Firing up innovation for the new tech age

As the world stands at the cusp of a new technological epoch, defined by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deep-tech disruptions, India’s innovation story is no longer emerging in isolation; it is increasingly intertwined with global collaboration, in partnership with leading economies, research institutions, and industry networks to co-create real-world solutions.

- Dharmendra Pradhan

In the evolving scenario, countries are increasingly eager to collaborate in frontier technologies to gain access to advanced research infrastructure, capital, and robust deployment ecosystems.Bharat Innovates is India’s defining response to this moment. It is designed to expand access, unlock scale, and connect innovation with global capital, partnerships and deployment. A first-of-its-kind national platform, it takes India's most promising deep-tech innovations from laboratories to global markets through a rigorous national selection process that curates a cohort of 100 high-potential startups from across the country. The upcoming Bharat Innovates event in Nice, France, in June 2026 will bring this cohort to the world, positioning India’s innovation ecosystem at the centre of the global conversation on technology, capital and governance.

The India-France relationship has steadily evolved into a dynamic collaboration across defence, climate action, space, digital and emerging technologies and civil nuclear energy. Today, innovation stands as the newest and perhaps the most transformative pillar of this partnership. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Emmanuel Macron, our bilateral relationship has rightfully evolved into a Special Strategic Partnership, with the year 2026 designated as the India-France Year of Innovation.

India and France have a shared ambition to lead in emerging technologies. The Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (CEFIPRA) has evolved into a crucible of high-end research, fostering a deeper convergence of scientific abilities between our two countries. Academic mobility is expanding, with both countries working towards having 30,000 Indian students in France by 2030. This engagement is now moving beyond collaboration to co-development and co-creation of frontier technologies.