Longstanding cooperation between India and CNRS is attested by several hundred students and scientists visiting both countries for research and higher education. Over the years CNRS has signed many scientific cooperation agreements with Indian key research players in order to reinforce the excellent dialogue between India and France in the field of science. The research cooperation spans the entire range of science and technologies including social sciences and humanities and aims more importantly at tackling global societal challenges. There is thus a convergence in the efforts of scientists from both the countries towards issues related to Artificial Intelligence, energy, water and health among others.
A series of discussions between the two countries in the area of science are also underway on various Indo-French platforms including the Knowledge Summit (in New Delhi in March 2018 and in Lyon in October 2019) and the Indo-French Joint Science and Technology Committee Meeting in New Delhi.
Indo-French Centre for Applied Mathematics (IFCAM) at the IISc, Bangalore, Research Lab in Computer Science (ReLAX) at the Chennai Mathematical Institute and Indo-French Program in Mathematics (IFPM) in Chennai, are two examples of structured collaborative tools where both Indian and French researchers and students work together. The Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (IFCPAR/CEFIPRA) is also a most effective mechanism for bilateral collaborative research supported by Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India and the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Government of France.
In this context, the visit of Prof. Antoine Petit is an important step towards the development of Indo-French scientific collaborative relations. A scientific cooperation agreement between the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), one of the most important partners of CNRS in India, and CNRS was signed on this occasion.