India and Italy are set to launch a joint research call in 2027, opening a new chapter in a science partnership that began nearly five decades ago. The plan was agreed during bilateral talks in Rome on Friday, 13 November 2026, between Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh and Italy’s Minister of University and Research Anna Maria Bernini.
The announcement came on the sidelines of the Second India-Italy Science and Innovation Dialogue 2026, held in the Italian capital as part of Dr Singh’s five-day official visit to Italy from 11 to 15 November. The two sides said the call will be run under an existing memorandum of understanding between India’s Ministry of Science and Technology and Italy’s Ministry of University and Research, signed during an Italian delegation’s visit to New Delhi in April 2025.
Three priority areas for the 2027 call
The proposed research call will focus on three clusters that both countries see as central to their future economies. The first covers artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and big data. The second covers clean technologies, including hydrogen, renewable energy and the wider energy transition. The third covers advanced biotechnology and biomedical research, with particular attention to gene therapy, messenger RNA (mRNA) technologies and biomanufacturing.
Officials said the India-Italy Joint Scientific Council will govern the call, and that thematic guidelines and selection criteria will be finalised in the coming months. Institutions from both countries, including leading universities and research bodies, are expected to take part.
Why the partnership matters now
The science relationship between the two countries is one of India’s oldest. The first inter-governmental agreement in science and technology was signed in 1978 and renewed in November 2003. Since then, the Department of Science and Technology and Italy’s foreign ministry have supported joint work through the Indo-Italian Executive Programme of Cooperation, with the current programme for 2025 to 2027 signed on 10 April 2025.
The partnership gained fresh political weight in 2023, when India and Italy elevated their ties to a Strategic Partnership, followed by a Joint Strategic Action Plan for 2025 to 2029. The Rome dialogue is the latest step in turning that framework into laboratory work and commercial technology, rather than leaving it as a diplomatic statement.
For India, the three chosen areas line up closely with its own national priorities. Artificial intelligence and high-performance computing feed directly into the country’s digital ambitions, while clean hydrogen and renewables are central to its energy transition plans. Gene therapy and mRNA platforms, meanwhile, matter for affordable healthcare and for building domestic capacity in advanced medicines.
What happens next
The two sides will now work on the fine print of the call: the themes, the funding arrangements and the selection process. Researchers and institutions in both countries will be watching for the formal announcement of the call, expected ahead of its 2027 launch.
The dialogue in Rome also covered quantum technologies, digital systems and health, signalling that the cooperation could widen beyond the three headline clusters over time. For now, the message from both ministers is clear: the partnership is moving from agreements on paper to joint research that both sides hope will produce usable technology.
FAQs
What is the India-Italy 2027 joint research call?
It is a planned joint funding call for collaborative research between Indian and Italian institutions, to be launched in 2027 under the science and technology memorandum of understanding between the two governments.
Which areas will the call cover?
Three clusters: artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and big data; clean technologies, hydrogen, renewable energy and the energy transition; and advanced biotechnology and biomedical research, including gene therapy, mRNA technologies and biomanufacturing.
When was the plan announced?
The plan was announced on 13 November 2026, after a bilateral meeting in Rome between Dr Jitendra Singh and Anna Maria Bernini during the Second India-Italy Science and Innovation Dialogue.
Who will run the research call?
The India-Italy Joint Scientific Council will govern the call, with thematic guidelines and selection criteria to be finalised in the coming months.
How old is the India-Italy science partnership?
The first inter-governmental science and technology agreement between the two countries was signed in 1978, and the relationship was elevated to a Strategic Partnership in 2023.
India and Italy have set the direction. The test now will be how quickly the 2027 call turns into real projects, real funding and real results for researchers on both sides.
