INDIA FRANCE RELATIONS
WHY IN NEWS ?
- Recently,Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins a two-day visit to France, where he will attend the traditional Bastille Day military parade as guest of honour and discuss major new defence deals.
MORE ABOUT THE PM MODI’S VISIT:
- PM Modi will visit France from July 13-14 at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron.
- He is also scheduled to attend the Bastille Day Parade on July 14.
- India and France have agreed to use Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payment mechanism.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been conferred with the highest honour of France, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, by French President Emmanuel Macron.
HISTORICAL RELATIONS :
- Historians usually consider the period between 1947 and 1962 as the first phase of Indo-French relations.
- Year 1962 was for France the year it constitutionally departed from the subcontinent and for India.
- Homi Bhabha had extremely cordial contacts with Frédéric Joliot-Curie and Raoul Dautry, the first heads of the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), founded by de Gaulle in 1945.
BILATERAL COOPERATIONS:
- India and France have close and friendly relations.
- In 1998, the two countries entered into a Strategic Partnership which is emblematic of their convergence of views on a range of international issues apart from a close and growing bilateral relationship.
- India-France partnership covers all aspects of bilateral cooperation which involve a strategic component.
- It is based on close cooperation in the sectors of defense, civil nuclear energy, space and security (cyber security, counter-terrorism, intelligence) and now includes a strong Indo-Pacific component.
- The strategic partnership has profited from sustained political investments made at the senior-most levels of decision making.
- The long-standing relationship between France and India has resulted in extensive co-operation in the domains of aerospace and civil nuclear energy besides military matters.
- Science and technology cooperation, deep-rooted cultural ties, and a historically francophile literary & fine-arts community in India has provided solid foundations for the strategic relationship.
- The signing of an agreement for the supply of 36 Rafale aircraft in September 2016, and an industrial agreement in March 2018 to build six European pressurized water reactors (EPR) at the Jaitapur site are directly linked to this partnership.
COLLABORATION IN DEFENCE , CLIMATE AND TECHNOLOGY:
DEFENCE: The defence relationship, a critical element in ties, is marked by trust and reliability.
- The PM’s visit is likely to see agreements or announcements on the acquisition of 26 Rafale-M (the marine version) fighters for the Indian Navy, and co-production of three more Scorpene class submarines at the public sector Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd, which has already produced six Scorpene/Kalvari-class submarines under an earlier agreement.
- P-75 Scorpene Project: The contract for six Scorpene submarines from M/s DCNS was signed in October 2006. All six vessels are to be built under technology transfer at the Mazagaon Docks Ltd. Project implementation is underway. The first submarine INS Kalvari was commissioned in October 2017.
- The French and Indian armies frequently conduct joint exercises (e.g. Shakti, Varuna, Pegase, Garuda), demonstrating the efforts underway with a view to closer integration and interoperability wherever possible.
ENVIRONMENT:
- The two sides also cooperate closely on climate change initiatives.
- Last October, they signed a Road Map on Green Hydrogen, which aims “to bring the French and Indian hydrogen ecosystems together” to establish a reliable and sustainable value chain for a global supply of decarbonised hydrogen.
- Earlier in February 2022, they signed a Road Map on the Blue Economy and Ocean Governance.
TECHNOLOGY:
- Roadmap on digital technology co-operation may be on the cards for 6G, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing.
- An MoU signed last month between NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and Lyra, a France-based payment services provider, may be implemented soon to enable UPI and RuPay payments in Europe.
ECONOMIC COOPERATION:
- France has emerged as a major source of FDI for India with more than 1,000 French establishments already present in India.
- France is the 11th largest foreign investor in India with a cumulative FDI stock of USD 9.83 billion from April 2000 to March 2021, which represents 2 % of the total FDI inflows into India.
- France has emerged as a key trading partner of India with annual trade of USD 12.42 billion in 2021-22.
- It is the 11th largest foreign investor in India with a cumulative investment of USD 10.31 billion from April 2000 to June 2022, which represents 1.70% of the total foreign direct investment inflows into India.
COOPERATION IN FIELD OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE AND TECH:
- In the field of S&T, the Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advance Research (CEFIPRA) based in New Delhi established in 1987 is playing a major role by funding joint proposals for research in sciences and evaluation existing research projects.
- Joint Indo-French research projects funded by CEFIPRA have led to several patents.
- During the visit of President Macron to India, the two sides encouraged their respective Universities and academic institutes to increase the number and quality of student exchanges with the aim of reaching the number of 10,000 students by 2020.
- An Agreement on the mutual recognition of degrees was also signed between the two sides to facilitate the pursuit of higher education by Indian students in France and French students in India and increase their employability.
INDIAN DIASPORA IN FRANCE:
- According to statistics published by the Indian Embassy in Paris, the Indian community including NRIs in France is estimated to be around 106,000, largely originating from Puducherry, Karaikal, Yanam, Mahe and Chandranagar.
- There are large communities of PIOs in overseas territories/departments of France: Reunion Island (about 250,000), Guadeloupe (about 57,000), Martinique (about 6,000) and St. Martin (about 300).
CHALLENGES IN INDO-FRENCH RELATIONS:
- Despite being significant trade partners, there is a trade imbalance between India and France, with France exporting more to India than the other way around.
- Absence of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between France and India .
- China’s increasing dominance in the Indian Ocean region has become a source of concern for both India and France, as it has the potential to disrupt the regional balance of power and undermine regional stability and security.
WAY FORWARD:
- More cooperation is required on areas like biodiversity, elimination of single use plastic, disaster resilient infrastructure and conserving ocean resources.
- The cooperation between India and France at multiple levels can create a new world order for the common benefit of the international community.
- The two countries should also look forward for increasing bilateral trade and investment by setting up joint ventures, expanding trade agreements, and promoting cross-border investment.
SYLLABUS: MAINS, GS-2, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
SOURCE: THE HINDU, INDIAN EXPRESS