India, France adopt Innovation Roadmap 2030, Economic Security Dialogue
During a bilateral summit in June 2026, India and France adopted the India-France Innovation Roadmap 2030 — a structured framework for joint collaboration in artificial intelligence, advanced technologies, semiconductors, clean energy, space, defence, digital infrastructure, startups, and higher education.
Both countries launched a new Economic Security Dialogue to coordinate policies on supply chain resilience, critical minerals, semiconductors, cybersecurity, and strategic technology — institutionalising economic security as a domain of bilateral partnership alongside traditional defence and diplomacy.
The summit produced 13 major outcomes, including a high-level mechanism to double bilateral trade within five years and 19 inter-institutional agreements in the innovation ecosystem.
A joint working group on Artificial Intelligence and its global governance was created — reflecting the shared emphasis on responsible AI as an emerging multilateral concern.
The India-France relationship was elevated to a "Special Global Strategic Partnership" on 17 February 2026 during a bilateral meeting in Paris, upgrading the existing Strategic Partnership (established 1998).
India-France Strategic Partnership: History and Architecture
The India-France Strategic Partnership is one of India's most substantive and durable bilateral relationships, notable for being built on genuine strategic convergence — multilateralism, strategic autonomy, and a rules-based international order — rather than pure transactional interests.
Key Details
- 1998: Strategic Partnership established. France became the first Western country to sign a strategic partnership with India, doing so in the immediate aftermath of India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests (May 1998), when most Western nations imposed sanctions. French President Jacques Chirac was Chief Guest at India's Republic Day 1998.
- 2023: Partnership upgraded during bilateral engagements with a "Horizon 2047" roadmap for 25-year cooperation.
- 2026 (February): Further elevated to "Special Global Strategic Partnership."
- Strategic pillars: Defence and security; space; nuclear energy; climate and sustainability; digital and innovation; cultural and academic exchange.
- India-France Annual Summit: Heads of government-level meeting that reviews progress across all pillars.
The Innovation Roadmap 2030 and Economic Security Dialogue represent the institutionalisation of newer domains — AI, semiconductors, critical minerals — within a partnership that already covers defence, space, and nuclear cooperation.
India-France Defence Cooperation: Rafale, Scorpene, and Beyond
Defence is the centrepiece of the India-France partnership and provides the template for the "Special" designation in the partnership.
Key Details
- Rafale fighter jets: India signed a Government-to-Government agreement on 23 September 2016 for 36 Rafale jets for the Indian Air Force. The Rafale (Dassault Aviation) is a 4.5-generation multirole combat aircraft. India has since signed an additional deal for 26 Rafale Marine jets for the Indian Navy in 2023.
- Scorpene-class submarines (Project P-75): Six Scorpene-class submarines built under technology transfer at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai, with French collaboration (Naval Group/DCNS). All six delivered to the Indian Navy.
- Project P-75I: Next phase — six more submarines, with air-independent propulsion (AIP) technology — where France is among the competing countries.
- Future fighter programme: France and India are exploring cooperation on a 6th-generation fighter aircraft.
The Innovation Roadmap 2030's defence pillar builds on this deep hardware cooperation by adding co-development of emerging defence technologies including AI-driven systems.
Critical Minerals and Semiconductors: The New Economic Security Architecture
The Economic Security Dialogue addresses a structural vulnerability in modern economies — dependence on concentrated supply chains for materials and components critical to defence, energy transition, and digital infrastructure.
Key Details
- Critical minerals are raw materials essential for clean energy technologies and defence electronics: lithium, cobalt, nickel (for EV batteries), rare earth elements (for magnets in wind turbines and missiles), gallium, germanium (for semiconductors).
- China controls approximately 60% of global rare earth mining and over 80% of processing, creating a significant supply chain risk for India, France, and Western economies.
- India has significant deposits of lithium (recently discovered in Jammu & Kashmir, 5.9 million tonnes), rare earths (Odisha, Andhra Pradesh), and titanium.
- India's Critical Minerals Mission (2023): Identifies 30 critical minerals; mandates exploration, international partnerships for supply security.
- Semiconductors: India's Semiconductor Mission (2021, revised 2023) aims to establish domestic chip fabrication (fabs). India approved a ₹76,000 crore incentive package for semiconductor fabs; Tata Electronics and Micron Technology have announced fabs.
- France is a significant semiconductor economy (STMicroelectronics, headquartered in Geneva but major French operations; Soitec — the world's leading producer of silicon-on-insulator wafers).
The Economic Security Dialogue between India and France institutionalises bilateral coordination on critical minerals and semiconductors, aligning with both countries' broader strategic interests in reducing dependence on China-dominated supply chains.
India-France Space Cooperation: From Chandrayaan to Gaganyaan
India-France space cooperation, spanning six decades, is one of the oldest and most substantive scientific partnerships in India's diplomatic history.
Key Details
- 1960s: France assisted India in setting up its satellite launch facility at Sriharikota (Satish Dhawan Space Centre).
- ISRO-CNES partnership: CNES (Centre National d'Études Spatiales) is France's national space agency. Joint missions include Megha-Tropiques (climate satellite, 2011) and SARAL-AltiKa (oceanography satellite, 2013).
- Chandrayaan-1 (2008): Carried instruments from ESA (European Space Agency), which includes French contributions; French scientific instruments contributed to lunar mineral mapping.
- Gaganyaan (India's human spaceflight programme): France is a partner, with CNES providing training support for Indian astronaut-designates.
- Ariane 5/6 launches: ISRO has used Arianespace (French-led European launcher) for geostationary satellite launches.
The Innovation Roadmap 2030's space pillar deepens an already six-decade partnership, adding newer domains like space situational awareness and satellite-based Earth observation for climate monitoring.
- India-France Strategic Partnership established: 1998 (France = first Western country to sign SP with India post-Pokhran-II)
- Partnership upgraded to Special Global Strategic Partnership: February 2026
- Innovation Roadmap 2030 sectors: AI, deep tech, semiconductors, clean energy, space, defence, digital infrastructure, agritech, medtech, startups, higher education
- Economic Security Dialogue covers: Supply chains, critical minerals, semiconductors, cybersecurity, strategic technology
- Number of summit outcomes: 13 major outcomes; 19 inter-institutional agreements
- Trade target: Double bilateral trade within 5 years (mechanism established)
- Rafale deal signed: 23 September 2016 (G2G agreement, 36 jets for IAF); additional 26 Rafale Marine for Indian Navy (2023)
- Scorpene submarines: 6 delivered under Project P-75; MDL Mumbai, with Naval Group France
- Next submarine project: P-75I (6 submarines with AIP technology)
- ISRO-CNES cooperation: Since 1960s; joint satellites Megha-Tropiques (2011), SARAL (2013)
- India's Semiconductor Mission: ₹76,000 crore incentive package; Tata Electronics + Micron fabs announced
- India's Critical Minerals Mission: 30 critical minerals identified; lithium deposit in J&K (5.9 million tonnes)
- France's Special Representative on India: Bilateral managed through annual summit format
- India-France bilateral trade: Approximately $13–15 billion annually (pre-2026 baseline)
- French nuclear assistance to India: Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project (6 × EPR reactors, 9,900 MW) — largest nuclear power project in the world; under negotiation with EDF (France)