Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi and President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron will jointly inaugurate Bharat Innovates 2026 on June 14, 2026, at Palais des Expositions de Nice, France. The event is organized by the Government of India through the Union Ministry of Education and represents a major initiative under the India-France Year of Innovation framework inaugurated in February 2026 in Mumbai.
The event will feature 120 selected Indian innovators, 15 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), and over 500 investors including leading corporates, venture capital firms, global CEOs, and industry leaders. The Technical Oversight Committee for selecting the 120 startups was headed by Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, Shri Ajay Kumar Sood, who will be present at the event alongside Union Minister for External Affairs Dr. S Jaishankar and Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal.
Bharat Innovates 2026 will cover 13 key sectors: advanced computing, semiconductors, space technology, biotechnology, energy, healthcare, and manufacturing. The event is designed as a high-impact platform for advancing innovation-led partnerships between India and global stakeholders, with expected outcomes including strengthened collaboration frameworks in Deep Tech, research and development, startup scaling, and cross-border investment facilitation.
The initiative aims to create new avenues for institutional partnerships between Indian and French innovation ecosystems, focusing on co-development, technology exchange, and acceleration of emerging technologies. It will connect participants with investors, corporations, universities, research organizations, and government stakeholders for investments, technology validation, co-development opportunities, pilot projects, manufacturing partnerships, technology transfers, market entry, and international scaling of Indian innovations.
This maiden edition is expected to significantly deepen India's engagement with global innovation networks and reinforce its position as a leading hub for technology-driven growth and entrepreneurship.