Page 5 - India-france

India, France in talks for financing mechanism for Jaitapur n-project

India and France are trying to move forward on elements related to putting in place a financing mechanism and localisation component for the 9,900 MWe Jaitapur nuclear power plant in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district. Responding to questions on civil nuclear cooperation between India and France and whether the Jaitapur project was put on pause, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said the French power company EDF and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) were discussing elements such as a financing mechanism and localisation component of the project. "The two entities on both sides -- EDF and NPCIL -- are essentially trying to move forward on these issues and a whole lot of progress has been made," the foreign secretary said. The first memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the Jaitapur nuclear project was inked in 2009 with French nuclear supplier Areva, which went bankrupt. In 2016, the EDF and NPCIL signed a revised MoU, and an "industrial way forward" in the ...

'Padma awards for 4 people from France shows strength of ties with India'

Noting that four people from France, the highest for any foreign country, have received the Padma awards this year, official sources said this underscores the strength of India-France relations. The Padma awards were announced on Thursday, the day French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in India to be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade. Those from France who received the honour include 100-year-old yoga exponent Charlotte Chopin and Kiran Vyas (79), a global yoga and Ayurveda practitioner. The other two are Pierre Sylvain Filliozat (87), a Sanskrit scholar dedicated to advancing Indian culture studies and Fred Negrit, an Indologist fostering great awareness and appreciation of Indian culture, according to government citations. All four of them have been bestowed with the Padma Shri.

Tata group and France's Airbus to manufacture helicopters together

India and France have firmed up a defence industrial partnership roadmap that would provide for co-development and co-production of key military hardware and platforms and facilitate technology collaboration in a range of areas including space, land warfare, cyberspace and artificial intelligence. Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, announcing key outcomes of the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron in Jaipur last night, also said the Tatas and Airbus Helicopters have entered into a partnership for production of H125 choppers with significant indigenous components. At a media briefing Friday, Kwatra said the India-France defence industrial roadmap would also facilitate cooperation in areas of robotics, autonomous vehicles and cyber defence. He said an MoU was sealed between New Space India Ltd and France's Arianespace for cooperation in satellite launches. Modi and Macron also deliberated on the conflict in Gaza and its various dimensions ...

French aerospace giant Thales plans to set up avionics MRO in Delhi

As New Delhi and Paris looked to expand strategic partnership, French defence major Thales on Friday said it is bringing its "trusted" high-tech capabilities to India and plans to set up an avionics MRO in Delhi to provide world class services to its airline customers. Vice President and Country Director of Thales India Ashish Saraf said the company is fully committed and mobilised to support the modernisation and indigenisation efforts that are underway in the Indian aerospace and defence sector. In their talks in Jaipur on Thursday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron resolved to further shore up bilateral strategic cooperation, especially in areas of defence, security, trade and clean energy. Macron was the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations at the Kartavya Path on Friday. Saraf described the decision to set up the avionics MRO (maintenance, repair, and operations) in Delhi as a "key initiative" and asserted that Thales would fully .

India displays military might, women power, diversity on Republic Day

India celebrated its 75th Republic Day on Friday with a grand display of its women power, rich cultural heritage and military might comprising missiles, warplanes, surveillance gadgets and lethal weapon systems with French President Emmanuel Macron gracing the occasion as the chief guest. The Republic Day Parade at the Kartavya Path in the heart of the national capital commenced with President Droupadi Murmu taking the salute shortly after she and Macron, flanked by the Indian president's bodyguards, arrived in a 'traditional buggy'. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, several other Union ministers, the country's top military brass, foreign diplomats and senior officials were among those who witnessed the impressive show that also included a gravity-defying fly-past by helicopters and planes, with even a dense fog failing to dampen the spirits of the spectators. Soon after Murmu and Macron left from Kartavya Path in a traditional buggy, which made a comebac

Republic Day 2024: 6 Indians among French contingent in parade; 5 points

Republic Day 2024 chief guest French President Emmanuel Macron shared a post of the French contingent marching and said, 'A great honor for France. Thank you, India'

French contingent to participate in 75th Republic Day Parade in New Delhi

A 95-member marching contingent and a 33-member band contingent from France will participate in the 75th Republic Day Parade in New Delhi today

Republic Day: French Prez taking part is matter of pride, says PM Modi

PM Modi added that he is elated about the fact that Macron began his India visit from Jaipur in Rajasthan

Macron joins PM Modi in roadshow, gets Ram temple replica as gift

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday met at Jantar Mantar here ahead of their roadshow. Modi reached the observatory from Jaipur airport while Macron came to the site after visiting Amber Fort. The two leaders met there and hugged each other. Later, they visited the observatory. Jantar Mantar is one of the oldest astronomical observatories featuring the world's largest stone sundial.

Modi, Macron to discuss defence, nuclear & student mobility in Jaipur

The defence industrial roadmap may be adopted; France eyeing 30,000 Indian students by 2030

India, France, UAE conduct joint mega air exercise over Arabian Sea

India, France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) carried out a mega air exercise over the Arabian Sea against the backdrop of the rising global concerns over Houthi militants targeting several commercial vessels in the strategic waterways in the region. The exercise 'Desert Knight', conducted on Tuesday, featured several frontline aerial assets and combat jets of the air forces of the three countries, officials said. The Indian Air Force (IAF) component at the drills consisted of Su-30 MKI, MiG-29 and Jaguar fighter jets besides AWACS (airborne early warning and control aircraft, C-130-J transport plane and air-to-air refuelling aircraft. "The main focus of exercise 'Desert Knight' was on enhancing synergy and interoperability between the three air forces," the Indian Air Force said. The exercise took place in the Indian FIR (Flight Information Regions) and with IAF aircraft operated from several bases in India. All airspace worldwide is divided into FIRs and each of them is manag

Rajasthan CM chairs review meeting ahead of Macron's Jaipur visit

The Rajasthan government on Saturday said French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Jaipur on January 25 and preparations are underway to welcome him. According to an official statement, Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma chaired a high-level review meeting at his office on Friday for the proposed visit. Macron will be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations at Delhi's Kartavya Path on January 26. The chief minister said preparations to welcome the French president should be completed on time and directed officials to take special care of Macron's accommodation, security and transportation. According to the statement, Sharma said hoardings related to the art and culture of Rajasthan should also be put up at various places. Chief Secretary Sudhansh Pant, Director General of Police U R Sahoo, Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Anand Kumar and other senior officers attended the meeting.

France ramps up weapons production for Ukraine, says Russia testing West

French manufacturers have reduced the manufacturing times for some of the weapons systems they supply to Ukraine by half or more, as France increasingly switches away from its previous policy of dipping into its own military stocks to support the war effort against Russia's invasion, France's defense minister said in an interview published on Thursday. The logic of ceding materiel taken from the armies' stocks is reaching its end, the minister, Sbastien Lecornu, said in the interview with Le Parisien. From now on, the solution is to directly connect French defense industries with the Ukrainian army. He cited the Caesar self-propelled 155 mm howitzer, made in France by Nexter, as an example of how French defense contractors are adopting a war footing. Caesars are among an array of Western-supplied artillery systems that have given Ukrainian gun crews an edge, especially when paired with high-precision munitions, against Russian artillery batteries using older Soviet-designed ...

LIVE: UP declares Jan 22 as dry day; schools, colleges to remain close

Catch all the latest updates from around the world here

Gujarat police to coordinate with passengers who returned from France

The Gujarat Police have formed teams to unearth a suspected illegal immigration network involving "agents" and will coordinate with the passengers of a plane that has landed in Mumbai from France, a senior official said. Many passengers of the plane hail from Gujarat, he said. The aircraft, an Airbus A340, carrying 276 passengers, mostly Indians, was grounded in France for four days over suspected human trafficking. It landed in Mumbai in the wee hours on Tuesday. "The CID crime wants to take action against agents who had promised help to the victims to enter the US and other countries (illegally). We have formed four teams which will get information from the victims regarding promises made to them by these agents," Superintendent of Police, CID (Crime), Sanjay Kharat said. He said most of the passengers on the chartered plane that returned from France were from Banaskantha, Patan, Mehsana and Anand districts in Gujarat. "Police will coordinate with the passengers when they reach

Plane grounded in France over human trafficking lands in Mumbai

A charter plane carrying 276 passengers, mostly Indians, which was grounded in France for four days over suspected human trafficking, landed in Mumbai on Tuesday, an official said. The Nicaragua-bound flight operated by a Romanian company was detained for four days at Vatry airport near France. The aircraft, an Airbus A340, landed in Mumbai shortly after 4 am, the official said. It had taken off from Vatry airport around 2.30 pm local time. The charter flight that carried 303 passengers had taken off from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and was grounded at the Vatry airport, 150 km east of Paris, on Thursday over suspected human trafficking. According to French authorities, the plane had 276 passengers on board when it took off for Mumbai, and 25 persons, including two minors, had expressed the wish to apply for asylum and were still on French soil. Two others, who were brought before a judge, were released and placed on assisted witness status, a French news channel said.

Macron invited for R-Day: Propelling Indo-French defence into new orbits

Emmanuel Macron's surprise R-Day visit shapes a strategic rendezvous as France becomes the linchpin in India's defence, space, and nuclear ambitions. SUBHAYAN CHAKRABORTY writes

The French connection

Paris is seen as a reliable strategic partner

French President Emmanuel Macron to be chief guest for 2024 Republic Day

He will be the sixth French leader to grace the event

French President Emmanuel Macron set to be Republic Day chief guest

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations on January 26, people familiar with the development said on Friday. India had invited US President Joe Biden to grace the occasion but he expressed inability to travel to New Delhi in January. French President Macron has been invited as the Republic Day chief guest, the people cited above said.