India And France To Widen Space Ties To Start-Ups And Astronaut Health
French research and space minister meets Indian counterpart in New Delhi as the two countries look beyond government agencies to private firms
India and France will look to bring private companies and start-ups into a space partnership that has so far run largely between their two state agencies, India's science and space minister said on Monday after meeting a visiting French delegation in New Delhi.Image Source: @DrJitendraSingh on X
Jitendra Singh, the minister of state with independent charge for science and technology and earth sciences, said more than 400 Indian space start-ups now work in rocket building, satellite building and space applications following the opening of the sector to private firms, and that the next phase of cooperation with France could bring together government institutions, industry and start-ups on both sides.
The delegation was led by Philippe Baptiste, France's minister for higher education, research and space, and included the French ambassador to India, Thierry Mathou. Talks covered space, the India-France Year of Innovation 2026, the bilateral research body CEFIPRA and the blue economy.
The two countries have cooperated in space since the 1960s, when their agencies were founded and began joint sounding rocket experiments. Singh cited two satellites built together by the Indian Space Research Organisation and the French space agency CNES, Megha-Tropiques and SARAL, as well as work on launch vehicle engines.
A third joint satellite, TRISHNA, is progressing well, he said. Designed to monitor water use and land surface temperature, it is due to be the subject of an event in Bengaluru on 11 October at which ISRO officials will speak on the mission and its applications.
The newest area is human spaceflight. Singh said CNES has supported Gaganyaan, India's programme to send astronauts into orbit aboard an Indian vehicle, by supplying consumables and training flight surgeons, the doctors responsible for crew health. Teams from both countries have begun discussions on microgravity research and parabolic flights, in which an aircraft flies a steep arc to create brief periods of weightlessness for training and experiments.
Baptiste said France shared India's ambition and wanted to expand cooperation in science, technology and space. He described TRISHNA as a strong example of what the two countries could achieve together, and welcomed closer work on human spaceflight, astronaut health, microgravity research and parabolic flights. He also backed connecting research institutions and start-ups in both countries.
The meeting falls within the India-France Year of Innovation, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the French president in February. Singh also raised cooperation in ocean sciences, pointing to India's Deep Ocean Mission, and in biotechnology and digital sciences.
Singh was accompanied by the secretaries of the departments of science and technology, earth sciences and biotechnology, the director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, and representatives of the Department of Space and the Ministry of External Affairs.