Technology & Innovation

Between September 07 and 09, 2026, diplomatic ties between India and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg took a highly practical and exciting turn.

Three researchers from India have won the highly competitive European Research Council Starting Grants. Supported by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme, these grants provide up to €1.5 million to each winner.

It was a big night for the European space sector. On September 5, 2026, Munich-based Isar Aerospace successfully launched multiple commercial satellites into Low Earth Orbit. Lifting off at 22:12 Central European Summer Time from the Andøya Spaceport in Arctic Norway, the company's Spectrum rocket made a flawless ascent.

The Coffee Board of India is currently urging local growers to register on the India Coffee App. This is to align India's agricultural exports with the new European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).

On 27 January 2026, the European Union and India signed their first-ever Security and Defence Partnership during the EU–India Summit in New Delhi. The new agreement commits both sides to deepen cooperation across a wide range of areas – and notably includes collaboration on “defence industry-related matters.”

Marking the first visit by an Indian Head of State to Bucharest in over three decades, President Droupadi Murmu’s State Visit to Romania from July 23 to 25, 2026, signaled a major diplomatic breakthrough in Central and Eastern Europe.

As India and the European Union move closer to concluding a landmark Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the focus has largely been on tariffs, market access, and supply chains.

During Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal's visit to Europe from 13–17 July 2026, covering Spain, Belgium and Finland, India and Spain agreed to fast-track discussions on enabling interoperability between India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Spain's Bizum digital payments platform. According to India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the initiative forms part of broader efforts to strengthen economic cooperation while leveraging Spain's strategic position