France has a number of specialised public research institutions that are leaders in their fields and conduct cutting edge research.
France’s National centre for scientific research (Centre national de la recherche scientifique) is the largest fundamental research organisation in Europe. Established in 1939, it conducts research through its seven research institutes - Institute of Chemistry - Institute of Ecology and Environment - Institute of Physics - Institute of Biological Sciences - Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences - Institute for Mathematical Sciences - Institute of Information and Engineering Sciences and Technologies - And its two national institutes, the National Institute of Nuclear and Particle Physics (IN2P3) and the National Institute for Earth Sciences and Astronomy (INSU) Through its research units (“UPR”s) and joint labs (“UMR”s, in partnership with universities, research organisations and industry), the CNRS encourages interdisciplinary research and collaborations. CNRS researchers work closely with many Indian scientists from a number of other institutions, for example: Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Kerala, the Indian Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Indian Institute of Science, Bose Institute, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology etc. The CNRS, in partnership with the DST launched the Indo French Institute for Mathematics in 2004. IFIM supports research projects between French and Indian partners in mathematics. For more information, click here. An “international associated laboratory” or LIA in the field of sustainable chemistry (sustainable chemistry at interfaces) has been established between the CNRS and the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology in Hyderabad. The CNRS also collaborates with a number of French and Indian Institutes in the field of solid state chemistry. The Indian lead partner institute is the Indian Institute of Science. Through the Indo French Centre for Organic Synthesis, the Indian Institute of Science and CNRS (University of Rennes) also develop research in organic chemistry. CNRS also works extensively with Indian institutes in areas of water research, climatology and meteorology. The INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et la Recherche Médicale) is France’s public organisation dedicated to research into biological, medical and public health. Inserm works closely with research institutions and universities in developing the latest scientific advancements in the life sciences. Researchers from Inserm have worked with Indian scientists from a number of Indian premier institutions in the past: the Institute of Immunohaematology, King George’s Medical College Lucknow, National Institute of Immunology, AIIMS, Tata Memorial Centre, CMC Vellore, Bose Institute. Research subjects vary from the study of malaria to molecular genetics. INRA (l’Institut national de la recherche agronomique) is the French national institute for agricultural research. It is the premier agricultural research institute in Europe and ranks second in the world. The institute works with a wide range of European and international partners. Inra’s expertise lies in the fields of agronomy, nutrition and food safety, animal production and health, environment and land management, with particular emphasis on sustainable development. Inra excels in research, ranking second internationally in terms of publications in agricultural, plant and animal sciences. Scientists from INRA work extensively with their Indian counterparts. INRA has partnerships with the Centre for Environment Science, Anna University, with ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research), and the BAIF Development Research Foundation. Researchers from INRA have collaborated on IFCPAR / CEFIPRA projects with Indian scientists from leading institutions such as Punjab Agricultural University, Madras Christian College, TERI, Calcutta University, the Institute for Microbial Technology, GP Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology. Collaborations with India Since 2005, the number of INRA scientists collaborating with India has increased nearly five fold. INRA’s main Indian partners are ICAR (and its associated institutes), IIT Hyderabad (3 projects underway), IISc Bangalore (3 projects), CSIR and its affiliated institutes working in the fields of biotechnology, the Kumaraguru College of Technology in Coimbatore) and the Universities of Mumbai, Kolkata and Anna University in Chennai. INRA also works closely with thr Bharatiya Agro Industry Foundation and its research institute at Urulikanchan, Pune (Maharashtra). Two main streams of research INRA is currently working on are on the genetics of milk producing bovine stock (with BAIF, CIRAD and INRA; in particular INRA’s Station de Génétique Quantitative et Appliquée) and on urban and industrial waste water treating through biological processes. The Laboratoire de Biotechnologie de l’Environnement has been working with the Centre for Environmental Studies at Anna University on waste water treatment in tanneries since 2002, and with the Centre for Sustainable Technologies at the IISc and the Centre for Water and Environmental Studies at KCT Coimbatore since 2005. Much of INRA’s collaboration with India has been supported by the Indo French Research Network Programme (P2R). New areas of collaborative research are nutrition, food security and health. INRA works closely in these fields with the Central Food Technological Research Institute in Mysore (Karnataka). Other fields of research are - vegetal biotechnologies, plant genomics and genetics (with CCMB Hyderabad, NCL Pune, ICAR, Agharkar Research Institute and BCKV (the agricultural university in Kolkata)) - water management with respect to agriculture (with IFCGR Hyderabad, Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University Hyderabad, JNTU Hyderabad, ISEC Bangalore, IFP Pondichéry and the Centre de Sciences Humaines in Delhi). - Forest Ecology and Carbon cycles with CIRAD, IRD and the IFP Pondichéry - Animal production with ICAR. In order to reinforce INRA and CIRAD’s collaborations with India, a permanent representative of these two organisations is based out of the Embassy of France in New Delhi. INRIA – Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique INRIA, the French national institute for research in computer science and control is France’s premier institution and a world leader in research in information and communication science and technology. INRIA partners widely with other research organisations such as the CNRS, universities and industry. It has eight research centres (located in cities across France) and 180 joint research teams. With India, INRIA scientists have worked on a variety of projects with counterparts at the Indian Institute of Science, SPIC Foundation, Chennai Mathematical Institute, TIFR Applied Centre for Mathematics and the Indian Statistical Institutes, among others. CIRAD – Le Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement. As the French agricultural research organisation focussing on international development, CIRAD’s expertise covers life sciences, human and engineering sciences and their applicability to food, agriculture and natural resource management. The CIRAD works in partnership with a number of organisations all over the world. CIRAD is committed to ensuring that its capacity to imagine the farming systems of the future benefits the world's poorest populations, sustainable development and global public goods. Its main mandate is to "contribute to rural development in tropical and subtropical countries through research, experimentation, training operations in France and overseas, and scientific and technical information, primarily in the fields of agriculture, forestry and agrifoods”. CIRAD has worked on a number of projects with Indian partners. In recent times, CIRAD has worked with the Indian Ministry of Trade on optimising crops and increasing India’s fruit and vegetable exports, with the Institut Français de Pondicherry and the National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning to map carbon reserves in the soil, and with Bangalore University and the Coffee Board on an agro-forestry project studying coffee production. The Institut de Recherche pour le Développement is the French Institute of research for development. The IRD conducts research, offers consultancy and training. The IRD’s scope extends to scientific programs contributing to the sustainable development of the countries of the South, with an emphasis on the relationship between man and the environment. The IRD is headquartered at Marseille, in the south of France. Scientists from the IRD have worked extensively in partnership with Indian scientists. The Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales is France’s premier Space agency. Its task is to invent the space systems of the future, bring space technologies to maturity and guarantee France’s independent access to space. It conceives and executes space programmes with its partners in the scientific community and industry, and is closely involved in many international cooperation programmes—the key to any far-reaching space policy. The agency’s more-than 2,400-strong workforce constitutes an exceptional pool of talent, with some 1,800 engineers and executives, 35% of whom are women. Through its ability to innovate and its forward-looking vision, CNES is helping to foster new technologies that will benefit society as a whole, focusing on: With India, CNES works extensively with ISRO on a number of projects. The CNES is also the French lead partner in a joint Indo-French satellite program “Megha-tropiques” (for more information click here). CEMAGREF (Centre national du machinisme agricole, du génie rural, des eaux et des forêts) is a public research institute specialising in environmental research in continental surface waters, environmental technologies and land management. It looks at agricultural and environmental engineering from the perspective of natural resource management, land use and development. The main areas of work are surface-water resources, land and aquatic ecosystems, predominantly rural areas, water technologies, agrosystems and food safety. Three major scientific challenges that Cemagref is working on are environmental quality and the challenge to link methods and technologies, water issues in land development and the challenge to implement multi-sectoral approaches, and risk management and the challenge to ensure viability. Cemagref has 27 research themes regrouped under 4 clusters – water resources, uses and risks; freshwater systems, quality and pollution; land management; eco-technologies.
The two research units of the CNRS (jointly run with the French Ministry of External Affairs) based in India are the Centre des Sciences Humaines and the Institut Français de Pondichéry. The CSH, a leading research institute, studies all aspects of modern India and the IFP has a long standing record of excellence in Indology, ecology and social sciences.
CNES is a pivotal player in Europe’s space programme, and a major source of initiatives and proposals that aim to maintain France and Europe’s competitive edge.
