance, and trust, drawing from Infosys's journey from an idea built with $250 to a global technology institution.
Partnership Agreements
A major highlight was the signing of over 30 partnerships including innovation-focused Memorandums of Understanding and joint declarations. These included 12 agreements between Indian Higher Education Institutions/incubators and French/global incubators to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, research collaboration, and startup support. Additionally, 16 agreements were signed with leading global corporations to facilitate technology development, commercialization, and market access for Indian innovators.
University Collaborations
Thirteen French universities signed partnership agreements with 11 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to enhance cooperation in student exchanges, joint research, innovation support, academic collaboration, and talent development.
India-France ATL Bridge Initiative
The India-France ATL Bridge, established by Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, and La Foundation Dassault Systèmes, will extend India's Atal Tinkering Lab framework to France by setting up the first School Innovation Lab in France and enabling collaboration among young innovators from both countries.
Strategic Dialogues and AI Focus
The event featured a panel discussion on "AI for Global Good: Building a Corridor for Trusted, Inclusive and Scalable AI" that brought together industry, investment, and research institutions to explore collaborative approaches to responsible artificial intelligence and sovereign technology development. Subsequent sessions focused on "India and Europe: Deep Tech Without Borders" and "Global Deep-Tech Capital Corridors," examining cross-border innovation ecosystems, venture financing, commercialization pathways, and global market access for emerging technologies.