Policy brief: Science, Technology and Innovation

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Policy brief: Science, Technology and Innovation Comparative analysis between EU-India and other countries: Indian perspective

V. V. Krishna, Centre for Studies in Science Policy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, with the assistance of Rajiv Mishra


Contents

Contents Abbreviations................................................................................................................................................................4 Foreword....................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction..................................................................................................................................................................6 1 Setting the context and background of the comparative analysis..................................................................... 7 1.1 Some preliminary considerations................................................................................................................... 7 Published by Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI) Linke Wienzeile 246 1150 Wien Austria Tel: +43 1 495 04 42 - 0 www.zsi.at

1.2 The methodological approach: Parameters and indicators of gaps..........................................................8 1.3 Data and information for comparative analysis............................................................................................8 2 Some comparisons between the EU multilateral and the non-EU bilateral cooperation from an Indian perspective........................................................................10

E-mail: [email protected]

3 Gaps in comparative perspective of the EU multilateral and the non-EU bilateral Science and Technology cooperation.............................................................................12

www. indigoprojects.eu

4 Comparative perspective on cooperation of Indian funding organisations with other countries............... 17 5 Gaps in comparative perspective of the EU funding and the non-EU countries funding mechanisms....21

Copyright © 2016 INDIGO Policy

6 Good practices of cooperation as seen from the Indian perspective..............................................................22

Date of publication: September 2016 First edition 200 copies

6.1 India-United States S & T collaboration........................................................................................................22

All rights reserved. This publication or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the authors.

6.3 Indo-German S & T collaboration.................................................................................................................. 27

6.2 India-France S & T collaboration....................................................................................................................26

The authors are solely responsible for the content which does not represent the opinion of the European Commission.

7 Interviews with Indian funding organisations cooperating with Europe: Correlation with gaps analysis..............................................................................................................................29 8 Future of India-European Union Science and Technology cooperation: Key recommendations of comparative analysis.................................................................................................31

INDIGO Policy has received funding from the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. 609535 Graphic design: Harald Göstl Printed in Austria

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Abbreviations

Foreword

Abbreviations

Foreword

EU FP FP5 FP6 FP7 IUSSTF IFCPAR IGSTC DBT DST INSA ASEAN BIMSTEC SAARC NAM CSIR EBTC MNRE MHRD S & T R & D MoU

This report mainly identifies gaps and shortcomings in the India and European Union science and technology cooperation. Aspects related to cooperation with the European Union in terms of multilateral domain have been discussed and relevant statistics and support of comparative discussion of other selected countries provided. India’s cooperation with the European Union in the field of big science and high technology stand out as an important platform of the cooperation. One of the key aspects of this report and its impact has been related to the identification and analysis of gaps in the general cooperation domain, funding domain and institutional domain. In the different sections, gaps have been defined and discussed within the specific context and background. Furthermore, examples of successful and good practice projects with the USA, France and Germany were explored which showed the details and nature of the projects and why these projects were deemed successful and good examples of a healthy cooperation between India and the respective countries. In addition, the report also provided a comparative window to see the details of the good practices of science and technology cooperation between India and these countries. The report also sheds some light on the Indian funding agencies dealing with science and technology and their partnerships with various other international organisations. This presented a basis for examining the Horizon 2020 programme of the European Union and more specifically the funding mechanisms related to it. One of the major outcomes of this report is the current assessment of the Indian science and technology cooperation with the European Union in comparison with other select countries. The cross comparative perspective provided a vantage point to the potential stakeholders of this report who encompass decision and policy makers with respect to the European Union science and technology cooperation with India. It also provided the necessary information and facts for bridging the gaps in the science and technology relationship between India and the European Union. The interviews related to the funding agencies and the key recommendations of the gaps analysis concluded the section. The gist of this report can thus be located and understood from the key recommendations which have been made in the second last section. This in a way brings the various facets of the discussion into a single chain and tries to draw a holistic picture. In the context and background of the India-European Union science and technology cooperation, identifying, understanding and addressing the gaps are very crucial for the future of the cooperation.

European Union Framework Programme Framework Programme 5 Framework Programme 6 Framework Programme 7 India-United States Science and Technology Forum Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research Indo-German Science and Technology Centre Department of Biotechnology Department of Science and Technology Indian National Science Academy Association of Southeast Asian Nations Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectorial Technical and Economic Cooperation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Non Aligned Movement Council for Scientific and Industrial Research European and Business Technology Council Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Ministry of Human Resource Development Science and Technology Research and Development Memorandum of Understanding

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Introduction

Setting the context and background

Introduction

1 Setting the context and background of the comparative analysis

This report titled ‘Comparative Analysis between EU-India and Other Countries: Indian Perspective’ mainly tries to identify and analyse gaps in science and technology cooperation between India and the European Union in comparison to a few select countries like the United States of America, Japan, Canada and China. The main purpose of having a specific report on gaps analysis is to assess the strength and weakness of Indian cooperation in science and technology from both the bilateral and multilateral perspective. Furthermore, this report tries to offer a qualitative holistic view backed by necessary statistics about the current scenario of India’s international science and technology cooperation with the European Union and other selected countries. Section 1, the introduction, provides the context and background of gaps analysis. The section also provides details on the methodological approach as pertains to gaps analysis, data collection and analysis. Thus, this section sets the theme for the paper and draws the larger canvass of gaps identification and analysis. Section 2, ‘Some comparisons between the EU multilateral and the nonEU bilateral cooperation from an Indian perspective’, provides a unique viewpoint of assessing the differences between India’s multilateral cooperation with the European Union and the bilateral cooperation with individual European Member States. This section tries to discuss the gaps in cooperation with the European Union and the possible shortcomings. Section 3, entitled ‘Gaps in comparative perspective of the EU multilateral and the non-EU bilateral Science and Technology cooperation’, mentions and discusses briefly the gaps in the general domain of the cooperation. Section 4, ‘Comparative perspective on cooperation of Indian funding organisations with other countries’, comparatively analyses the cooperation of Indian funding organisations with different countries. Section 5, entitled ‘Gaps in comparative perspective of the EU funding and the non-EU countries funding mechanisms’, relates to section 4 in terms of gaps in funding mechanism in the context of the European Union. It also mentions specific gaps in the domain of funding with the European countries and the necessary shortfalls. Section 6, ‘Good practices of cooperation as seen from the Indian perspective’, deals with examples of good practices of cooperation with the help of some case studies. Section 7, ‘Interviews with Indian funding organisations cooperating with Europe: Correlation with gaps analysis’, provides details related to the Indian funding mechanisms in relation to the European Union which is also backed up by interview data for INDIGO POLICY project. Finally, section 8 provides key recommendations of comparative analysis.

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1.1 Some preliminary considerations This report, in the context of science and technology cooperation between India and the European Union, is a policy document which helps to locate and identify shortcomings in the cooperation. When one tries to examine gaps analysis and to contextualise it in the background of the INDIGO Policy Project related to India and the European Union science and technology cooperation, then two very obvious and crucial questions come to the reader´s mind: ‘What is the importance of gaps analysis?’ and ‘Why is the identification and analysis of gaps crucial in the context of science and technology cooperation?’ There are always shortfalls that remain as potential challenges and they need to be identified and addressed. This could be understood in the context of science and technology cooperation between countries where shortcomings related to policy, design and implementation mechanisms of collaborative research could seriously hamper the results and output of the research projects. This argument relates very well to the second question ’Why is the identification and analysis of gaps crucial in the context of science and technology cooperation?’ provided that gaps are identified, analysed and addressed, then this would directly correlate to stronger, more robust and higher quality science and technology cooperation between two countries. This also ensures that efficient use of valuable and time consuming resources of developing countries like India and developed supra national blocks like the European Union is undertaken and justified. The context of ‘gap’ is best understood when some comparable cooperation case studies of India with other countries are considered. For instance, this report considers some countries like the United States, Japan, Canada and China. It seeks to bring out insights pertaining to the strengths and weaknesses of the various dimensions of science and technology cooperation. It also helps to know and understand how the structure of cooperation is organised between India and these selected countries and how it compares with the European Union. Furthermore, this gaps analysis report in the context of a comparative perspective also looks at the cooperation between India and the European countries outside the domain of the European Union cooperation mechanism. This is important due to the fact that the science and technology cooperation mechanism between India and the European Union is influenced to a large extent by multilateral cooperation dynamics and policies of the European Union. Bilateral cooperation with European countries outside the domain of the European Union also has its separate and unique dynamics of cooperation with the differences lying at the institutional and organisational level. All this form the necessary basis on which this gaps analysis discussion is based upon.

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1.2 The methodological approach: Parameters and indicators of gaps The approach The methodological approach for identification and analysis of gaps is based on the identification of parameters and indicators which correlate to the shortcomings and gaps in science and technology cooperation. The necessary parameters and indicators which relate to gaps are drawn from the standpoint of the strengths of India’s science and technology cooperation with other select countries like the USA, Japan, Canada and China: more specifically, the strength of science and technology cooperation between India and the United States works as one main indicator of gaps between India and the European Union science and technology cooperation. This is based on how the projects are conceptualised, designed and realised in implementation. It is also based on how the projects from the time of their conception and delivery are practically and commercially oriented. Furthermore, how these issues are assessed is one important factor in the identification and analysis of gaps in relation to the European Union. The sub-sections discussed below provide more details about the types of data and information collected from various sources which provided the necessary basis for studying and analysing the gaps.

Data analysis With help of the above named two methods and techniques of data collection, the necessary data was generated. After the data had been collected, the standard procedures of patterns, parameters and indicators identification was done. More specifically using the datasets, patterns and indicators were studied and analysed for example as concerns the number of project partners and types of institutes involved in the collaboration. Furthermore, with help of in-depth interviews conducted with the Department of Science and Technology, the European Union and the EBTC officials, parameters and indicators which came up in the responses became the necessary basis for pattern recognition for the gaps analysis.

1.3 Data and information for comparative analysis Datasets Data tables were created for the purpose of clubbing all the project details related to science and technology cooperation of India with the selected countries comprising of the USA, Japan, Canada, Germany and France. Due to lack of data availability pertaining to China’s science and technology cooperation, no datasets related to China were created. For the purpose of classification of the projects and finding the details related to cooperation, datasets were organised according to: project details, broader area of discipline, amount of funding, duration of project and the institutions involved from both sides. This provided and helped to find out the necessary patterns and details of collaboration, nature of project and types of stakeholders involved. Interview data Apart from the datasets created for identifying the patterns and categorising details of science and technology cooperation, unstructured in-depth interviews were also conducted with people associated with the Department of Science and Technology, India as well as with scientists and professionals having a connection with the European Union but based in India. More specifically, interviews were conducted with people associated with the EBTC (European Business and Technology Centre). The sampling techniques used for the interview were convenience and snowball sampling since most of the respondents were directly contacted while some respondents were contacted with the help of some prior respondents.

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Some comparisons between the EU multilateral and the non-EU bilateral cooperation

2 Some comparisons between the EU multilateral and the non-EU bilateral cooperation from an Indian perspective

Some comparisons between the EU multilateral and the non-EU bilateral cooperation

From an Indian perspective, India’s S & T cooperation with individual EU Member States (for example IFCPAR in the case of France, IGSTC in the case of Germany) is seen as an extension and an integral part of the EU-India cooperation. Such useful bilateral institutions, programmes and projects with EU Member States (outside the EU-India cooperation) are viewed as cooperation with Europe as whole rather than through ‘separate lenses’. Whilst there are several positive and encouraging features of the EUIndia S & T cooperation, four major gaps were identified in comparison to India’s bilateral cooperation with the selected non-EU countries.

The EU-India S & T Cooperation Agreement (2002) for multilateral cooperation under various schemes in the last decade played a very significant role in promoting scientific research between India and the EU. The last few years witnessed increased motivation and interest in cooperation from both sides. This is demonstrated through the increase in the number of projects from different schemes and programmes. From the perspective of knowledge, the India-EU multilateral cooperation not only advanced scientific knowledge but was also very useful in addressing the various socio-economic and technical challenges faced in the different fields of science and technology within the Indian context. Particular mention may be made of S & T projects on water, environment, ecology, sustainable development, energy and health. From the organisational and structural perspective, the EU-India multilateral cooperation and S & T agreement enabled scientists, academics and professionals from both sides to come together under a single laboratory-platform to pursue R & D work. Joint project workshops and exchange of students and researchers (Marie Curie and Erasmus Mundus) in many ways created a very important intellectual medium for discourse and mutual understanding. The importance of such schemes and programmes extend beyond ‘laboratory life-world’ into social and cultural understanding between India and the EU member countries which are as diverse as India; it is easy to have a comparison of the common feature of ‘unity in diversity’ in both the EU and India. A major benefit of the EU multilateral S & T cooperation compared to other bilateral projects has been India’s equal partnership in the EU based ‘big science’ (ITER and FAIR projects) and ‘high technology’ projects. Without the progress of the EU-India cooperation and commitment to take the cooperation to higher level from both sides, the entry of India to this large scale EU driven multilateral big projects would not have been possible. This can be attributed to the fact that the European Union-India science and technology cooperation has evolved from one EU framework programme to another; from the FP4, FP5, FP6 and FP7 programmes in size and intensity. The increasing volume and density of the cooperation has inevitably led to the expanded domain of India´s participation in the ‘big science’ areas with the European Union as well as sharing its own expertise with the European Union. Indian physicists, nuclear scientists, and astrophysicists to name but some big science experts are renowned the world over for their work. This project provides the Indian institutions, scientists and engineers with a unique opportunity to work on cutting edge scientific research through these large EU programmes.

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Gaps in comparative perspective of the EU multilateral and the non-EU bilateral cooperation

3 Gaps in comparative perspective of the EU multilateral and the non-EU bilateral Science and Technology cooperation

In this section, four major gaps which have been highlighted with respect to the comparative perspective of the India-European Union cooperation in comparison to the cooperation with some other select countries will be mentioned, discussed and analysed. These four gaps will then be further contextualised in the section covering the funding agencies, various mechanisms and cases of good practices of science and technology Cooperation. India’s S & T cooperation with countries such as the USA in some critical S & T fields involves leading American universities such as the MIT, Harvard and Stanford on the one hand and some of the country’s leading science agencies such as national institutes of health on the other. If one closely follows and analyses the science and technology cooperation between India and the United States, one can definitely find diversity of participation in most of the projects. It incorporates the participation of leading US universities and science and technology agencies which offer a qualitative advantage on the part of the project. There has been a focus on public-private partnership models and industry-academia partnerships in several of the cooperation projects between India and the US from the very beginning. R & D leading into innovation or solving client needs are taken into account in the various cooperation related projects between the US and India. On the other hand when one studies and understands the intricate details related to the Indian and European Union partnership, there are many aspects which come under the categorisation of this gap. Even though there is participation of many universities from the European Union, the question which comes into sharp focus is the lack of the necessary ecosystem on the commercial linkages of many of the projects. The role of leading science and technology research institutes like the National Institute of Health of US was viewed as one of the important success pillars of many of the India-United States projects related to medicine and health. In the case of the European Union, lack of some premier and nodal institutes working as important pillars of science and technology cooperation was noted. Secondly, the last few years witnessed an increasing involvement of large business enterprises (such as Fortune 500 firms and others) and private foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Ford Foundation. This is also an important area which falls short in the India and European Union science and technology cooperation. A close study and analysis of the details on project cooperation between India and the European Union

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reveals a lack of participation of private organisations on an equal footing with foundations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. In the case of the European Union, there is no such participation by not-for-profit organisations or foundations which focus on philanthropic work but are also open to science and technology cooperation. Large US firms (mostly Fortune 500 ones) such as Microsoft, IBM, GE, Boeing and Intel operate in India with substantial R & D bases in centres such as Delhi and Bangalore. Several of these firms are linked to the India-US S & T cooperation particularly when viewed from the innovation end of the R & D spectrum. One can see the relative absence of such an arrangement in the case of the India-EU S & T cooperation. Thirdly, there is a tremendous scope of ‘Triple Helix’ relationships (university-industry-government) in the Indo-US S & T cooperation compared with the EU-India S & T cooperation. Such links and connections with private business enterprises is relatively weak or non-existent in the EU-India S & T cooperation. The participation and role of the European Union’s private sector enterprises has had a lesser impact in the India-EU multilateral science and technology cooperation projects. Unlike the bilateral relationships with France and Germany which involves a lot of ‘Triple Helix’ model type of projects; in the case of the European Union this is not very prevalent. The examples pertaining to products and process like in the case of the Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (IFCPAR) has likewise not been observed when it comes to the European Union participation domain. Furthermore, there are no big European companies involved in science and technology cooperation with India from the EU multilateral perspective. Nonetheless, big European companies like British Petroleum, BASF 1 and SAP 2 through their country of origins have a one to one relationship with India in terms of bilateral relationships outside the domain of European Union cooperation. Fourthly, India’s S & T cooperation with countries such as the USA is more balanced in terms of number of project partners involved, where the ratio is 1:1 or 2:2. In the case of the EU and especially in the recent FP7 programme, it is visible that in many of the projects there is a disparity in the number of Indian and European partners involved: The projects ratio of Indian to European partners is 1:10 or 1:15. 3 A special focus and attention to innovation and the commercial end of the R & D spectrum stands out as a distinguishing feature of the Indo-US and the Indo-German bilateral projects as compared to the Indo-EU multilateral projects. Whilst there is substantial evidence to suggest that there is very high quality research jointly published, the industry and commercialisation of research seems to be one of the weak links in several of the India-EU

1 BASF – Baden Aniline and Soda Factory is the largest chemical producer in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. 2 SAP – Systems, Applications & Products in Data Processing is a German multinational software corporation that makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations. 3 The fourth conclusion is drawn from the analysis of various project information related to EU-India science and technology cooperation and also from analysis of FP7 projects using http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/india/documents/catalogue.pdf

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S & T projects. 4 Between 2003 and 2012, even though there was a substantial increase in co-publications between India and the EU (400 % in water; 420 % in health; and 200 % in energy), there was little evidence of patenting. 5 However, exceptions exist such as the EU-India cooperation in renewable energy for setting up 3 Megawatt solar thermal and biomas hybrid power plant in Bihar in collaboration with the State Government. 6 The European Business & Technology Centre (EBTC), which is involved in innovation especially with SMEs from both sides, operates in four Indian cities namely Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai. Nevertheless, EBTC has several links with the India-EU S & T cooperation projects but in a large measure operates outside the ambit of this programme. EBTC, whose main goal and objective is the introduction of European clean and sustainable technologies to the Indian Market, serves more as a platform for technology transfer and promotion of business ideas in the related field. The reason to why it remains outside the ambit of the major science and technology cooperation projects could be related to the very nature of its establishment whose main aim is to assist business cooperation in the field of clean technology. It therefore falls short in terms of commercialisation and business linkages in other fields of cooperation between India and the European Union. It however connects SMEs in India and EU Member States and is in essence an important window to the industrial spectrum in India based on the EU Member States´ perspective. 7 Politics and international relations between governments to a great extent also determine the pace and robustness of S & T cooperation through multilateral and bilateral mechanisms. In the last few years, India’s relations with the US have dramatically progressed to higher and deeper levels of collaboration and partnerships after the Indo-US Nuclear Deal in 2010 as compared to the EU multilateral cooperation. In 2014, Prime Minister Modi had three one to one meetings with technical and business delegations led by President Obama. The latter has visited India twice in his presidential term and had similar meetings for increasing S & T, economic and strategic cooperation between the two countries. In a nutshell, the increasing pace of political relations has given a definite robustness in STI cooperation between the USA and India. On the other hand, the first India-EU summit which took place in the year 2000 in Lisbon had its 12th summit meeting in 2012 for the first time in India with the Indian delegation being represented by the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh while the EU was represented by Mr. Herman Van Rompuy. 8 Since the 2012 summit, the 13th summit has yet to take place to date. However there have been ministerial level contacts between India and the European Union. 9 In addition, there have been no official state visits from both sides in past 3 years with the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi yet to make an official visit to the European Union. The recent visit of Prime Minister Modi to Silicon Valley in September 2015 led to detailed business and technology collaboration meetings with the Silicon Valley and USA based industrial captains of Fortune 500 firms. The Prime Minister led a huge delegation to the Silicon Valley meetings in a bid to link up India’s flagship programmes on clean India and Ganga cleaning, digital India, make in India, smart cities and defence manufacturing with these firms. Well-known CEOs of Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Google, GE, 4

This conclusion is based on the discussions with official working with European Business and Technology Centre (EBTC). For the purposes of confidentiality the names cannot be disclosed. 5 See Granqvist K., Büsel K. (2015) Policy brief: Co-publishing patterns of EU-India, Indigo Policy, ZSI, Austria 6 EU-India Update, Special Edition (undated), page 10 7 Considering the recent news related to this, it is relevant for this to be discussed precisely. 8 http://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/India-EU_Relations_Website_Brief_-July_16__2015.pdf 9 Ibid.

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Intel, Boeing, Coca-Cola, Pepsi etc., committed several collaborating projects on the ‘Triple Helix’ model. Precise government statistics related to the implementation of these flagships programs is not yet available as these flagships are still in the implementation and working phases. However, some information can be found on these flagship programmes from media sources. In relation to the Swachh Bharat Mission, a sub group of Chief Ministers of 10 states of India submitted a report to the prime minister in relation to this programme. 10 Aspects related to financial requirements, technological support for waste management and examining models of private sector and civil society participation were recommended. 11 The Indian Government announced a 0.5 % cess to be charged on all services from 15 November 2015 for the Swachh Bharat Mission. 12 The details related to the exact level of implementation of the digital India programme is also not yet available, but based on a recent survey called EY’s 2015 India Attractiveness Survey, some insightful information can be deducted. In this survey, 83 % of the informed investors said that digital India would impact on investment outlook and the same percentage of investors also said that this programme launched by the current government is a crucial programme. 13 Furthermore, Prime Minister Modi’s meeting with Sundar Pichai of Google in Silicon Valley resulted in an announcement by Google to create WiFi hotspots in 500 railway stations across India. 14 Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, on the sidelines of Prime Minister Modi’s Silicon Valley visit also announced operation of Microsoft’s cloud services operating from the Indian data centres and in connection to this, Microsoft opened 3 data centres in India. 15 The make in India programme was also assessed in the EY’s India Attractiveness Survey, where 35 % of the respondents said that India was one among the three leading manufacturing destinations around the world. 16 Around 55 % of the respondents said that within 6 months of its announcement they became aware about it and it has shaped their investment outlook towards India. 17 Recently, the Indian Commerce Minister said that the ‘Make in India’ programme has attracted almost $ 3.05 billion investment proposals in the country. 18 In the area of defence production under the ‘Make in India’ programme, India and Germany have recently showed interest and are likely to sign a defence agreement under this programme for the joint production of submarines and heavy torpedoes. 19 Many of the defence companies working in India; both national and foreign have agreed to form an industry alliance for promoting the strategic defence production in India as part of the larger ‘make in India’ program. 20 The Ganga cleaning programme by the current government has resulted in concerted efforts towards Ganga’s cleaning as well as waste and sewage treatment of the river. In connection to this program, the Minister of 10 http://www.business-standard.com/article/government-press-release/report-of-the-sub-group-of-chief-ministers-on-swachh-bharat-115101400981_1. html 11 Ibid. 12 http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/government-to-impose-0-5-swachh-bharat-cess-on-services-from-november-15/ articleshow/49692169.cms 13 http://www.ey.com/IN/en/Issues/Business-environment/EY-india-attractiveness-survey-2015/ 14 http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/no-room-for-google-cci-talk-as-modi-pichai-focus-on-digital-india-115100100056_1.html 15 http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/microsoft-launches-services-from-3-data-centres-in-india-115092900617_1.html 16 http://www.ey.com/IN/en/Issues/Business-environment/EY-india-attractiveness-survey-2015/ 17 Ibid. 18 http://www.businesstoday.in/current/policy/make-in-india-got-investment-proposals-worth-3.05-billion-says-commerce-and-industry-ministernirmala-sitharaman/story/223413.html 19 http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/india-germany-likely-to-announce-joint-defence-production-plan-under-make-in-indiainitiative/articleshow/49189304.cms 20 http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/defence-companies-in-india-to-form-industry-alliance-115100600583_1.html

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Water Resources has announced that three new sewage treatment plants will be installed in the major religious city of Varanasi. 21 With respect to Smart Cities which is still in its policy and detailed working out phase, the necessary frameworks are still being worked out and investors are still being sought. France has become the first country to commit 2 billion euros for the Smart City project: 22 France has committed the investment for the Smart City projects in the cities of Chandigarh, Nagpur and Puducherry. The Japanese Prime Minister’s visit on 12 December 2015 led to the finalisation of an agreement of the high speed train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai with a Japanese investment of nearly USD 12 billion. The Silicon Valley connection to Indian software hubs in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai and Delhi, through various diaspora associations has played a significant part in boosting global innovation value chains and globalisation of innovation. This connection played an important role in doubling India’s software sector exports during this decade with exports clocking nearly USD 100 billion in 2015. Even though India and the European Union have a stronger and higher number of multilateral cooperation projects as compared to other countries, there still exist certain gaps and shortcomings in the cooperation aspects between both sides. The four gaps highlighted shows that there is tremendous scope for improvements in the India-European Union cooperation.

Comparative perspective on cooperation with other countries

4 Comparative perspective on cooperation of Indian funding organisations with other countries India has signed bilateral cooperation agreements with more than 83 countries in the S & T fields of common interest. Within the scope and perspective of S & T agreements, different modes of funding mechanisms have been initiated and put into operation. Various institutions which fall under the purview of the S & T agreement include universities and colleges with their higher education R & D units and public and private R & D institutions which can access and be part of joint bilateral R & D projects. Much of the bilateral funding in the S & T cooperation is channelled through the Global Innovation and Technology Alliance (GITA) established jointly by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). However, there are other ministries such as energy, IT, power, industrial research and biotechnology, who have established international cooperation units and have been mandated to fund joint research within the purview of the bilateral agreements in S & T. The main institutions/ bodies responsible for the S & T cooperation funding under bilateral agreements are as follows: The Global Innovation and Technology Alliance (GITA): 23 Platform for Joint Funding in STI GITA, on behalf of the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India extends financial support in the form of soft loans and grants to Indian applicants for joint R & D, scientist exchange programmes etc with counterpart agencies implementing the programme in the partnering country. The main objective of the joint R & D programme is to stimulate, promote and support industrial and institutional R & D for the mutual benefit of the Indian and international counterparts. The fundamental principles of the joint R & D programmes are: ○ scientific and technological excellence ○ shared benefits ○ prospects for economic returns ○ equality ○ protection of intellectual property ○ respect for the applicable laws and regulations in the two countries peaceful uses. Basic application requirements: ○ Projects must include participants from both countries. ○ Industry participation from both countries in collaborative R & D projects is mandatory, including university, college or research institution led projects.

21 http://www.business-standard.com/article/government-press-release/uma-bharti-inspects-progress-of-clean-ganga-mission-atvaranasi-115071501212_1.html 22 http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/france-to-give-%E2%82%AC2-billion-for-smart-cities-115110401698_1.html

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23 Quoted from the GITA website: http://gita.org.in/funding.html

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○ Proposals must clearly demonstrate that they respond to and address identified needs and interests in both countries. ○ Applicants must demonstrate the capacity to manage, conduct and benefit from the proposed research and development. ○ Proposals are expected to include clearly identified commercial goals and commercialisation strategies. ○ Proposals must include an intellectual property management plan. ○ Projects should provide the opportunity for young researchers to participate, both within their own country and through exchanges with the partner countries. ○ Apart from these requirements, each call for proposals will have certain specific criteria. These will need to be referred to so as to confirm eligibility and for preparation of expression of interests / proposals. Under GITA, India is presently funding joint research with the UK, Spain, Israel, Taiwan, the Republic of Korea, Finland, and Canada. IUSSTF: India’s Joint Funding STI Programmes with the USA The Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF), established under an agreement between the Governments of India and the United States of America in March 2000, is an autonomous not-for-profit society that promotes and catalyses Indo-US bilateral collaborations in science, technology, engineering and biomedical research through substantive interaction among government, academia and industry. As a grant making organisation, the principle objective of the IUSSTF is to provide opportunities to exchange ideas, information, skills and technologies, and to collaborate on scientific and technological endeavours of mutual interest that translate the power of science for the benefit of mankind at large. 24 Annual returns earned from the endowment fund created by the US Government with a matching contribution from the Government of India through the Department of Science and Technology provides regular funds to administer the IUSSTF programmes. The IUSSTF also has the freedom to receive grants, gifts, donations or other contributions from industries, foundations and private benefactors. In addition, contributions to the IUSSTF are tax-exempted under Section 80G of the Indian IT Act. In a bid to bolster its objectives, the IUSSTF welcomes fund contributions both in India and the USA. The India Science and Technology Partnership (INSTP) which is based on the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington D.C. model, provides outreach and proposals review support. 25 DBT & Wellcome Trust Joint R & D Programme 26 with UK The Department of Biotechnology is collaborating with the Wellcome Trust (WT), which is a London-based ‘global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in health by supporting the brightest minds’. The partnership is aimed at launching a three-tier fellowship programme in biomedical research at the post-doctoral level. The DBT and the WT each have committed 8 million pounds per year for a period of five years with effect from 2015. The programme is executed and operated under a mechanism/body which has been registered as The Wellcome Trust / DBT 24 As given in the IUSSTF Website: http://www.iusstf.org/story/53-10-About-us.html 25 As given in the Annual Report 2013 – 1 4, IUSSTF, see the website:http://www.iusstf.org/cms/gall_content/2015/3/2015_3$PDF131_ Mar_2015_112522687.pdf 26 As given in the website of DBT: http://www.dbtindia.nic.in/funding-mechanism-2/international-funding/

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India Alliance, a public charitable trust in India. The fellowships are open to all Indians working outside and within India. In addition, the fellowships are also open to non-Indians willing to work in India. 27 CSIR: International S & T Affairs Directorate The International S & T Affairs Directorate (ISTAD), at the CSIR headquarters in New Delhi is the main body of CSIR’s linkages with international scientific and technical agencies across the globe for carrying out collaborative and contract research in frontier areas of science and technology. ISTAD has played a pivotal role in identifying and nurturing CSIR’s global partnerships in the cutting edge areas of research and development which span more than 30 world class agencies across 27 countries around the globe. A major part of CSIR’s international cooperation activities is centred in Europe and the USA where CSIR has successfully transferred several technologies in various fields such as drugs and healthcare, petroleum refining, agro-chemicals and environment. CSIR-ISTAD is also collaborating with the Global Research Alliance (GRA) www.theglobalresearchalliance.org. The international scientific and technological collaboration activities of CSIR can be classified into three broad categories: ○ S & T collaboration with least developed and neighbouring countries ○ S & T collaboration with developing countries ○ S & T collaboration with developed countries. Major agencies with which CSIR has existing MoU / agreements are: ○ Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) ○ National Natural Science Foundation (NNSF), China ○ Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT), Egypt ○ National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan ○ The National Scientific & Technical Research Council (CONICET), Argentina ○ The Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia ○ The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) ○ The Academy of Sciences (TAS), Czech Republic ○ The Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) ○ The Consiglio Natzionale Delle Ricerche (CNR), Italy ○ The Polish Academy of Sciences ○ The Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research ○ Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Miniers (BRGM), France ○ Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France ○ The Royal Society, United Kingdom ○ The Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), Italy ○ Kuwait Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research (KISR) ○ Vietnam National University (VNU) ○ Commission of Science and Technology (COSTECH), Tanzania ○ National Institute of Medicinal Materials (NIMM), Vietnam (with CSIR-CIMAP).

27 Four categories of fellowships are awarded every year: 40 Early-career fellowships (with one year post-doctoral experience), 20 Intermediate fellowships (with 3 – 6 years of post-doctoral experience), 10 Senior Fellowships, Six renewals of ongoing senior fellowships every year, Margdarshi fellowships.

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Gaps in comparative perspective of funding mechanisms

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has been interacting with developed and developing countries for cooperation in new and renewable energy. The focus of the cooperation has been to explore opportunities for exchange of scientists so as to share experiences and for taking up joint research, design, development, demonstration and manufacturing of new and renewable energy systems and devices by R & D institutions or organisations thereby establishing institutional linkages between institutions of India and other countries. In this respect, India has signed bilateral and multilateral cooperation MoUs for joint R & D projects with 38 countries. 28 Cooperation with the USA and Japan in new and renewable energy is pursued under the India-US Energy Dialogue and the India-Japan Energy Dialogue respectively whereas cooperation with the EU is pursued under the India-EU Energy Panel. A multilateral cooperation framework called the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APPCDC) enables cooperation with the USA, China, South Korea, Japan, Canada and Australia. 29 Indian funding in science and technology is managed and administered with multi-organisational involvement. Organisations like GITA (Global Innovation and Technology Alliance), the Department of Science and Technology, the India-United States Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF), the Department of Biotechnology and the UK Wellcome Trust joint R & D funding, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy have various mechanisms and research & development funding schemes and programmes. These organisations also have international agreements with other partner countries for funding science and technology projects.

5 Gaps in comparative perspective of the EU funding and the non-EU countries funding mechanisms

In the previous section, the diversity of various funding mechanisms related to Indian science and technology cooperation was explored. From organisations like GITA, the Wellcome Trust, CSIR IUSSTF it can be concluded that there are no specific institutional mechanisms that can be attributed to the European Union science and technology funding agency. The following points can be mentioned and discussed with respect to the lack of specific European Union funding agencies or organisations. In the case of India and the United States, the India-United States Science and Technology Endowment Fund caters for the needs of the India-United States science and technology cooperation. This is important since this endowment fund works as a specific funding mechanism that is tailor-made for the India and United States science and technology cooperation. The same can be said for bodies like the Welcome Trust which for instance funds India-UK joint projects. In general, mechanisms CSIR and the Department of Science and Technology have initiated platforms like GITA for channelling funds for cooperation in projects. In the case of the European Union, cooperation is governed by its own unique dynamics which incorporate project details, funding details and partner participation. However, one aspect which lacks in the European Union cooperation is the fact of having specific funding bodies which cater for the specific demands and address the dynamism of the funding contexts of different countries. For instance GITA, IUSSTF, CSIR, the Welcome Trust and the Ministry of New and Renewable energy have specific modes of engagement with different countries as per certain science and technology cooperation. Another important shortcoming in the area includes the lack of a MoU between CSIR and the European Union institutes. Apart from the fact that few European Member States have such an understanding with India in relation to funding, there is no agreement between CSIR and any specific department of the European Union. There is no single dedicated agency or organisation working as a nodal agency for the India and European Union science and technology cooperation. In some of the previous projects and in the current Horizon 2020 programme, there is also another serious problem since Indian partners have to procure their own funds since the European Union does not offer any support in terms of providing funds for research. With the drying up of funds from the EU, a gap emerges in the joint research related to India’s new flagship programmes (digital India, clean India, infrastructure etc). Thus, there is a need to link up the EU-India joint funding of future Horizon 2020 via bodies such as GITA. This body could fill up the gap created by the relative absence of FP7 type of funding.

28 See http://mnre.gov.in/schemes/support-programmes/international-cooperation-3/ 29 Ibid.

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Good practices of cooperation


6 Good practices of cooperation as seen from the Indian perspective

6.1 India-United States S & T collaboration India-United States Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) One of the most important success stories of the Indo-US S & T collaboration is the establishment of the India United States Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF). Founded in March 2000, this forum has been one of the most crucial and important platforms for fostering cooperation in science and technology between India and the United States. 30 In the past 15 years, IUSSTF has played an important role in bringing the two nations closer in science and technology as never before. The most significant achievement of IUSSTF is the paradigmatic shift in the Indo-US S & T cooperation by combining it with strategic and global objectives. The main aim of IUSSTF is the promotion of bilateral S & T relationships between India and the United states in the field of science, technology, engineering and biomedical disciplines. 31 With this, the major thrust of IUSSTF is through its linkage of university, industry and government institutions. This linkage and functioning is founded on the principles of building awareness, capitalising on S & T, support, nurture and encouraging science and technology between the two countries. 32 IUSSTF has various programmes and mechanisms through which it promotes and encourages S & T cooperation. 33 From the time of its inception, IUSSTF has helped to bring 14,000 Indian and US scientists together to collaborate on various joint and exchange projects. 34 Out of the many projects which have been executed under the cooperation, there have been some that may be deemed as good practices. These collaborations also show links between the best Indian institutes and top Ivy League universities in the US. In addition, some others depict the ‘Triple Helix’ model based collaborative projects. However, apart from the specific cases of the successful projects, IUSSTF has made some significant achievements via the Indo-US Grand Challenges, United States-India Science & Technology Endowment Fund and the Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Centre (JCERDC). These are also based on public-private mode of funding and one of the recent well-known examples is the Solar Energy research collaboration with help of the Bhaskara Advanced Solar Energy (BASE) Fellowship Program. 35

30 http://www.iusstf.org/story/53-10-About-us.html 31 Ibid. 32 Ibid. 33 There are 10 different programmes which IUSSTF runs under its framework of cooperation including: visitation Programmes, innovation & entrepreneurship programmes, US-India Women in Science Cooperation, India-US Grand Challenges, bilateral Conferences & workshops, Indo-US Public Private Joint Networked Centres, Indo-US R & D Joint Networked Centres, training programmes & Advanced schools, India-US Virtual Institute for Mathematical & Statistical Sciences and flagship programmes. 34 http://www.iusstf.org/story/53-15-Accomplishments.html 35 Ibid.

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University to University PDShoe ‘Step synchronised vibrators to improve walking of patients with Parkinson disease’ is one of the most successful projects carried out by a team of doctors and scientists from India and the United States. A research team comprising of people from India’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the University of Delaware, US worked jointly to develop a unique and special technology enabled shoe which helps people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) walk more steadily through vibration and tactile feedback. Recent pilot studies and tests which the team of scientist and doctors have undertaken show that the PDShoe project has a positive and promising future of providing safe walking to PD patients. 36 This project was funded by the India-US Science and Technology Endowment Fund and was started in 2011. University – Industry Commercialising a Scalable Low-Cost Arsenic Remediation Technology for Societal Impact This project is also another good example of work done by scientists, engineers and experts from academia and industry. The outcome of the project has been very positive as the team has jointly worked, developed and patented an arsenic remediation technique called ’Electro Chemical Arsenic Remediation (ECAR)’ which will provide an effective and low-cost arsenic remediation of water for schools. The project was started in 2012 and is based on a business delivery model. The partners in this project are Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India; Luminous Water Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Gurgaon, India; LIGTT Corporation, Oakland, CA, USA and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, CA, USA. The reason why this project is deemed important is due to the fact that around 60 million people in West Bengal and Bangladesh as well as more people in China, Nepal and Cambodia are at risk due to exposure to high level of arsenic in drinking water. 37 This academia-industry partnership project has shown how an effective cooperation in joint R & D research between India and the US can result in the alleviation of the living conditions of the people. Joint Networked Centres Indo-US Joint Centre for Advanced Research in Machine Learning, Game Theory, and Optimisation This project is yet another example of Indo-US joint research collaboration in science & technology which has and is successfully working in advanced research in the field of machine learning, game theory and optimisation. This joint networked centre project got conceptualised in an India-US joint symposium in November 2010. 38 The project is very relevant and is an example of a success story because of the fact that it falls under one of the key areas of India-US strategic partnership in relation to ICTs. The project partners include a good mix of academia and industry including: the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; Microsoft Research India, MIT, Boston; Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh and Harvard University, Boston. Among these 36 https://www.udel.edu/researchmagazine/issue/vol4_no1/taking_steps.html 37 http://www.usistef.org/arsenic-project.aspx 38 http://drona.csa.iisc.ernet.in/~indous/index.html

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organisations, the leading institution from the Indian side is IISc Bangalore while in the US the lead is taken by Harvard University. Indo-US Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Centre One of the other strategic and crucial areas of science and technology cooperation between India and the US is the establishment of the Indo-US Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Centre. This joint centre has been formulated under the umbrella mechanism of PACE (Partnership to Advance Clean Energy) which was agreed under the MoU signed between the former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama during the visit of Manmohan Singh to the US in 2009. 39 This resulted in the signing of an agreement between Department of Energy, USA and the Government of India with regard to the establishment of the Indo-US Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Centre in November, 2010. 40 The key areas of research cooperation under this joint research centre are solar energy, second generation biofuels and energy efficiency of buildings. The success case of the US-India joint centre for building energy research and development will be discussed below. United States-India Joint Centre for Building Energy Research and Development As has been indicated previously, one of the better known examples of research cooperation between India and the United States in the domain of clean energy is the establishment of the US-India Joint Centre for Building Energy Research and Development. The two institutions from the US and India which are partners in this project are the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in the United States and the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) University, India. They are collaborating in trying to seek ways to significantly reduce energy consumption in buildings in both countries. 41 Three important priority goals and objectives of this project are: to identify research areas related to challenges of low energy consumption buildings; to integrate academic and industry linkages from both nations so that the technology and research outcomes are brought to the marketI and to lead crucial R & D and deployment mechanism. 42

this project is the low cost of this rotavirus vaccine. Rotavirus is responsible for the large number of infant deaths in India where its prevalence is much more than in the Sub-Saharan regions. 44 The price of this vaccine is very low and has been kept accessible with Rs 200 per dose or USD 3.2. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) in association with Grand Challenges, Canada and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), have funded and supported numerous projects in India related to health, maternal care and child nutrition. BMGF can be taken as an example of how US based international NGOs in consortium with international affiliates collaborate with government agencies in India in addressing socioeconomic issues through S & T projects. A recent example is the initiative by the BMGF to produce an economically viable low cost and environmentally sustainable toilet technology for the rural and semi-urban areas in India. Bill & Malinda Gates Foundation is an important organisation as pertains to the India and United States science and technology cooperation, because it has tremendously helped and supported numerous projects related to health and sanitation. The best example to understand its role in Indian Innovation system, could be related to ‘Reinvent the Toilet Challenge: India’ which was launched in 2013 in collaboration with the Department of Bio-technology and Bio-technology Industry Research Assistance Council. 45 Further, two mega technology demonstration fairs were organised in India for showcasing the technologies and products related to ‘Reinvent the Toilet Challenge: India’. These incorporated 99 international participants including Indian organisations working in the field of toilet technologies and who are associated with this program. Given the recent cleanliness drive and emphasis on building toilets by the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 46 this program of creating and developing new toilet technologies for India and majorly for its rural masses will therefore foster further innovation in the field. Transforming Maternal and Child Health and Wellness: The 1,000 Days Initiative

This project on the rotavirus vaccine called ROTAVAC® was conceived in 2000 and it is a good example of the Triple Helix based projects which incorporates partners from the academia, industry and government institutions. The vaccine for commercial use came through in March 2015 through Bharat Biotech, the main producer of the vaccine. 43 There were around 500 scientist and experts from India and the United States involved in this project in the past 15 years. The partners included the United States. National Institute of Health, India’s Department of Biotechnology, US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Bharat Biotech, Stanford University, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and some other institutes. The most striking feature of

This project funded by the BMGF and Grand Challenges, Canada has been carried out by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) which is working with the help of the combination of technology and a traditional mix of community health workers. One of the important aspects of this project is its integrated approach with respect to well-being and health check-ups during the course of pregnancy. The integrated approach provides good care for new-borns and promotes good maternal health by providing the requisite nutrition, immunisations and safe drinking water. 47 The community health worker is the key person in delivering the services in this model of maternal and child health care and is backed-up by telemedicine centres connected to Apollo Hospital Groups. 48 The societal relevance of this project makes it a success story in terms of science and technology cooperation for changing people’s live in a positive manner. This project is touching even the most marginalised sections

39 http://www.iusstf.org/story/53-61-Joint-Clean-Energy-Research-and-Development-Center%28JCERDC%29.html 40 Ibid. 41 http://cberd.org/about-cberd/introduction/ 42 Ibid. 43 http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/a-new-made-in-india-rotavirus-vaccine-might-be-the-worlds-cheapest-746052/

44 Ibid. 45 http://www.susana.org/en/resources/library/details/2001/ 46 http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/a-toilet-for-every-school-says-pm-modi-calling-for-clean-india-649194/ 47 https://savinglivesatbirth.net/summaries/152/ 48 Ibid.

‘Triple Helix’ model projects Rotavirus Vaccine

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of society by helping them to access basic child and maternal health care. The larger goal of this project is to launch the 1,000 days effort based on three different models which are social entrepreneur/private pay model, NGO model and the government model. 49 In this effort, the Public Health Foundation of India is being assisted by the Harvard School of Public Health. The India-USA cooperation in science and technology has grown from the past to date with various facets and dimensions. There have been some exceptional cases of achievements in the India-USA cooperation in the field of health, medicine, energy and technology. The cooperation is stronger in the field of health and medicine and the above mentioned projects like PDShoe, RotaVac and the 1,000 Days Initiative are some good examples of success stories. Furthermore, private sector and non-governmental organisations are also playing an equal or more enhanced role in enhancing the India-USA science and technology cooperation.

6.2 India-France S & T collaboration Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (CEFIPRA/IFCPAR) IFCPAR was established in 1987 and is funded by the Department of Science & Technology of the Government of India and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of France. 50 One of the key areas of interest of the joint Indo-French cooperation in science and technology lies in pure and fundamental research in the field of mathematics, chemistry and physics. The intensity of the success of cooperation in the field of fundamental research can be seen from the total number of research papers being published as an outcome of the joint research. From 1990 to 2012 in the area of physics including astrophysics, 4,121 research papers were published and in chemistry including electrochemistry, 1,184 papers h. 51 The notable projects are briefly explored below. Research and Development of Micromegas Detector and Related Devices This research project in the area of fundamental physics started in 2011 for three years. This is an exemplary project in the area of time projection chamber (TPC) based on micromegas detectors. This is an invaluable project for future generations of Indian and French scientist and more specifically physicists working on various experiments related to TPC. The joint project enables the optimisation design and operational mechanism related to TPC. 52 One of the important aspects of this project is the training of young students in the field of designing, constructing and working with micromegas detectors. This experiment is also significant in terms of the cutting edge knowledge which India has gained from France in the field of time projection chamber based on micromegas detectors which was invented by the French physicist Georges Charpak. The primary partners in this fundamental research project are the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics and CEA/Saclay Gif Sur Yutte, France.

49 Ibid. 50 http://www.cefipra.org/section.aspx?catid=818&langid=1 51 http://www.nistads.res.in/images/projectreports/cefipra.pdf 52 http://www.cefipra.org/detail_page.aspx?langid=1&id=1406

The following table outlines some products and process outcomes of joint science and technology cooperation between India and France. More specifically, it is the result of the research collaboration between Indian and French scientists and engineers working on the platform of the Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (CEFIPRA/IFCPAR). Subject

Product

Processes

Chemistry

Micro post column reactors new polymer for microfluidic chip surface treatment

New strategy for low cost chip novel technology proposed for the treatment of pre hydrolysis liquor (PHL)

Material Science

3 microstructures (Er, Hm, and TNS3) polyaniline film with poly (vinyl chloride): An insulating commercial polymer

Insulating commercial polymer prepared by industrially acceptable methods

Life / Health

Two-component tissue adhesive from biocompatible and biodegradable polysaccharides

Developed a multi-copy DNA sequence scanning algorithm (ADAPT)

Table 1: Products and process outcomes of the joint Indo-French cooperation in S & T. Source: CEFIPRA

6.3 Indo-German S & T collaboration In 2007, an MoU was signed for the establishment of the Indo-German Science and Technology Centre. 53 The S & T centre finally came into existence in 2010. 54 Both countries have agreed to commit 2 million euros every year towards research funding for this centre. 55 Some of the main program frameworks for science and technology cooperation between these two countries are related to the Indo-German Science and Technology Centre 2+2 projects, DST-DAAD programmes and DST-Max Planck Society programme collaboration projects. Examples of some successful projects will be discussed below. Indo-German Science and Technology Centre 2+2 projects Development, Characterisation and Validation of Nanoparticles for the Adsorption of Hydrophobic Uremic Toxins in Renal Failure Patients (NPORE) The NPORE project is a good example of health and medicine related cooperation between India and Germany. One of the main goals of this project is the development, modification, characterisation and validation of nanoparticles for adsorption of the hydrophobic uremic toxins from the serum of renal failure patients. 56 This project cooperation is on the basis of the 2+2 mechanism which has two partners from industry and two partners from academia. The two Indian partners are the Department of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad and Syngene International Ltd. Bangalore, India. From the German side the two partners are the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Institute of Biomaterial Science, the Department of Nephrology Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin and eXcorLab GmbH, Obernburg, Germany. 53 http://igstc.org/IGSTC-Annual-Report-2011-12.pdf 54 Ibid. 55 Ibid. 56 Ibid.

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Correlation with gaps analysis

Department of Science and Technology-Max Planck Society programme collaboration projects Gravitational Wave Physics, Cosmology and Gravity Projects The project on gravitational wave physics was set up through the collaboration of physicists working in both countries in the research area of gravitational wave physics. This collaborative program was set up in 2011 for a period of 3 years to mainly study gravitational waves (GW) which are ripples in the curvature of space-time that propagate as a wave and travel outward from the source. 57 The collaborating institutions in this joint physics research project are the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram and the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, Potsdam. Furthermore, the Cosmology and Gravity Project is another example of a good cooperation between Indian and German physicists in the area of cosmology and gravity. The project mainly tried to study the quantum gravity in a top-down manner rather than the more traditional style of studying loopquantum or string theory. This project also started in 2011 and ran for 3 years. In a nutshell, it can be noted that cooperation between India and the United States has grown tremendously in scope and size and more specifically in promoting the ‘Triple Helix’ type cooperation. The fields of health, medicine, hygiene and sanitation have been the key areas of cooperation between these two countries. The role of private organisations like the Bill & Malinda Gates Foundation is also unprecedented. India and France have also made their cooperation stronger both in quantitative and qualitative terms. The role of Indo-French Centre for Promotion of Advanced research has likewise been very important. The India-Germany science and technology cooperation has also grown tremendously. Various institutional mechanisms like the Indo-German Science and Technology Centre’s 2+2 projects, the DSTDAAD programmes and the DST-Max Planck Society programme collaboration projects have helped in making the science and technology relationship with Germany stronger and deeper. India and Germany have stronger relationships in the area of pure sciences like physics, chemistry, biology and engineering & technology.

7 Interviews with Indian funding organisations cooperating with Europe: Correlation with gaps analysis

Some discussions were held with international cooperation units of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Views gathered from these important departments of the Ministry of Science and Technology and other agencies are summarised below. 58 The discussion points highlight on the advantages as well as disadvantages of the India and European Union science and technology cooperation. The following points also provide accounts of shortcomings which relate to identifying and understanding the gaps. Discussions held at DST, CSIR and with some project members associated with DBT related projects revealed an overwhelming satisfaction with earlier FP7 projects. Scientists and research managers at these departments are aware of the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme which has a budget of 70 billion euros with a further 15 billion euros up to 2016. However, there is a perception of ambiguity as to the involvement or extension of India into this new platform of Horizon 2020. EU officers in New Delhi and during other workshops have intimated that much of the funding via Horizon 2020 to India is likely to be operational based on equal participation or when matching funding is procured. In Horizon 2020 cooperation projects, Indian participants do not get automatic funding which was possible in the previous framework programmes and hence Indian participants have to manage their participation with their own funds. 59 Equal participation in joint S & T cooperation programmes and projects that involve the matching of grants is a mode of funding already in vogue at the DST, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. For instance, India runs joint advance research laboratories with France, Germany, the UK and the USA. Besides, India has S & T cooperation with countries such as Australia (Australia India Strategic Research Fund) involving nearly AUD 100 million with equal participation spread over ten years. Given this type of existing arrangements with several countries, there is a positive view towards equal participation with matching grants from India as in the case of the Horizon 2020 programme. However, there is a perception of ambiguity with regard to the actual operational mechanisms of this new emerging programme. 60 Exchange programmes such as Erasmus Mundus and Marie Curie have generated tremendous interest and motivation for collaboration in India. There is a very high degree of satisfaction with these exchange programmes. 58 Methodological views expressed have emanated from discussions and brief interviews held with officials of the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Biotechnology, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of the Government of India. These officials are working at the undersecretary and deputy secretary level. Due to confidentiality reasons their names cannot be disclosed, except identifying their respective departments and functions. All the details of discussions were obtained in the months of July, August and September 2015. 59 http://indigoprojects.eu/funding/other/horizon2020/ 60 This view is expressed by some of the officials as part of discussions. The names cannot be disclosed for confidentiality reasons.

57 Ibid.

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Correlation with gaps analysis

Key recommendations of comparative analysis

Any freezing or reduction in funding on these exchange programmes from the EU and other related science bodies is likely to cause great disappointment in Indian science institutions. India’s new government under Prime Minister Modi is committed to continuing its participation and contribution in funding the EU’s ‘big science’ and ‘high technology’ projects. Similar sentiments and views were echoed in the DST and CSIR. India’s funding and participatory grants for S & T cooperation on programmes such as the Horizon 2020 is most likely to be awarded to India’s national flagship programmes such as digital India, make in India, Ganga cleaning, and renewable energy with a focus on solar energy, smart cities and industrial corridors. This view resonated quite clearly at the DST, CSIR and other science agencies. Incidentally, the outgoing EU Ambassador in New Delhi, Mr João Cravinho, commented a few months back in an interview that ‘the EU and several of its Member States have promised major initiatives in response to flagship programmes being undertaken by the government such as Make in India, Clean India and Digital India…. One possible new field of action is the cleaning of Ganga for which Europe has vast experience in river basin planning and the implementation of clean technologies for water treatment in a cost effective way’. 61 The EU already has an ongoing cooperation with Maharashtra government on urban development. There is a strong view that in future, the Horizon 2020 programme should issue joint call for projects between the EU and India involving the ‘Triple Helix’ relationships with science institutions, government, university and business enterprises from both sides. There is a strong view also towards consortia based collaboration in DST’s International Cooperation Division. A clear reference to the energy sector was noted whereby India and the USA have a joint energy R & D centre with an estimated budget of USD 100 million. Much of such joint research funding from India is already routed through the Global Innovation and Technology Alliance (GITA) 62 a consortium platform between the Ministry of Science and Technology (Technology Development Board of DST), Confederation of Indian Industry and other Indian stakeholders. Such joint projects and calls are already being initiated between India and the UK, Spain, Israel, Taiwan, Finland.

61 See Financial Express, 8 May 2015 62 http://gita.org.in/about.html

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8 Future of India-European Union Science and Technology cooperation: Key recommendations of comparative analysis

One of the main aspects of this report was to identify and assess gaps and shortcomings in the context of the India-European Union science and technology cooperation in comparison to some selected countries. As discussed in the earlier section on ‘context and background of gaps analysis’, the two important questions which were placed in the introductory parts were: ‘What is the importance of gaps analysis?’ and ‘Why is the identification and analysis of gaps crucial in the context of science and technology cooperation?’ In the light of these important issues, some key recommendations are given here under in the specific context of the India-European Union science and technology cooperation. Leading European Union universities in science and technology research and leading R & D institutes should be encouraged to participate with leading Indian universities and R & D institutes as part of the cooperation. This is important since this would automatically pass on the experiences of leading institutions and best practices in the commercialisation of R & D results. Furthermore, organisation like EBTC (European Business and Technology Centre) should play a more important role in this context by extending its scope and horizon to other areas of science and technology. Several flagship programmes of the new Modi Government have also opened up new potential areas for cooperation. This would also require special mechanisms for the support of commercialisation of the R & D output and a specific funding organisation catering to the needs of India and the European Union. EBTC can also be made a nodal agency for handling science and technology funding for the India-European Union cooperation projects and joint research with regard to commercialisation of research. Compared to the USA, one of the gaps in the India-EU cooperation is the relative absence of the involvement of private foundations. Organisations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Grand Challenges through their initiatives have ventured into the major sectors of health, environment and renewable energy. They have been providing a lot of seed funding and support for projects which directly relates to reduction of poverty and betterment of health. Some leading EU based foundations could be encouraged to partner in the EU-India cooperation projects. India runs joint research laboratories physically located in India to advance scientific knowledge in some niche areas of science and technology with some Member States. Even though individual EU based countries such as France and Germany operate such joint labs in New Delhi, there is no EU based facility. There is a scope for creating such a window to specifically work on India’s new flagship programmes such as digital India and clean India. There is tremendous scope for government, industry and academia, that is, Triple Helix mode of partnerships. Inclusion of business enterprises or user industries in the EU India cooperation on both sides could increase the potential for commercialisation of research results. This would also increase the probability of creating more intellectual property in the related fields of

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Key recommendations of comparative analysis

science and technology cooperation. Encouraging ‘Triple Helix’ mode of cooperation projects would also provide a qualitative change. Lack of a balanced nature of project partnership creates an asymmetrical type of project collaboration, which does not necessarily help cooperation in a balanced manner. The best example could be seen in the IndiaGermany 2+2 projects which has two partners from Germany and two partners from India. This issue needs to be addressed as it has a direct influence on the output and quality of research and development work. In the case of the India European Union research projects, many of the projects have a big disparity in the number of partners involved’; for instance 1:10 and 2:15 which corresponds for the former case to 10 European partners working with a single Indian partner, organisation or institute. This has to be addressed in a balanced manner, from the project conception and design stage. Lack of a database of product or process outcomes related to the IndiaEuropean Union cooperation hampers the retrieval of the necessary information and knowledge when assessing the positive impacts of the IndiaEuropean Union cooperation. There should be a database of all past achievements and outcomes at all levels of the India and European Union science and technology cooperation. This could provide much better insights about the strengths and weakness of the cooperation to a variety of stakeholders.

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