Indian universities, research institutes and companies could apply for direct EU funding and lead joint projects in part of Horizon Europe under an agreement whose terms the European Commission and India have finished negotiating. The Commission’s EURAXESS network reported the outcome on 6 November, and India’s Ministry of Science and Technology confirmed it on 7 November. The EU envisages association in January 2027, subject to signature and completion of the required procedures.
What changes for Indian research teams?
Indian organisations already take part in Horizon Europe. The European External Action Service’s guide to EU–India cooperation says most topics are open to cooperation with India, and some calls encourage it. The distinction is how an Indian participant pays for its work. Under the existing arrangements described by the EU, eligibility to join a project generally does not bring automatic eligibility for a grant. Teams ordinarily bring their own funding, which can include national co-funding where it is available.
Key facts
- The agreement would cover Pillar II of Horizon Europe, the part that funds collaborative research on global challenges and European industrial competitiveness.
- Eligible organisations in India would be able to seek EU funding directly and coordinate collaborative projects covered by the agreement.
- The €93.5 billion figure cited by the EU is the budget for the entire 2021–2027 programme.
- The two sides have completed negotiations. The new participation and funding arrangements apply only once the agreement enters into force.
There are exceptions to the existing funding rules. The EU’s guide says an Indian organisation can receive funding in exceptional cases if the Commission or the relevant funding body considers its participation essential to a project. It also identifies opportunities under the European Research Council and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. Those routes are distinct from the changes agreed in the negotiations for collaborative projects in Pillar II.
The change matters at the point when a consortium decides who will take part and who will coordinate the bid. An eligible Indian institution could apply for EU support for its share of the project and take responsibility for leading the partnership. Association would put participating organisations on the same footing as EU counterparts in the programme areas covered, according to EURAXESS. Applicants would still have to meet the conditions of the individual call.
Why the agreement covers one part of Horizon Europe
The Council of the European Union’s decision of 26 June, published in the Official Journal on 2 July, authorised talks on Indian participation in EU programmes and association specifically to Pillar II. The mandate separated general questions of participation from the research terms: the negotiators were to consult the Council’s Asia-Oceania Working Party on the former and its Working Party on Research on the latter.
Pillar II includes calls on health, digital technologies, industry and space, climate, energy and mobility, as well as food and the bioeconomy. India’s science ministry says it sees a fit between those areas and its domestic research priorities. The ministry frames the agreement as a way to build on joint work already conducted under the EU–India science and technology agreement and the Trade and Technology Council.
Formal signature is the next step once the two sides complete their procedures. For a consortium preparing an application, the practical question is whether the agreement is in force and its particular call falls within the scope of the agreement. Until then, the existing funding rules remain the basis for planning Indian participation.
