Unveiled: UK-India collaborative industrial R&D programme

Last week in New Delhi, new funding up to £5mn from the Technology Strategy Board which is the UK’s innovation agency, with matched resources from India’s Department of Science and Technology was announced to support joint Research & Development projects led by businesses in the two countries.

The UK-India Collaborative Industrial R&D Programme aims to support business-led collaborative R&D projects between Indian and UK companies. The projects can also include academic organisations from both countries.

The competition focuses on two areas in particular: Cleantech, especially energy systems; and affordable healthcare. There is an urgent need to make better use of valuable energy resources and reduce their environmental impact. One of the priorities is to integrate future demand and energy supply into a flexible, secure and resilient energy system. Affordable healthcare can encompass solutions based on a number of different technology areas, including: prevention; earlier and better diagnosis; access to healthcare; treatments; medical devices; as well as improved patient monitoring.

The programme was announced by Dr Arabinda Mitra, Head – International, Department of Science and Technology and Sir Mark Walport, Global Chief Scientific Advisor, UK at the Global Innovation and Technology Alliance Platform event.

David Golding, Head of Strategy at the Technology Strategy Board, UK who was in New Delhi to attend the event said – “The Technology Strategy Board is very pleased to be working with the Global Innovation & Technology Alliance and the Department of Science & Technology. This is a very important and exciting opportunity. Combining the best of Indian and UK expertise and capabilities has the potential to lead to some truly innovative developments, to the benefit of both countries.”

We, at the UK Science and Innovation Network in India are delighted by this announcement. This is the first bilateral programme to be established between the Global Innovation & Technology Alliance, on behalf of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, and the Technology Strategy Board, UK. We have been working closely with the TSB to establish opportunities for UK-India Innovation collaboration and this call is the first step in that direction.

• Know more about the competition
• TSB’s Press release