UK And India Launch ICT Innovation Programme

New plans have been unveiled by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills for wide-ranging agreements between the UK and India in the areas of science and technology.

As well as committing up to £60 million worth of jointly-funded research into climate change, water and food security and disease prevention, the two countries announced the launch of an “Enabling Innovation” programme, designed to deliver an increase in bilateral trade and investment between the UK and Indian ICT industries.

“Science and technology have the capacity to transform lives for the better in both India and the UK. That’s why I’m delighted that the UK and India are working together at the very top end of the technology spectrum,” said Business Secretary Vince Cable. “We can both benefit from sharing knowledge and together we have ambitious plans. These agreements will help to make them a reality.”

Enabling Innovation

The three-year Enabling Innovation programme will deliver mutual support for e-government programmes, promote corporate partnerships for developing low carbon technologies, and connect UK and Indian companies around business opportunities in the Indian market and investment opportunities in UK.

UKTI informed eWEEK Europe that two-thirds of Indian investment into the UK is in ICT, and there is “great demand to work together at the top end of the technology spectrum”. India is expected to become the second-largest telecoms market globally this year and, by 2012, it is forecast that there will be 560 million mobile phone users in the country.

The delegation to India, led by Prime Minister David Cameron, began its tour at the headquarters of India’s largest IT company, Infosys, in Bangalore. Addressing delegates, senior business leaders and officials at the campus convention centre, Cameron said he wanted to “take the relationship between India and Britain to the next level,” making it “stronger, wider and deeper”.

New Markets

Among those companies present was Bath-based picoChip, which aims to enable the next generation of wireless infrastructure with its advanced femtocell technologies. PicoChip has been selected by India’s Rancore Technologies to help develop base stations for use in 4G mobile broadband networks in India and around the world.

The announcement follows picoChip’s earlier announced agreement with Entuple Technologies to bring the world’s most advanced 3G and 4G femtocell technologies to Indian industry and academia.

“The pool of talent and expertise in wireless technology development within India is astonishing,” said picoChip chief executive Nigel Toon, speaking at the launch of Enabling Innovation India. “The expertise, talent and collaborative spirit of the Entuple team is a formidable asset in driving picoChip’s ambitions and plans for the Indian market.”

Other announcements at the event included £2 million worth of research to help improve the safety and efficiency of nuclear power stations, the extension of the UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI), and the twinning of the UK’s top universities with the fourteen new Innovation universities India plans to create.

“India is on the brink of an education revolution and a massive expansion of education services at all levels,” said Universities and Science Minister David Willetts. “The UK is already the most active country in India in the sheer number of higher education partnerships, with over 80 collaborations already in place. This package represents a step-change in that relationship.”

Last week a Cyber Security Challenge programme was launched in the UK, in an effort to increase the country’s IT security skills. Prizes awarded will be tailored for each individual, and could include free places on Open University courses, free membership of a professional organisation or internship opportunities.