 "Narendra Modi")
A closer partnership on space, defence, emerging technology, and energy is expected to be discussed by India and France during Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s visit to the country next week.
On July 13-14, PM Modi will attend the Bastille Day Parade in Paris as Guest of Honour, marking the 25th anniversary of the India-France strategic partnership.
Bilateral meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron will, therefore, touch upon traditional areas of cooperation, such as defence, as well as new domains like space. While the strategic partnership stands on the pillars of cooperation in defence, space, and civil nuclear, work on space is taking off.
France’s national space agency — the National Centre for Space Studies — and the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) have created an Indo-French working group on India’s human spaceflight mission Gaganyaan.
“Discussions on expanding this collaboration are expected. The two leaders are keen on this,” said an official.
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Sources also hinted that the French space agency may get to test key propulsion technology that Gaganyaan is dependent upon.
In 2019, India chose Ukraine as the testing ground for its Rs 1,800 crore semi-cryogenic engine (SCE-200), considered to be a huge technological leap as it is expected to enhance the carrying capacity of Isro’s GSLV MkIII rocket from 4 tonnes to 7.5 tonnes. However, reports have emerged that the Ukrainian facility may have been damaged during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
With the GSLV MkIII rocket being crucial in propelling the first three Indian astronauts to Low Earth orbit for an extended time, the government may give the testing mandate to France.
India and France have also signed key pacts that formalised a joint vision for space cooperation in various areas of space exploration in 2018 and established a bilateral strategic dialogue to enhance coordination between their space and defence agencies in 2022. The inaugural edition of this dialogue was held in Paris last month.
Fostering closer industry collaboration in the domain of start-ups is also on the cards. Since last year, Indian space technology start-up Dhruva Space has inked a pact with France-based satellite operator and global connectivity provider Kinéis to collaborate on establishing space and ground infrastructure, while Mumbai-based Manastu Space will help develop propulsion systems for French company Venture Orbital Systems.
Defence ties
However, tighter defence cooperation is pegged to be one of the major outcomes of the visit.
A much-awaited agreement between New Delhi and Paris for India to buy 26 Dassault Rafale-Maritime (M) fighters is widely tipped to be the key item on both Modi and Macron’s agenda. A contingent of Rafale fighters from the Indian Air Force will be participating in the fly-past on Bastille Day.
Media reports have also pointed out that India may negotiate the buying of at least three add-ons: Scorpene-class diesel-electric ‘killer-hunter’ conventional submarines or SSKs, similar to the ones manufactured in Mumbai's Mazagon docks. However, the main thrust will still be the co-development of advanced missiles and ammunition.
According to media reports, the French government has given the green signal to the country’s defence major, Safran, to jointly design, develop, test, manufacture, and finally certify an engine that will power India’s twin-engine advanced multi-role combat aircraft and the twin-engine deck-based fighter for Indian aircraft carriers.
Last year, Safran signed a memorandum of understanding to co-develop an engine with state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics.
Technology transfer
Similar to the PM’s recent visit to the US, the upcoming trip to France will also focus on forging closer ties on technology, with an emphasis on technology transfer.
On Thursday, Emmanuel Bonne, the diplomatic advisor to Macron, began a one-day trip to New Delhi. He will meet National Security Advisor Ajit Doval as well as Modi, officials said.
“On a government level, France had been among the first countries to extend its support to the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. The next step is to extend this thrust beyond the defence sector,” said an official.
A joint plan to build supercomputers in India, based on a tie-up between the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and French information technology service and consulting multinational ATOS, will be reviewed.
Both nations may also announce the step of cooperation in 5G and 6G telecommunications systems.
According to the French embassy in New Delhi, more than 600 French subsidiaries with over 1,000 offices and facilities from a wide spectrum of sectors are present in India and employ about 400,000 people.
