India-France Relations

Posted 24 Mar 2025

Updated 28 Mar 2025

5 min read

Map of France: It also shows its neighbouring countries in Europe.

Why in the News?

India and France co-chaired Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit held in France.

Key Dimensions of India-France Partnership

France was the first country with which India launched its first-ever Strategic Partnership on 26 January 1998 to deepen bilateral relations.

Key Areas of Cooperation are:

Cooperation Area	Description
Economic	The total trade for FY 2022-23 breached the USD 13 billion trade mark for the first time, with exports from India crossing USD 7 billion.
Defence	Important exercises: SHAKTI (Army Exercise), Exercise GARUDA (Bilateral Air Exercise), TARANG SHAKTI (Multinational Air Exercise), Exercise VARUNA (Naval Exercise). FRIND-X (France-India Defence Startup Excellence) launched in line with the vision enshrined in Horizon 2047 and the India-France Defence Industrial Roadmap. This collaborative platform brings together key stakeholders across both defence ecosystems, including defence startups, investors, incubators, accelerators, and academia Horizon 2047: roadmap was launched on the 25th Anniversary of the India-France Strategic Partnership to set the course for the bilateral relationship up to 2047. 2047 will celebrate the centenary of India's independence, the centenary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries and 50 years of the strategic partnership. India-France Defence Industrial Roadmap: Launched for co-design and co-development of military hardware and space cooperation.
Science	India-France Roadmap on AI: Rooted in the philosophical convergence in their approaches focusing on the development of safe, open, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence. Creation of the Indo-French Life Sciences Sister Innovation Hub. NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and France's Lyra Collect executed an agreement to implement Unified Payment Interface (UPI) in France and Europe.
Space	France is a key supplier of components and equipment for India's space program. Both nations signed an agreement for India's first human space mission, Gaganyaan. Ongoing projects include joint satellite TRISHNA, maritime domain awareness, payloads, ground station support, human spaceflight, and professional exchanges.
Civil Nuclear	India and France signed a civil nuclear agreement in 2008 and continue to collaborate on peaceful nuclear energy, including the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant. India is also a member of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), a global fusion project based in Cadarache, France. Both nations are now working on a partnership for Small Modular Reactors (SMR) and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMR)
Other Areas	Climate Change: Both nations actively drive the implementation of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and in 2018 Co-launched the International Solar Alliance. Culture: To mark 60 years of the India-France cultural agreement (1966), both countries will hold cultural exchanges as part of the Year of Innovation 2026. Year of Innovation 2026 is a cross-sectoral initiative that includes culture. Recently a logo for this was launched. Trilateral Cooperation The India-France-Austral: Promotes a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific. The India-France-UAE: focuses on solar and nuclear energy, climate action, and biodiversity protection.

Key Challenges in India-France relations

Roadblocks in Nuclear Energy Cooperation: France has offered to build nuclear power reactors in Jaitapur, but challenges remain, including high costs, delays, and concerns over India's Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (2010).
- The CLNDA that ensures compensation for nuclear disaster victims created tensions with foreign (including France) suppliers.
Divergent Geopolitical Stances: France actively supports Ukraine against Russia, whereas India maintains a neutral stance, abstaining from UNGA resolutions. This difference in approach could affects diplomatic alignment,
Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) Concerns: French businesses cite weak enforcement of intellectual property rights in India, particularly in pharmaceuticals, fashion, and technology.
- Issues like counterfeiting, prolonged patent approval processes, and inadequate legal protection discourage French investment and innovation collaborations.
Trade Barriers and Protectionist Policies: Indian exports face resistance in France, especially in agriculture. The French rice association's opposition to recognizing Basmati rice as a Geographical Indication (GI) product is a notable example. Additionally, stringent EU sanitary and phytosanitary measures create non-tariff barriers for Indian goods.
Stalled India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA): The India-EU Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) has been in negotiation since 2007 with no resolution.
- Because of this both countries have not been able to harness their trade potential.
Limited Private Sector and People-to-People (P2P) Engagement: India-France cooperation is largely government-driven (G2G), focusing on defense, space, and energy.
- However, business-to-business (B2B) and people-to-people (P2P) engagement remain suboptimal.

Conclusion

Strategic Partnership does not mean agreeing on everything, but handling disagreements privately. India and France have built this kind of relationship over many years. Both countries need to solve nuclear energy problems, speed up trade agreements with the EU, and improve intellectual property protections to strengthen economic connections. They also need to find shared positions on global conflicts like Ukraine to work better together diplomatically.