The formal launch of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in India has been marked with a series of events celebrating 10 years of international collaboration on Thursday (25) in New Delhi.
The launch has also been marked with a number of events highlighting the long-standing and successful history of collaboration between India and UK.
The Together for Impact event in India’s national capital celebrated the partnership and impact from a decade of India-UK research and innovation collaboration and was attended by over 250 senior government officials, academics, policy makers, and businesses from both nations.
In the ten years since the establishment of the dedicated Research Councils UK India office, more than £300 million has been co-invested in India-UK collaborative projects covering the full spectrum of research and innovation – from arts to astronomy. The UK has risen from fourth to second place among India’s international research collaborators.
UKRI Chief Executive, Professor Sir Mark Walport, said, “the biggest challenges of our time, from climate change and energy provision to food security and eradicating poverty, are international and require an international effort to resolve. We continue to build on a strong history of research collaboration between the UK and India, one that harnesses the excellence of both nations to drive global progress…”
Professor K VijayRaghavan, principal scientific adviser to the Indian government said: “I am delighted to see the impact delivered by the India-UK joint research and innovation projects over the last ten years, and how expertise between our academic and business communities are addressing shared challenges that do not recognise national boundaries.”
Celebrating the launch of UKRI in India, and its partnership with India, the inaugural panel discussion featured Indian dignitaries including Dr Arun Srivastava, Secretary and Head-Institutional Collaborations, Department of Atomic Energy; Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology; Professor Arvind Jamkhedkar, Chairman, Indian Council of Historical Research, and many others.
Sir Dominic Asquith, British High Commissioner to India attended the event, where UKRI was represented by Professor Melanie Welham, Executive Chair of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Professor Mark Thomson, Executive Chair of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), UKRI Board member Fiona Driscoll, and others.
UK Research and Innovation is a new body which works in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities, and government to create the best possible environment for research and innovation to flourish.
UK Research and Innovation India, based at the British High Commission in New Delhi, plays a key role in enhancing the UK-India relationship in research and innovation.
