INDIA - U.S. TO ESTABLISH A BI-NATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ENDOWMENT FUND AND JOINT COMMISSION 

New Delhi
March 2, 2006


President George Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the intention to establish a Bi-National Science and Technology Endowment Fund and a standing Science and Technology (S&T) Joint Commission. These initiatives will accelerate cooperation in many technical fields of mutual interest to India and the United States and benefit the economy and well-being of citizens of both countries. These initiatives build on the Indo-U.S. S&T Forum, established in 2000, and the S&T Cooperation Agreement signed October 17, 2005.

India and the US have a highly-developed educational and research and development capacities. Scientific and economic links between India and the United States have remained strong since the early 1960s, first in agriculture, and then spreading into a broad range of areas involving most U.S. government technical agencies. 

The United States and India will each contribute to start the Bi-National S&T Endowment Fund. Additional contributions are anticipated to be added from private sources. Income from the Fund will support the joint research and the development of India-U.S. S&T projects selected through a competitive process. Projects considered for funding will span a broad spectrum of topics of mutual priority, particularly those with potential to jump from the laboratory into the private sector. Topics include: biotechnology, health and infectious diseases; advanced materials and nanotechnology science; climate science; clean energy technologies; clean water technologies, hydrology and watershed management; cyber-security; natural resource and wildlife conservation management; basic space, atmospheric and earth sciences; and marine sciences. 

Recognizing the unique and expanding role of Science and Technology in Indo-U.S. relations, the Prime Minister and the President also agreed to form a Binational S&T Joint Commission that would provide a framework for a vigorous public-private partnership aimed at: 

- Serving as a bridge and forum for dialogue between the government science and technology agencies in both countries; 

- Fostering R&D and scientific exchanges between government, universities, research institutions, and the private sectors; 

- Encouraging the joint research and development of fast and medium S&T projects for commercial products for mutual benefit of both countries through mutually agreed mechanisms. 

- Providing oversight for Overseeing Indo-US cooperation in Science and Technology implemented through existing and emerging arrangements, including the Indo-US S&T Forum and the Binational S&T Endowment Fund, and;

- Encouraging commercialization of new technologies and identifying and promoting reduction of regulatory and bureaucratic barriers in both countries. 

The Joint Commission will be appointed and serviced by the Department of State of the Government of the United States of America and the Government of India, co-chaired by senior leaders ranking government officials from each country, and composed of representatives from the scientific community, government and industry. 

India has a highly-developed educational and research and development capacity. Scientific and economic links between India and the United States have remained strong since the early 1960s, first in agriculture, and then spreading into a broad range of areas involving most U.S. government technical agencies. The U.S. portion of the endowment comes from the U.S. S&T ‘Rupee Funds’ (also known as PL-480 funds) that were established in the 1980s to promote and fund S&T collaboration and educational and cultural exchanges. The rupee fund agreements, which stimulated a broad set of cooperative activity between the United States and India, continued until its funding authority expired in 1998. The Indo-U.S. S&T Forum was also originally established with a portion of Rupee Funds. The Forum is active and making valuable contributions in stimulating dialogue between India and the United States in the exploration and identification of mutual areas of cooperation through sponsoring workshops, scientist exchanges and meetings. Taken together, these activities herald a new era in S&T cooperation between the two countries.