THE British government has launched a £4 million ‘Innovation Challenge Fund’ in India to support collaborative research. The initiative is aimed at boosting tech solutions for social, economic and environmental challenges in India.
“I am delighted to announce the launch of this important fund which shows the UK and India working together as a force for good to address the key challenges facing India,” said British Deputy High Commissioner Jan Thompson at a recent event in Pune.
“The UK and India are leaders in the development and use of digital tech, and there is a huge amount we can learn from each other and big opportunities to join forces,” he added.
The fund is part of the UK-India Tech Partnership initiative launched during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's UK visit in 2018. And it seeks to bring together the industry and academia for common welfare.
The UK is expected to award between £200,000 and £500,000 over the next two years to fund R&D projects that would involve international partners, including the UK.
“When we bring our different strengths and perspectives together, we become a powerful force for good in the world,” said Karen McLuksie, who heads UK-India Tech Partnership.
“At this event we make good on the instructions of the Indian and UK Prime Ministers to ‘bring together some of the best minds on tech’ to address the global challenges that affect us all, and realise the potential of innovation to drive growth for the benefit of everyone,” he noted.
The project would invite proposals in key areas such as safety and convenience, technology leap (energy storage tech, temperature-controlled transport, drone mobility), connectivity, smart mobility, and recycling and upgrading.
The proposals would have to be based on developing partnerships between researchers, startups, scale-ups and small and medium enterprises, and NGOs, policymakers and practitioners in India and abroad.
A protestor is detained by the police during a demonstration against the proposed site of the new Chinese Embassy, outside Royal Mint Court, in London. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso. 
