THEBUSINESSBYTES
BUREAU
NICE
(FRANCE), JUNE 14, 2026
India is steadily
positioning itself as the world’s innovation partner, with a strong focus on
fostering global collaboration in emerging technologies, entrepreneurship and
research-driven growth, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said
on Sunday at the inaugural session of the Bharat Innovates Summit in Nice,
France.
Addressing a
gathering of global investors, startups, technology leaders and policymakers,
Goyal said the Bharat Innovates initiative is designed to transform India’s
innovation ecosystem into a global force while building meaningful
international partnerships. “While the theme of Bharat Innovates is a global
accelerator for India’s education system, the real spirit is to concretise our
efforts to be the world’s innovation partner,” he said.
The minister noted
that the summit is being held during the India-France Year of Innovation 2026,
providing a timely platform to deepen bilateral cooperation in technology,
innovation and advanced industries. He emphasized that the world is witnessing
rapid geopolitical shifts and transformative advances in frontier technologies,
making stronger international partnerships more important than ever.
Highlighting the
growing strategic relationship between the two countries, Goyal said India and
France elevated their ties earlier this year to a Special Global Strategic
Partnership, reflecting the expanding scope of cooperation across sectors. He
pointed to increasing collaboration in artificial intelligence and emerging
technologies, recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s co-chairing of the AI
Action Summit in Paris in February 2025 and French President Emmanuel Macron’s
participation in the AI Impact Summit hosted by India in February 2026.
In a strong pitch to global investors, Goyal invited French businesses and entrepreneurs to tap into India’s fast-growing innovation landscape. “I invite our French friends to visit India, invest in India, design in India, innovate in India and manufacture in India, both for the large domestic market and for exports to the rest of the world,” he said.
Jointly inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Emmanuel Macron, the three-day Bharat Innovates Summit has brought together startups, venture capital funds, academic institutions and industry leaders from across the world. The event aims to catalyse innovation-led investments and partnerships in high-growth sectors including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, advanced computing, biotechnology, healthcare, climate technology, manufacturing and space technology.
