India-UK research gets 72 mn pound boost with Modi visit

The value of investment in joint UK-India research from the UK Research Councils, the Indian government and third parties received a 72-million-pound boost during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ongoing visit here.

The research partnership now exceeds 200 million pounds covering programmes across food, energy and water security; health and well-being; smart cities and rapid urbanisation - and increasing access to expertise, resources and facilities.

"The research partnership between the UK and India has gone from strength to strength in recent years as we have worked together to address some of the world's major challenges.

From securing a sustainable water supply to providing clean energy, this research is advancing scientific capabilities in both countries and helping to improve the lives of millions around the world," said UK universities and science minister Jo Johnson.

A series of funded projects for UK-India research programmes were announced today as part of the Newton-Bhabha Fund.

The Indian Council for Medical Research and the Medical Research Council (MRC)will fund collaborative research projects that will study substance misuse and its associated consequences as part of a combined investment of 2.5 million pounds.

Joint Global Research Programme: Women's and Children's health is a partnership between the MRC and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) in India working in collaboration with the Department of International Development (DFID).

This brings together researchers from UK, India and low income countries to address major health needs of women and children in low resource settings. This isa combined investment of 6 million pounds.

"The UK and India science and research collaboration has steadily increased, with the best of the research communities and facilitiesstrengthening their cooperation. This strong UK-India research relationship helps address contemporary issues of both nations and the world at large from multiple perspectives," said minister of state for science and technology and earth sciences Y S Chowdary.

Other UK-India initiatives include joint virtual centres in Water Security and Agricultural Nitrogen; joint research and innovation programmes on Urbanisation and Heritage, and Aquaculture;Memorandum of Understanding between STFC and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR).