India-France Space Cooperation Meeting Highlights Expanded Partnership
Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh met with a high-level French delegation led by Prof. Philippe Baptiste, French Minister for Higher Education, Research and Space, in New Delhi to discuss deepening India-France space cooperation. The meeting covered the Space Summit, India-France Year of Innovation 2026, and priorities in scientific and technological cooperation including Space, CEFIPRA, and Blue Economy.
Dr. Singh highlighted that India-France space cooperation spans over six decades, evolving from sounding rocket experiments in the 1960s to present-day human spaceflight collaboration. The partnership has included joint satellite missions such as Megha-Tropiques and SARAL, jointly built by ISRO and CNES, as well as cooperation in launch vehicle engine development. The third joint satellite, TRISHNA, is currently progressing well in its realization phase.
Significant developments include CNES support for India's Gaganyaan program, involving supply of consumables and training of flight surgeons. Indian and French teams have initiated discussions on microgravity research and parabolic flights in connection with human spaceflight. The ongoing transformation of India's space sector has created new collaboration opportunities, with more than 400 Indian space start-ups now engaged in rocket building, satellite building, and space applications.
The India-France Year of Innovation 2026, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the President of France in February 2026, provides an important platform to advance partnership in innovation and emerging technologies. A specific Water Cycle and TRISHNA Mission event is scheduled for October 11 in Bengaluru, where ISRO will contribute outreach material and senior officials will speak on the TRISHNA satellite and its applications.
The cooperation extends beyond space to include biotechnology, digital sciences and technologies, and ocean sciences through institutions and mechanisms such as CEFIPRA and Indo-French joint centers. Dr. Singh also highlighted opportunities in Blue Economy cooperation, particularly in ocean sciences and India's Deep Ocean Mission, which seeks to explore the scientific and resource potential of deep oceans.
Prof. Baptiste expressed France's strong interest in expanding cooperation in human spaceflight, astronaut health, microgravity research, and parabolic flights, and welcomed connecting research institutions and start-ups from both countries. The meeting provided fresh momentum to expand the longstanding partnership into emerging areas while creating greater opportunities for institutional, industrial, and start-up collaboration.