India–France Special Global Strategic Partnership: 13 Nice Summit Outcomes 2026

India–France diplomatic ties date to 1947. In 1998, France became the first country to sign a Strategic Partnership with India — and notably the first such partnership France had signed with a non-Western nation. Crucially, France refused to impose sanctions on India following the Pokhran-II nuclear tests that same year, cementing a foundation of deep strategic trust that has endured for nearly three decades.

In 2023, during Modi’s visit to France as Guest of Honour at the French National Day celebrations — marking the 25th anniversary of the partnership — both countries adopted the Horizon 2047 Roadmap, a long-term blueprint aligning bilateral ties with the centenary of India’s independence, 100 years of India–France diplomatic relations, and 50 years of the Strategic Partnership.

In February 2026, President Macron visited India for the AI Impact Summit, during which ties were elevated to the Special Global Strategic Partnership — the highest category in India’s bilateral classification — accompanied by 21 agreements, including the launch of the India–France Year of Innovation and a BEL–Safran JV to manufacture HAMMER missiles in India.

Innovation & Technology

• India–France Innovation Roadmap 2030: Long-term framework for AI, critical technologies, startups, and academic mobility
• Joint India–France AI Working Group: Dedicated governance mechanism for AI research, startup partnerships, and policy coordination
• India–France Centre of Digital Sciences: To be jointly established by India’s DST and France’s INRIA (Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique)
• ICCR India Chair in AI, Innovation and Culture: Established at Université Paris-Saclay, a leading French research university

Startups & Entrepreneurship

• Station F Incubation: 10 additional Indian startups to be incubated at Station F — Europe’s largest startup campus (~34,000 sq m, 1,000+ startups), Paris

Digital Payments & Skilling

• UPI Expansion: Extended to Nice Airport and Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris — benefiting India’s ~119,000-strong diaspora in mainland France
• National Centre of Excellence for Skilling in Aeronautics: To be established at National Skill Training Institute, Kanpur

Health & Data

• ICMR–Health Data Hub Collaboration: Secure health-data sharing, AI-driven medical research, and digital health governance between India’s ICMR and France’s Health Data Hub

Trade & Economic Security

• Trade Doubling Target: New high-level annual mechanism to double bilateral trade from $15.81 billion to $32 billion within five years
• Economic Security Dialogue: Covering critical minerals, semiconductors, energy security, cybersecurity, and strategic technologies

Railways & Space

• Railway Modernisation Declaration of Intent: Technology transfer, infrastructure development, supply-chain integration (Alstom already present in India)
• ISRO–CNES Letter of Intent: Covering human spaceflight, microgravity research, Gaganyaan mission, and Bharatiya Antariksh Station

Defence

• Classified Information Protection Agreement: Legal framework for secure information sharing to support defence-industrial cooperation and Make in India

France is India’s second-largest arms supplier. The defence relationship spans fighters, submarines, engines, and joint exercises:

• Rafale (Air Force): All 36 Rafale fighter jets inducted under the 2016 deal, completed in 2022
• Rafale-Marine (Navy): Inter-Governmental Agreement signed April 2025 for 26 Rafale-Marine aircraft with technology transfer
• Scorpène Submarines (Project 75): All six submarines built at Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL), Mumbai under French technology transfer; 6th vessel commissioned January 2025
• Safran Engine MRO: India’s first deep-level aircraft engine MRO facility by a global OEM, inaugurated near Hyderabad in November 2025 — services up to 300 LEAP engines annually
• HAMMER Missiles: BEL–Safran JV to manufacture HAMMER air-to-surface missiles in India (signed February 2026)
• H125 Helicopter Assembly: India’s first private-sector helicopter assembly line, Tata–Airbus JV at Vemagal, Karnataka (inaugurated February 2026)

Joint Military Exercises: Exercise Shakti (Army) | Exercise Varuna (Navy) | Exercise Garuda (Air Force)

France was the first country to sign a nuclear energy agreement with India following the IAEA and NSG waiver granted to India. The proposed Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant in Maharashtra — six European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs) from EDF, set to become the world’s largest nuclear plant by capacity — faced decade-long delays due to complications under India’s Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.

The SHANTI Act, 2025 has transformed this landscape. It replaced both the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, introducing a legal framework that allows private investment in the nuclear sector. Both Modi and Macron at Nice noted that the SHANTI Act opens fresh opportunities for cooperation in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), Advanced Modular Reactor technologies, and clean nuclear energy — with India targeting 100 GW of nuclear power by 2047.

Bharat Innovates 2026 (Nice, 14–16 June) was jointly inaugurated by Modi and Macron at the Palais des Expositions. It featured 120 Indian deep-tech startups across 13 frontier sectors including advanced computing, semiconductors, space, defence, healthcare, biotech, energy, quantum, and next-generation communications. Notable participants include Agnikul Cosmos, Dhruva Space, GalaxEye (aerospace), Agnit Semiconductors, BigEndian Semiconductors, and QpiAI, QNu Labs (quantum). Over 350 global investors attended.

At VivaTech 2026 (Paris, 18 June) — Europe’s largest technology and startup event — India holds the newly created designation of AI Country Partner and is hosting its largest-ever national pavilion. Modi is expected to present India’s MANAV framework for AI governance — India’s approach to balancing AI innovation with responsibility — signalling India’s ambition to shape global AI governance.