S&T Cooperation
Bilateral Cooperation in the field of Science & Technology between India and Japan
Indo-Japan S&T cooperation was formalized through Inter-Governmental Agreement signed in 1985 between Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India and Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Government of Japan.
Indo-Japan Joint S&T Committee Co-chaired by Department of Science & Technology (DST) India and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Japan, is the apex body which provides vision and direction to the cooperative S&T activities. An Implementation Arrangement (IA) between DST & Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science & Technology (MEXT) was signed in January 2014 at New Delhi. The two sides have held two Coordination Committee Meetings for S&T Cooperation since then. The 10th JCM (Science and Technology) virtual meeting was held on 10th November, 2020 to review the ongoing bilateral programmes and to discuss new possibilities for collaboration. Implementation Arrangement (IA) between DST & Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science & Technology (MEXT) was renewed on 26th September, 2022 in Tokyo, Japan during the visit of Secretary DST.
Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to Government of India Prof Ajay K Sood visited Japan from August 5-12, 2023 to attend STATPHYS28. During his visit he had meetings with Cabinet Office of Government of Japan, President RIKEN, Chairman of Committee on National Space Policy, Japan.
The bilateral S&T Cooperation also has institutional framework with different Japanese Government Agencies involving value-based partnership on the principles of 'reciprocity and co-funding'. India and Japan also aim at working together in developing STI (Science, Technology & Innovation) Roadmap for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with India as pilot country and Japan being its partner country as a party of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM) under the UN programme.
DST-Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)
The India-Japan Cooperative Science Programme was initiated in 1993 with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) being guided by India-Japan Science Council (IJSC). Priority areas of joint project and Joint Workshops includes: Physical and Chemical Systems; Fundamental Science, Engineered Materials Systems; Engineering and Processes, Natural Systems; Biology and Life Sciences, Global Systems; Earth-Space, Marine, and Environment and Mathematics and Computational Science. For the F.Y. 2020-21 research area on COVID- 19 related (Preventive Technologies, Artificial Intelligence Applications, Screening and Diagnostic Testing) was included in addition to the existing priority areas. In total JSPS has supported 277 joint projects, 23 new projects initiated, 3100 exchange visits of scientists, 60 joint seminars/workshops, 16 Asian Academic seminars/Japan- India Forum and 19 Raman-Mizushima lectures delivered by eminent Indian and Japanese scientists. The Implementation Guidelines for India-Japan Cooperative Scientific programme between Department of Science & Technology (DST) and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) was signed on 27th September, 2022, in Tokyo, Japan. 15 new joint research projects and 2 joint seminars were selected for support during 2022-23. The last date for call for 2023-24 was September 6, 2023 and more than 150 proposals received are under final stage of joint selection.
DST - JSPS Young Researcher Fellowship Programme: A Letter of Intent (LoI) was signed between Department of Science & Technology (DST) and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) to initiate a reciprocal Fellowship Programme for the young researchers. The guidelines for the fellowship programme was finalized and the scheme was launched in 2017.
India Japan Science Council (IJSC): For IJSC, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) is the counterpart agency of the DST, Government of India. India Japan Science Council is working for last 21 years and has so far been a very effective vehicle of S&T cooperation between the two countries. It has further promoted and strengthened closer ties between Indian and Japanese scientific communities through joint programmes such as research projects, seminars, visits of scientists, RONPAKU Fellowships and Asia Academic Seminars. Among other activities, 23 new joint research projects were initiated. As a Special Case a new area of collaboration has been added to the existing areas for the F.Y. 2020-21 i.e COVID-19 related (preventive technologies, Artificial Intelligence applications, the list of Council members: Screening and diagnostic testing) and the duration of the projects would be up to two years. Also, the Commemorative booklet “Revisiting the 26 years of the Japan-India Science Council” has been published by JSPS highlighting the success achieved under the IJSC and facilitation of scientific exchange and network building between Japanese and Indian researchers under the bilateral co-operation. Till date 25 meetings of India-Japan Science Council were held and the last meeting was held in February 2019 at Tokyo, Japan.
HOPE Meeting: To foster talented young researchers HOPE Meetings have been organized by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) since 2008. HOPE Meetings give opportunities for excellent doctoral students and young researchers selected from countries in the Asia-Pacific and Africa region to engage in interdisciplinary discussions with Nobel laureates and other distinguished scientists. 15th Hope meeting held at Kyoto from February 26 to March 1, 2024, it was attended by 9 researches selected by Department of Science and Technology DST, Government of India with supervisor from DST.
DST-Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)
A Memorandum of Understanding between Department of Science and Technology, India and with Japan Science and Technology Agency, Japan was signed on 8th December 2006. A Letter of Intent on the Strategic International Cooperative Program between Department of Science and Technology of India and the Japan Science and Technology Agency was signed in December 2015. The LoI aims to promote collaborative activities for functional applications of Physical Sciences in Information and Communication Technology (including Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Analysis) between India and Japan. Under this LoI, three India-Japan Joint Laboratories in the area of "Architecting Intelligent dependable Cyber Physical System Targeting IoT and Mobile Big Data Analysis", "Security in the Internet of Things Space" and "Data Science- based Farming Support System for Sustainable Crop Production under Climatic Change" were established in 2016 at IIT-Delhi, IIT-Bombay and IIT-Hyderabad from India and the University of Tokyo and Kyushu University from Japanese side.
For details: https://www.jst.go.jp/inter/english/project/country/india.html
SAKURA Science Programme: JST has initiated a programme to invite high school students from Asian countries to visit Japanese universities and research laboratories and also interact with Nobel laureates. India was included in this programme in 2015. DST and Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) implement this programme from India.
Under the "Japan-Asia Youth Exchange Program in Science" (Sakura Science Plan), a total of 2,849 students/undergraduates/researchers including more than 850 high-school students visited Japan for the exposure visit. About 210 students from India participated in the Sakura Science High School Exchange Program in during 2019-20.And a total of 25 young scientists/faculties from IITs/NITs/IISc/JNU/AMITY/DST attended Sakura Science Exchange Programme for Indian Researchers/Administrators from January 27-31, 2020 at Tokyo.The Sakura Science High School Program Online University Visit-TIT was held on December 05, 2020 and on March 17, 2021. In November 2023 more than 62 selected school students through INSPIRE MANAK programm of DST and DST officals visited Japan under the Sakura Science Program. In December 72 college students and supervisor through Ministry of Education visited Japan.
Invite for the year 2024 has also been received by DST. In 2024, the SAKURA program will be held during May19-25, 2024 and October 20-26, 2024 for which they have invited 25 students in each group which is under process.
For details: https://ssp.jst.go.jp/EN/outline/index.html#M2,
STS forum: STS Forum is a Global Think Tank in S&T holds its Annual Sessions in October every year in Kyoto Japan since 2004 to discuss the issues pertaining to S&T for welfare of mankind. India is participating in the STS forum since 2017, 20th Annual Meeting of STS Forum held during October 1-3, 2023, in Kyoto, Japan.
Cooperation in Life Sciences and Healthcare Sector
MoC in the field of Healthcare: An MoC was signed between the Governments of India and Japan on 1st September 2014 followed by a MoU between AIIMS and Osaka University to pursue Research and Academic Cooperation on 13 Oct 2014. Another MoC for Medical Products Regulation between PMDA, Japan and CDSCO, India was signed in December 2015. The 2nd JWG Meeting on Health was held in Tokyo on 26 April, 2017. PMDA, Japan and CDSCO, India organized the 4th India-Japan Medical Products Regulatory Symposium in Tokyo in February 2020 to share the best practices in the regulation of pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
In view of the similarities and synergies between the goals and objectives of India’s AYUSHMAN Bharat Programme and Japan’s AHWIN, both sides concluded a MoC to formalize cooperation under the overall MoC in the field of Healthcare, which was signed during the visit of PM Modi in October 2018 between Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India and Cabinet Secretariat, Government of Japan and Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan.
India-Japan celebration of the 6th Ayurveda Day: "Finding Ayurveda in Japan- Perceptions, People, and Practice in Nutrition, and control of Lifestyle Disorders" was organized in association with the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (M/o AYUSH), GoI on November 02, 2021.
Japan’s assistance for fighting COVID-19 in India
JICA sanctioned grant of 1 billion Yen (~US$ 9 million) and ODA Yen Loan up to 50 billion (~US$ 450 million/approx. Rs.3,500 crore) towards India’s COVID-19 Crisis Emergency Response Support. This programme aims to support India's efforts in fighting COVID-19 and to prepare the health system to manage future epidemics and also to improve the resilience of India's health systems against infectious diseases and also provides medical equipment to strengthen the public health and medical system in India.
Co-operation in Agriculture
ICAR-JIRCAS Collaboration: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) on 9th February 2018 for comprehensive research collaboration. First meeting was held on 15 June 2018 in Karnal and both sides discussed the cooperation on development of low-cost subsurface drainage and irrigation technology in salt-affected fields for sustainable agricultural production, and development of regionally-adopted salt-tolerant crop.
Co-operation in Environment:
The Ministry of the Environment (MOEJ), Japan and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) of the Republic of India organized the Japan-India Senior Officials Meeting on the Environmental Cooperation in April 2018 in Delhi, India. At the meeting, both countries agreed to organize dialogues on environmental issues and continue discussion on environmental issues such as solid waste management, climate change, and air pollution. Based on the discussion, MOEJ and MoEFCC signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in October 2018 during a visit to Japan by H.E. Mr Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India.
For details : https://www.env.go.jp/earth/coop/coop/english/dialogue/japan_india.html
The first India-Japan High Level Policy Dialogue on the Environment between the Ministry of the Environment (MOEJ), Japan and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), India was held on 7th September, 2021 confirmed to take forward the discussion on JCM (Joint Crediting Mechanism) and it was agreed to organizing JCM training workshop (webinar) inter alia including technology transfer, success stories, accounting standards, emission crediting schemes in Japan. Under this, India-Japan virtual workshop the Policy Dialogue on Article 6 and avenues of Japan-India Technology cooperation jointly organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India and Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Japan was held on 15 February 2022. The workshop focused on commercialized hydrogen technologies, district cooling systems (DCS) and agrivoltaic practices.
The 10th meeting of the Japan-India Energy Dialogue, co-chaired by His Excellency Mr. Kajiyama Hiroshi, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan, and His Excellency Mr. Raj Kumar Singh, Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy of India, was held in Delhi on 10th December, 2019.
MAFF-MoEF&CC Collaboration: MOC between Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, (MAFF) Govt of India and Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) Govt of Japan was signed on 11 December 2015. The seven areas of cooperation under this MOC include human resource development and institutional exchange between training institutes, sustainable forest management, enhancement of forest conservation and forest disaster prevention, conservation of biodiversity, effective utilization of forest resources, enhancement of relevant policies on forests, forestry and technologies and Research and development in forestry sector. During the 3rd JWG on 23 July 2018 “Roadmap for India-Japan forest and forestry cooperation” from 2018 to 2022 was agreed upon.
Cooperation in Nuclear Science and Technology: The first joint committee meeting was held in New Delhi in September 1986 based on the science and technology cooperation agreement with India concluded in August 1985. MoU between Indian Nuclear Society (INS) and Japan Atomic Energy Society (JAES) was signed in September 2013 in Tokyo to promote peaceful uses of nuclear science & technology. On February 21st, 2020, the meeting on Japan-India civil nuclear cooperation was held in Tokyo, Japan. Representatives of the Government of Japan including Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and other representatives from industry attended the working group from the Japanese side. The Indian side was represented by representatives of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and other relevant representatives. The meeting was held in pursuance of the Japan-India joint statement signed at the Japan-India Summit meeting in September, 2017. The strengthening of bilateral cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy was discussed in the meeting.
A virtual meeting on civil nuclear cooperation between DAE and METI was held on March 11, 2021 where both sides discussed and exchanged views on hydrogen thermo power, India's nuclear energy policy, small and modular reactors (SMRs), CLND Act, Rare Earths Minerals and GCNEP.
For details- https://www.mofa.go.jp/press/release/press4e_002521.html
Indian Beam Line at KEK, Tsukuba: The Indian Beam Line project was initiated at the Photon Factory at KEK (The High Energy Accelerator Research Organization), Tsukuba, Japan to develop science collaboration in the area of advanced materials research. The first Indian Beamline was established by the DST in 2010. The project was completed in March 2015. MEXT and DST agreed to support the second phase of the Beamline for a further 5 years. A total of 186 Indian scientists have carried out 77 experiments using 389 days of beam time, leading to new knowledge creation and publication of research papers in international journals. As per agreement, 50% time of Indian beam line can be now used by International users of Photon Factory (PF) and 50% time to be reserved for Indian scientists.
India is also playing a key role in the Belle II distributed GRID computing with three operational sites in India, namely IIT Guwahati, IIT Hyderabad and TIFR and in the physics program of Belle II. The Belle II India comprises of about 50 members including students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty members from 10 Indian institutes: IISER Mohali, IIT Bhubaneswar, IIT Guwahati, IIT Hyderabad, IITMadras, IMSc, MNIT Jaipur, Panjab Univ., Punjab Agri. Univ., and TIFR. TIFR was particularly responsible for building one of the Silicon Vertex Detector (SVD) layers. Around 125 researchers and 120 students from 40 institutions across India carried out various experiments using the beamline in the niche area of high-pressure physics of materials with outcome of more than 100 publications.
For more details: http://www.saha.ac.in/web/photon-factory-home
On 23 March 2021, H.E. Shri Sanjay Kumar Verma and Dr. KOSUGI Nobuhiro, Director of Institute of Material Structure Science signed the extension of MoU for Indian Beam Line, a key bilateral initiative for strategic S&T partnership and it has been further extended upto March 2023. Third phase extension is in process.
MoU between DAE and KEK: A memorandum of understanding was signed, in Feb 2012, between the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and KEK to establish collaborative activities, and to focus on developments in the field of particle physics through KEK’s Belle-II experiment, detector research and development projects, synchrotron science, and accelerator science. The MoU facilitates collaboration for R&D with DAE institutions viz. Rajaramanna Center for Advanced Technology, Indore, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata and Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC), Mumbai on various aspects of accelerator research.
Collaboration with RIKEN : An Addendum to the Memorandum of Understanding between DST and RIKEN was signed on 14th September, 2013 in New Delhi. The Addendum includes the cooperation in the areas of Material Science and Life Science and provision to provide financial support for mobility based joint projects which include exchange of faculties, students, scientists, research staff, technicians, specialists, experts and organization of joint workshop/seminar.
Cooperation in Earth and Marine Sciences & Technology
MoES & JAMSTEC Collaboration: A Memorandum of Cooperation on mutual cooperation in Marine and Earth Science and Technology was signed in November, 2016 between the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), during the visit of PM Modi to Japan. The MOU aims to establish and promote cooperation in the field of marine and earth science and technology, based on mutual equality and benefits through joint surveys, cruises, and R&D activities etc. MoES and JAMSTEC have identified 3 joint-projects in areas of climate modeling for monsoon prediction, deep-sea exploration and earthquake and tsunami warning research in the Andaman sea in July 2018. The collaboration has supported 3 no.s of publications, 3 workshops, 4 exchange visits so far.
The revised MoC was signed by MoES and JAMSTEC in June 2023 adding new areas of cooperation namely i. Modeling of climate variability, ii. Marine Plastics and iii. Glacial hydrology.
MoC between National Center for Polar & Ocean Research (NCPOR) and National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR): MoU between National Center for Polar and Ocean Research (RCPOR), India and National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR), Japan was signed on 29th October, 2018. An Indo-Japanese project was initiated during F.Y.2019 to reconstruct past-climate, relative sea-level changes and ice-sheet dynamics from the lake sediments of Schirmacher Oasis (SO), Central Dronning Maud Land.
India participated on-line in the 3rd Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3)—the global platform for discussing research and co-operation in the Arctic region held during May 8-9, 2021 at Tokyo, Japan. Heading the Indian delegation Honb'le Minister of Science and Technology, Health and Family Welfare, and Earth Sciences- Dr. Harsh Vardhan, under its theme 'Observe' shared India’s vision and long-term plans for research, work, and international co-operation in the Arctic region with the stakeholders.
Cooperation between DGH and JOGMEC:An MOU was signed between Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) & Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) on 16th February 2007 for collaboration on the research and development of the technologies pertaining to Gas hydrate. Initially, the same was valid for 5 years i.e. till 15th February 2012. The first extension was done for three years till 2015 and automatic extension of one year till 2016.The second extension was done for three years till 15th February 2019 with one year automatic extension till 15th February, 2020. Currently, third extension has been done for three years till 15th February 2023 with one year automatic extension till 15th February, 2024.
Co-operation in Space Science and Technology
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Japan Space Exploration Agency (JAXA) are collaborating on number of space exploration program/projects. The collaboration in space sector with Japan started in 1960s, since the establishment of Thumba Equatorial Rocket Station at Thumba (Thiruvananthapuram).
An "Arrangement concerning the considerations of potential future cooperation in field of outer space" was signed in October, 2005 between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Subsequently both agencies have signed cooperative documents addressing lunar exploration, satellite navigation, X-ray astronomy and Asia Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APSRAF). ISRO and JAXA signed an Memorandum of Understanding to pursue future cooperative activities in the use and exploration of outer space exclusively for peaceful purposes on 11 November 2016. An implementation arrangement between ISRO and JAXA concerning collaboration activities on the radio occultation (a remote sensing technique used for measuring the physical properties of a planetary system) experiment in JAXA's Venus orbiter mission Akatsuki (Planet-C) was signed on 20 January 2017. ISRO and JAXA signed an Implementation Arrangement (IA) concerning cooperation on validations, improvement, and applications of rainfall products using satellite images and ground measurements in June 2018. ISRO and JAXA signed the IA on “Collaborative activities on APRSAF/SAFE Agromet project” during the APRSAF 26 at Japan in November, 2019.
A bilateral meeting between Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) was held on March 11, 2021 on virtual mode. Dr. K. Sivan, Chairman, ISRO/ Secretary, Department of Space and Dr. Hiroshi YAMAKAWA, President, JAXA led their respective delegations. On this occasion, both agencies signed an Implementing Arrangement for collaborative activities on rice crop area and air quality monitoring using satellite data.
On November 2, 2021, the Second Meeting of the Japan-India Space Dialogue was held virtually. The dialogue provided an opportunity to exchange information on the space policy of each country and to hold discussions on space security, bilateral cooperation between JAXA and ISRO, their space industries, global navigation satellite systems, space situational awareness (SSA), space-related rules and norms, and other areas of mutual interest.
In August 08, 2023 Dr. Saku Tsuneta, Vice-Chair of Japan’s Cabinet Committee on National Space Policy (CNSP) and Director General, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) visited ISRO Headquarters met Shri S. Somanath, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)/ Secretary, Department of Space (DOS) and discussed India-Japan space science cooperation including Joint LUPEX (Lunar Polar Exploration) Mission.
Details at https://www.isro.gov.in/ViceChair_of_Japans_Committee.html
Collaboration on STI-SDGs
Both countries will be working together in developing STI (Science, Technology & Innovation) Roadmap for SDGs with India as pilot country and Japan being partner country as a part of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM) under the UN programme. The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) and RIS jointly with the Cabinet Office, Government of Japan organized a virtual workshop on “Developing STI Partnerships for Sustainable Development: Accelerating International co-operation and actions through global pilot programme on STI for SDGs roadmaps” on 23 June, 2020 and on June 29, 2020. The workshop focus was on specific areas for SDGs, viz. Agriculture, Health, Water and Energy (SDG 2, 3, 6 and 7). Follow-up discussion have been proposed by RIS for 2024.
Other collaborations
In addition to the above S&T collaborations between India and Japan, several institutional cooperation mechanisms exist under various other Ministries.
