India, France Aim To Expand AI, Data & Academic Partnerships By 2030

New Delhi, Jun 15 (KNN) India and France have adopted the India-France Innovation Roadmap 2030, a framework to guide bilateral cooperation in critical and emerging technologies, trusted technology ecosystems, academic mobility and shared development goals, according to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

A central element of the roadmap is the partnership for ‘Trusted AI’, building on the India-France Declaration on Artificial Intelligence of February 2025 and the AI summits hosted by both countries in 2025 and 2026. 

The two sides will work to promote AI systems that are safe, secure and aligned with democratic values and human rights, while guarding against discrimination and misinformation.

Child safety online has been identified as a priority within the AI partnership, with both countries agreeing to develop synergies in areas such as privacy-preserving age assurance, safety-by-design architectures and outcome-based safety standards for AI systems that interact with children.

The roadmap also recognises privacy-preserving data sharing as central to unlocking AI's potential, with India's Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA) and France's trusted data spaces identified as complementary platforms for secure, consent-based data flows.

Academic Mobility and Qualifications

Both sides reaffirmed the importance of STEM education, research partnerships and talent mobility under the Horizon 2047 framework. France has set an objective of welcoming 30,000 Indian students by 2030. 

The two countries also intend to update and expand their Mutual Recognition of Qualifications (MRQ) agreement — first signed in 2018, making France the earliest country to conclude such an agreement with India — to cover a broader range of disciplines, regulated professions and emerging technology domains.

A total of 19 institutional agreements have been signed between Indian and French universities and research bodies, including multiple IITs, IISc and leading French institutions, covering student exchanges, research collaboration and innovation partnerships.

Technology and Industry-Academia Links

An India-France InnoXchange Bridge is proposed as a bilateral startup and innovation corridor, offering structured access to research laboratories, technology platforms, investors and startup ecosystems in both countries.

On space cooperation, India and France will hold two major international space events in the same week in September — the Bengaluru Space Expo and the International Space Summit in Paris — to deepen bilateral collaboration in Earth observation, human exploration and private space ecosystems.

(KNN Bureau)