The International Cooperation Division of DST has the mandated responsibility of (i) negotiating, concluding and implementing Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Agreements between India and other countries; (ii) providing interventions on STI aspects in international forums. This responsibility is carried out by the IC Division in close consultation on the Indian side with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian Missions Abroad, S&T Counselors at Germany, Japan, Russia and USA, stakeholders in scientific, technological & academic institutions, concerned governmental agencies and with various industry associations in India.

The International Cooperation in STI is realized through (i) Bilateral Cooperation with developed and developing countries; (ii) Multilateral & Regional Cooperation; and (iii) Thematic Cooperation .

Under Bilateral Cooperation, India has STI cooperation Agreements with 83 countries.  During the recent years, the cooperation has strengthened significantly with Australia, Canada, EU, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Russia, UK and USA. Cooperation with African countries has also been strengthened through India Africa S&T Initiative. The soft prowess of S&T has been leveraged to engage with several countries under India's Act East policy and with some neighboring countries.

Under Multilateral and Regional Cooperation, IC Division has been mandated to foster India’s regional and multilateral engagements and partnerships in the fields of Science and Technology. These engagements are done through cooperation frameworks at inter-governmental level with a view to make positive contributions for gainful consequences and spin offs for:

1. Enlarging India’s pursuit of influence in global arena/platforms and mainstreaming Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) into international diplomacy and foreign relations;
2. Showcasing and projecting India’s scientific excellence in the global research landscape;
3. Leveraging foreign alliances and partnerships to accelerate key priorities and programs devoted to strengthening India’s national science and technology (S&T)/ Research and Development (R&D) competencies-capabilities-access to technologies in synergies with national flagship programs.

Some of the major functions of IC Division related to forging India’s regional and multilateral partnerships in Science, Technology and Innovation being performed are as below:

• Negotiation, conclusion, implementation and monitoring of India’s international regional and multilateral S&T cooperation agreements/ frameworks and related S&T Program of Cooperation’s (India’s S&T Cooperation with EU, ASEAN, BRICS, IBSA, SAARC, BIMSTEC, ASEM, EAS);
• India’s engagements vis-à-vis S&T aspects of UN and other international organizations (India’s S&T engagements with NAM S&T Centre, UNESCO-TWAS-ICTP, UNCSTD, OECD, IOR-ARC, G-20);
• Indian perspectives at S & T Ministerial Multilateral Platforms and its spin offs (Carnegie Group Meetings  and its spin offs like GSO-GRI, Science and Technology for Society Forum) ; and

Under Thematic Cooperation, IC Division is partnering in the following International programs-

1. International Solar Alliance
2. Mission Innovation
3. International AIDS Vaccine Initiative etc
4. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)

The IC Division currently supports three bi-national S&T Centres which are independent entities established under inter-governmental arrangements with France, USA and Germany.

1. Indo-French Centre for Promotion of Advanced Research (IFCPAR / CEFIPRA)
2. Indo-US Science & Technology Forum (IUSSTF)
3. Indo-German Science & Technology Centre (IGSTC)

For further details of specific programs and schemes please visit International Cooperation Division

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