India-France Strategic Partnership and ATL Bridge

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Nice and announced 13 major outcomes to strengthen ties between India and France.
The two nations agreed to deepen their cooperation in critical areas like technology, artificial intelligence, and defence.
The India-France ATL Bridge was officially launched during the Bharat Innovates 2026 summit held in France.

The India-France Strategic Partnership is a comprehensive bilateral relationship that was established in 1998.
It covers a wide range of sectors including defence, space, civil nuclear energy, technology, and climate action.
The partnership also focuses heavily on boosting trade, education, and people-to-people connections.

The India-France Innovation Roadmap 2030 was adopted to build a long-term framework for cooperation in startups and critical technologies.
A joint AI Working Group was established to handle artificial intelligence governance, research, and policy coordination.
A National Centre of Excellence for Skilling in Aeronautics will be set up at the National Skill Training Institute in Kanpur.
Payment services through UPI were expanded to Paris Airport and Nice for better convenience.
Ten additional Indian startups will be incubated at Station F, which is recognized as Europe's largest startup hub.
The India-France Centre of Digital Sciences will be set up jointly by the DST and INRIA from France.
A new ICCR India Chair was created at Université Paris-Saclay to focus on artificial intelligence and innovation.
The ICMR and the Health Data Hub of France partnered up to work on secure health-data sharing and medical research.
A new annual mechanism was created with the target of doubling bilateral trade within 5 years.
An Economic Security Dialogue was launched to cover critical minerals, semiconductors, and cybersecurity.
A Declaration of Intent was signed for railway modernization and technology transfer.
An agreement on classified information protection was signed to strengthen defence-industrial cooperation and Make in India initiatives.
The ISRO and the CNES signed a Letter of Intent to expand space cooperation for human spaceflight and the Gaganyaan mission.

The India-France ATL Bridge serves as a high-level bilateral education and technology ecosystem corridor.
It connects school-level innovators, educators, and technology frameworks across both countries.
The initiative was established through a joint partnership between the Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, and La Fondation Dassault Systèmes.
It aims to democratize early-stage engineering and design thinking among school-aged youth.
The partnership exports India's grassroots tinkering methodology to build a collaborative international student network.
It establishes France's first School Innovation Lab by replicating India's ATL model.
Cross-border mentorship programs connect young innovators with global experts to foster entrepreneurship.
The labs provide practical exposure to advanced technologies like robotics, artificial intelligence, and 3D printing.
The initiative is inspired by the philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam to promote global collective development.

Bharat Innovates 2026 is the maiden edition of a national deep-tech acceleration program launched in Nice, France.
It acts as a global launchpad for cutting-edge technologies emerging out of India.
The initiative is hosted and run under the Ministry of Education, Government of India.
The year 2026 is officially celebrated as the India-France Year of Innovation.
The event brings 120 leading Indian deep-tech startups to France for direct interaction with global buyers and investors.
Premier institutions like the IITs and IISc participate to showcase India's research strengths.
Innovations span across 13 frontier technology sectors including semiconductors, quantum computing, and biotechnology.
Dedicated matchmaking platforms connect startups with investors to accelerate funding opportunities.
The framework supports joint research and rapid product validation to help startups enter global markets efficiently.

The India-France Strategic Partnership was originally established in the year 1998.
The India-France Innovation Roadmap 2030 sets long-term goals for technology and startup cooperation.
Station F, where ten new Indian startups will be incubated, is located in France.
The 2026 year is officially designated as the India-France Year of Innovation.
The Bharat Innovates 2026 event brought 120 Indian deep-tech startups to Nice, France.