New Delhi, May 6, 2026: FICCI and the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India (OPSA) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at fostering an enabling ecosystem for Research and Development (R&D) through industry–academia partnerships, innovation challenges, and global collaboration. The MoU signing ceremony was held at Kartavya Bhavan 3, New Delhi.
Mr Puneet Dalmia, Vice President, FICCI & Managing Director & CEO, Dalmia Bharat Group, stated: "This MoU marks a significant step towards change in mindset from academia to application; silos to systems; incremental to transformation. This would help in building a more collaborative, responsive, and impact-driven R&D ecosystem in India. At FICCI, we strongly believe that research-driven innovation is central to economic growth, technological self-reliance, and addressing critical societal challenges. We look forward to working closely with the PSA Office to translate this shared vision into meaningful, on-ground outcomes."
The partnership addresses a critical gap in India's innovation landscape. While India ranks highly in scientific research output and academic patent filings, it continues to lag in technology commercialisation and industry–academia collaboration. India's Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD) as a percentage of GDP remains at approximately 0.6–0.7%, significantly below global innovation leaders such as South Korea (5.21%), the United States (3.59%), and China (2.56%). Moreover, the private sector's contribution to R&D funding in India accounts for only around 36%, compared to over 70% in these nations.
Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, said: "This partnership with FICCI is a recognition that industry and academia must collaborate far more deeply to anticipate the technological frontiers that will define India's future. A problem well-defined is a problem half-solved — and the rigorous co-creation of problem statements grounded in national priorities will be among the most valuable contributions of this collaboration. For it is ultimately deep science that leads to deep technology, and this MoU lays the institutional foundation for exactly that kind of purposeful, long-term engagement."
The MoU establishes a broad cooperative framework across five key areas: Industry–Academia Collaboration; Problem Identification and Solution Development; Global Collaboration; Policy Dialogue and Advisory Support; and Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing. To operationalise this partnership, the Parties may establish a Joint Coordination Mechanism and conduct six-monthly reviews to assess progress and impact.
"Today's MoU is not merely a formal agreement — it marks the beginning of a purposeful partnership aimed at strengthening India's research and innovation ecosystem. FICCI is committed to working with the PSA Office to create structured platforms for industry–academia engagement, design outcome-oriented innovation challenge programmes, and build the capacity of researchers to navigate intellectual property, regulatory frameworks, and investor readiness. The real significance of this collaboration lies in what we build from here," said Mr Anant Swarup, Secretary General, FICCI.
Dr Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary, Office of PSA, said: “Partnership with FICCI is a strategic initiative. This will serve national interest by bringing the stakeholders of the triple helix model – government, researchers/ academia and industry (including MSME and Startups) to collectively work for meaningful outcomes in priority areas like deep tech.”
.png)
