India has just opened association talks with the EU. But so far, there are few joint projects to build on
Photo credits: lukas7 / BigStock
India may be the next country to join the EU’s Horizon Europe programme, but so far its participation as a third country has not been particularly strong.
Since 2021, Indian organisations have participated in Horizon Europe projects 81 times, and no institution so far has taken part in more than two projects. The EU has only contributed €2.4 million to these projects, as Indian organisations are typically not eligible to receive EU funding.
India ranks 11th among third countries in the programme, behind much smaller economies such as Colombia, Uganda and Australia. Its share of the participation among third countries is only 1.7% and only 0.1% in Horizon Europe overall.
But the groundwork has been laid to increase cooperation. In January, the EU and India signed a free trade agreement involving a range of science and innovation tie-ups, including opening exploratory talks for the country to associate to Horizon Europe.
The two have already announced a…
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