India-EU trade deal to back innovation hubs, startups and emerging tech

India and the EU adopt a Joint Strategic Agenda to deepen cooperation on technology, innovation and startups, spanning AI, semiconductors and clean tech

India and the European Union have endorsed a Joint Comprehensive Strategic Agenda to deepen cooperation on technology, innovation and startups. Approved at the 16th India-EU Summit in New Delhi, the framework aims to better coordinate collaboration to deliver concrete, mutually beneficial outcomes for both partners, with implications extending beyond their borders.

 

The agenda includes support for critical emerging technologies and startups. It promotes collaborative research in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, advanced semiconductors, clean technology and biotechnology.

 

The partnership would enable the creation of India-EU innovation hubs. These hubs would support dialogue, knowledge exchange and joint projects in critical emerging technologies. They would bring together policymakers, industry leaders, startups, investors and civil society experts to identify shared priorities and catalyse innovation. 

It would advance promising technologies from early-stage collaboration towards industrial deployment. The aim is to accelerate private-sector engagement.

 

The agenda also proposes an India-EU startup partnership. This would be developed in collaboration with the European Innovation Council, Start-up India and EU member states. It would promote cross-border investment, co-creation and deep-tech scale-ups among European and Indian SMEs, incubators and startups.

 

Cooperation would extend to mutually beneficial research and development, reciprocal talent exchanges and the technological development of advanced semiconductors. The focus would be on design and prototyping for AI applications, leveraging Indian design strengths and EU research infrastructure.

 

The partners would cooperate on strategic AI domains, including large language models, multilingual datasets and AI solutions for public goods. They would also promote trustworthy, sustainable and human-centric AI through closer collaboration on safety, testing and evaluation.

 

Further areas include high-performance computing, space technology, protection of critical technologies, electric vehicle charging standards and the promotion of fair, secure digital markets.