The go to of UK Prime Minister (PM) Keir Starmer to India signifies an acceleration of the bilateral relationship, shifting past conventional cooperation towards a formalised, high-stakes alignment. This trajectory is rooted in the India-UK Vision 2035, a doc that units bold targets geared toward delivering “transformative opportunities and tangible benefits” for each nations, which was introduced throughout PM Narendra Modi’s June 2025 go to to the UK.
Structured scientific collaboration between the two international locations started at the 1st UK-India Science & Innovation Task Force in 2014. These preliminary agreements shaped the foundation for focused funding mechanisms, comparable to the Newton Bhabha programme, which drives foundational analysis. Core pillars had been later established beneath the India-UK Technology Security Initiative (TSI) of 2024.
The operationalisation of the TSI, which is collectively monitored by the nationwide safety advisers of each international locations and undergoes biannual opinions, demonstrates that technological collaboration is now inextricably linked to nationwide safety and financial resilience. This excessive stage of scrutiny and integration ensures that cooperation in key and rising applied sciences — from Artificial Intelligence (AI) to vital minerals — is prioritised for speedy, tangible early-harvest outcomes. The cooperation extends to superior applied sciences via initiatives comparable to the Electric Propulsion Capability Partnership (EPCP) and Jet Engine Advanced Core Technologies (JEACT). The India-UK relationship has additionally established a deep basis for facilitating long-term joint R&D in areas comparable to semiconductors, quantum computing, biotechnology, and superior supplies.
The collaboration throughout the Covid-19 pandemic exemplifies our collaboration. The speedy and big effort involving Oxford University, AstraZeneca, and the Serum Institute of India (SII) resulted in the swift manufacturing and distribution of vaccines, saving lives and critically mitigating the world unfold of the virus. Now, the partnership is of course positioned to maneuver into cutting-edge fields comparable to cell and gene remedy, and genomic drugs discovery, which aligns immediately with India’s new strategic thrust into biomanufacturing and biofoundry capabilities via the Biotechnology Research Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development (Bio-RIDE) scheme. Here, the Indian division of biotechnology’s lengthy partnership with the Wellcome Trust has laid the foundations of high-quality biomedical analysis and is now coming into its third section.
Quantum computing, AI, and biotechnology are globally transformative applied sciences, and bilateral collaboration should guarantee their purposes serve the world public good. A primary instance of this co-creation mannequin is the analysis tie-up between Imperial College London and IIT Bombay. This initiative is pioneering the use of quantum computing and biotechnology to assist farmers develop stronger crops which might be extra resilient to the challenges posed by local weather change. Both nations additionally prioritise AI. Plans are underway to ascertain a joint AI centre beneath the TSI. Future efforts should focus not solely on R&D but in addition on the moral and secure governance of AI. While these areas provide nice alternatives and speedy development, their unregulated enlargement can pose vital safety and societal dangers. Here, India and the UK have the alternative to conduct periodic, rigorous scientific opinions of developments in these areas and to affect regulatory insurance policies and their compliance.
Future collaboration is pushed by the convergence of each nations’ home scientific and technological priorities, making certain that bilateral funding immediately serves strategic financial aims. India is aggressively pursuing technological development via a mission-mode strategy. Initiatives embrace the launch of the National Quantum Mission, the India AI Mission, the National Green Hydrogen Mission, and the Deep Ocean Mission. The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) has been operationalised with a mandate to reinforce participation from the personal sector and promote interdisciplinary analysis aligned with nationwide priorities. The UK maintains equally clear and long-term R&D priorities supported by substantial public expenditure.
The TSI explicitly defines collaboration throughout seven core technological pillars: AI, quantum computing, biotechnology, vital minerals, telecommunications, superior supplies, and semiconductors. By specializing in these high-stakes sectors, the partnership ensures that R&D immediately contributes to mutual financial development, safety, and supply-chain resilience, as outlined in Vision 2035.
The partnership’s subsequent section should prioritise “science for our peoples” by concentrating on collaboration in cutting-edge fields that generate societal worth and safety advantages. Indian founders are more and more concerning the UK as a strategic “proving ground”, valuing the maturity of its frameworks and the confidence it conjures up in funding. This notion facilitates a vital shift, enabling Indian firms to maneuver from merely exporting expertise to launching refined, compliance-ready world firms.
The UK-India strategic technological partnership should transfer with velocity and urgency. By aligning the scientific genius of India and the UK, the two nations possess the collective functionality not solely to attain shared financial targets but in addition to decisively tackle existential world challenges, alternatives and threats, delivering cleaner air, more healthy populations, and resilient economies worldwide.
Ok VijayRaghavan is Homi Bhabha chair professor, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, and former principal scientific adviser to the authorities of India. The views expressed are private