The European Union (EU) announced at the Bangalore-Bio 2006 that it plans to engage India more through the forthcoming EC Research Framework Programme 7 (FP7). | |
| Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Andrew Sors, minister-counsellor, head of science and technology, European Commission delegation to India said, FP7 will have a higher budget than FP6 and will include greater opportunities to participate by researchers outside the EU. |
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| "Notably, this includes India with whom the EU enjoys a strategic partnership as well as an active science and technology co-operation agreement," he added. |
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| FP7 will be the largest international research and development programme in the world. It is likely to have a budget in the region of Euros 55 billion (about $70 billion) during 2007 - 2013. FP6 (2003-06) is spending Euro 2.5 million for research on health to support 540 collaborative projects, for food quality and safety Euro 800 million to support 170 research projects. |
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| FP7 covers many fields of science and considerable importance is attached to research in IT, bioinforamtics, health, biotech, food safety and agriculture. |
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| The EU's interest in research co-operation with India in these fields will be determined by a series of events during the week in Bangalore, said Sors. |
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| Under FP6 (2003-06), EU had initiated six projects in India involving health research and two projects on agro-food research. |
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| Through health research, EU was active in taking up research with government research institutes in developing new medicines for tuberculosis, malaria, non-invasive advances in foeotal and neonatal evaluation network. |
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| For agro-food sector, integration of mycotoxin and toxigenic fungi research for food safety ICRISAT and sustainable aquafeeds to maximise the health benefits of farmed fish for consumers with ICAR. |
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| The EU team's involvement in Bangalore Bio was preceded by a major India-EU workshop on infectious diseases, at the IISc. The event was sponsored by the Department of Science & Technology and the European Commission. |
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| Some 40 researchers from India and from Europe presented their latest findings in relation to tuberculosis, malaria and, HIV/AIDS and explored prospects for future co-operation. |
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