Recent 6 months news in Agreements

The Maritime India Foundation (MIF), the implementing agency for the Sagarmala Startup Innovation Initiative, has signed MoUs with the IIT Madras, IIT Bombay, and the Indian Maritime University (IMU) to establish Maritime Innovation Hubs (MIH).

The agreement marks the transition of the initiative into its execution phase. Under the partnership, the MIHs will mentor 36 startups that are currently developing 40 priority innovation projects to address critical challenges in the maritime sector of India.

Cape Breton University (CBU) of Canada has signed three MoUs with Indian academic and policy organizations during a visit led by the President of the university David C Dingwall. The agreements are, CBU has signed a 5-year MoU with BML Munjal University (BMU) for student and faculty exchanges, joint research, and collaborative conferences.

The National Education Forum (NEF) has been appointed as the official partner of CBU to manage the engagements with the government of India and academic institutions. The university has partnered with the Gujarat-based Lok Jagruti Kendra (LJK) University to develop a localized academic network.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has signed a 5-year MoU with the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) to strengthen the cybersecurity and digital forensic capabilities of the Aadhaar infrastructure.

The Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) has signed reform-linked MoUs with Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Tripura, Mizoram, and Ladakh under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) 2.0.

The MoUs establish a framework for decentralized governance by empowering Gram Panchayats and Village Water & Sanitation Committees (VWSCs) to oversee the operation and management of in-village water supply systems.

The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) in Raebareli has signed an MoU, a Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA), and a Technology Transfer Agreement with the Hyderabad-based Lofty Laboratories.

The collaboration aims to promote research, innovation, and technology commercialisation to strengthen the ties between academia and industry in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research (CSIR-NIScPR) has signed an MoU with the Research and Information System for the Developing Countries (RIS) to strengthen cooperation in science, technology, and innovation (STI) policy and science diplomacy.

IndiaAI, a flagship initiative of the Government of India (GoI), has signed an MoU with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to enhance healthcare outcomes through the responsible and scalable application of AI.

The collaborative framework is built on three primary pillars: the ‘AIKosh’ dataset platform, compute access, and the development of collaborative AI use cases.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoC&I) has signed an MoU with Chamber India to enhance the Indian startup ecosystem and promote innovation-led development.

The partnership aims to increase interaction between startups, corporate bodies, investors, and global stakeholders, while facilitating international linkages and cross-border collaboration.

India and the European Union (EU) have launched a joint initiative to improve Electric Vehicle (EV) battery recycling under the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) - Working Group 2 on Green and Clean Energy Technologies.

The project involves a third coordinated call for proposals to secure critical raw materials and accelerate the global transition to a circular economy. The initiative has a combined funding pool of €15.2 million (₹169 crore). The component of the EU is funded through the Horizon Europe programme, while the part of India is supported by the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI).

The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India (GoI) has signed an MoU with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) at Kartavya Bhavan in New Delhi.

The collaboration aims to strengthen the national Research and Development (R&D) ecosystem by facilitating synergy between industry, academia, and research institutions.

Union Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda and his Japanese counterpart Kimi Onoda have co-chaired the 3rd Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) on Healthcare between India and Japan at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The meeting focused on deepening the bilateral partnership through strategic cooperation in innovation, technology, and research.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal and Todd McClay have signed the India–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (IN-NZ FTA) at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.

Under the IN-NZ FTA, India has secured 100% duty-free access on all 8,284 tariff lines to New Zealand. In return, India has liberalized 70.03% of its tariff lines, which covers 95% of the total bilateral trade value.

New Zealand has opened 118 service sectors with Most Favoured Nation (MFN) commitments across 139 sub-sectors. Furthermore, New Zealand has committed to an investment of $20 billion over a 15 year period in sectors like infrastructure, renewable energy, manufacturing, and startups.

Coca-Cola India has signed a 3-year MoU with Invest UP, the investment promotion agency of the Uttar Pradesh government, to bolster environmental sustainability, community welfare, and access to safe drinking water in the state.

The agreement focuses on developing water access infrastructure and safe hydration solutions. It also aims to strengthen waste collection and recycling systems to improve environmental hygiene.

Lee Jae Myung, the President of the Republic of Korea, accompanied by First Lady Kim Hea Kyung, has visited India at the invitation of PM Narendra Modi. During a bilateral summit at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, both nations announced a “Joint Strategic Vision” to expand the India-ROK Special Strategic Partnership (SSP) for the 2026-2030 period.

The visit resulted in the establishment of an Industrial Cooperation Committee (ICC) and the formulation of a framework for the “India–Korea Digital Bridge” to facilitate collaboration in AI, semiconductors, and Information Technology. Both countries also agreed to resume negotiations for upgrading the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

The 10th session of the India–Kenya Joint Trade Committee (JTC) was held in Nairobi, Kenya, to review and strengthen bilateral trade. The meeting was co-chaired by Rajesh Agrawal, Commerce Secretary, and the Kenyan counterpart Regina Akotah Ombam. Bilateral trade between the countries reached $4.31 billion in 2025-26, which is a 24.91% increase from $3.45 billion in 2024-25. The JTC also reviewed the MoU between the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) to facilitate smoother trade.

BharatGen Technology Foundation has signed a 5-year MoU with L&T Semiconductor Technologies (LTSCT) and L&T-Vyoma, subsidiaries of Larsen & Toubro (L&T), to develop the first end-to-end sovereign AI compute platform in India.

The partnership aims to establish a completely indigenous AI ecosystem to reduce dependency on international supply chains and imported hardware, thereby fostering domestic technological self-reliance.

The Centre for Maritime Economy and Connectivity (CMEC), functioning under the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), has signed an MoU with the University of Delhi to strengthen maritime education and research through joint initiatives.

Vice President CP Radhakrishnan has conducted the first-ever bilateral visit to Sri Lanka. He met President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya to review bilateral initiatives and the progress of development projects supported by India.

Both nations signed multiple MoUs to strengthen cooperation in healthcare and regional development. The visit marked the completion of Phase III of the Indian Housing Project (covering 4,000 houses). Sri Lanka has formally joined the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) to enhance regional conservation efforts.

DataKaveri Systems, the commercial arm of the Centre of Data for Public Good (CDPG) of the IISc Bengaluru, has signed an MoU with the Japan-based ONESTRUCTION Inc to integrate construction data into AI-ready urban data exchange systems across Indian and Japanese cities.

The collaboration involves connecting the openIBM platform of the latter with the Intelligent Universal Data Exchange (IUDX) of the former. It is to be noted that the IUDX platform is currently operational in 55 smart cities in India.

The Department of Posts (DoP) has signed an MoU with DTDC Express Ltd (DTDC) to enhance the logistics and e-commerce landscape in India. The partnership aims to improve nationwide parcel delivery by leveraging the physical infrastructure of the DoP and the logistics expertise of the DTDC.