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At the signing ceremony of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in London, Prime Minister Narendra Modi underscored the deepening strategic and technological partnership between the two nations. “A defence industrial roadmap has been drawn up for partnership in defence and security. Work will continue on strengthening our technology security initiative. It is our commitment that from AI to critical minerals, from semiconductors to cybersecurity, we shall create the future together,” PM Modi said.
Following the FTA signing, both countries issued a joint statement marking the first anniversary of the landmark UK-India Technology Security Initiative (TSI). The statement reaffirmed their shared resolve to harness frontier technologies to drive economic growth and bolster national security. Both nations hailed the TSI’s achievements so far and highlighted its transformative potential to foster cutting-edge innovations and investments across the technology value chain.
Background: TSI’s Launch and Vision
The TSI was launched on July 24, 2024, with the goal of “elevating the strategic partnership between the two countries to the next level.” Anchored by the National Security Advisors (NSAs) of India and the UK, the initiative focuses on advancing “moonshot” projects in seven key technology areas, including telecommunications, critical minerals, artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, and biotechnology.
Key Milestones in the First Year
The joint statement outlined significant progress under the TSI, including:
- Future Telecoms: Launch of a flagship £7 million joint research programme in 2024 to support Open RAN and 5G/6G testbed development.
- Telecom Lab Collaboration: Formalised cooperation between India’s Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) and the UK’s Smart RAN Open Network Interoperability Centre (SONIC) for telecom innovation, testing, and emerging technologies.
- AI Development: Accelerated efforts in trustworthy AI, including the first UK-India Conference on AI Opportunities, held in Bengaluru in February 2025.
- Critical Minerals: Completion of the first phase of the world’s first UK-India Critical Minerals Supply Chain Observatory. A second phase, backed by £1.8 million in new funding, will establish the world’s largest digital data infrastructure for the critical minerals value chain and set up a satellite campus at the Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad.
- FEMTECH Collaboration: Strengthened cooperation on women-oriented health technologies through partnerships between the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and India’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
- Private Sector Partnerships: Initiation of several new partnerships in telecom, critical minerals, advanced materials, and AI.
Future Roadmap
To deepen strategic collaboration, India and the UK have agreed to:
- AI Leadership: Establish a joint UK-India Centre for AI to promote trusted, real-world AI innovations and drive widespread adoption of these innovations.
- Advanced Telecoms: Collaborate on next-generation secure telecommunications, including AI-driven telecoms, non-terrestrial networks, and resilient 5G/6G. A new India-UK Connectivity and Innovation Centre will be established, with joint participation in international bodies such as the ITU and 3GPP, to support the development of 6 G.
- Critical Minerals Security: Establish a UK-India Critical Minerals Guild to enhance financing, research and development, recycling, supply chain risk management, and market development, while promoting circular economy principles and traceability.
- Biotechnology Accelerator: Leverage UK-India biotechnology collaboration in bio foundries, bioprinting, bio-manufacturing, and bio-based materials to drive innovation across healthcare, clean energy, and sustainable agriculture.
The UK and India will also continue to collaborate on Graphene and 2D materials technologies as part of the TSI framework.
Expanding the TSI Horizon
Recognising the initiative’s success, both leaders agreed to expand TSI into new frontier domains, with a particular focus on futuristic, secure, and strategic technologies. This expansion aims to align national security priorities while unlocking new opportunities for industry, academia, and start-ups.
India’s Strategic Technology Cooperation Models
India currently has only two strategic technology cooperation frameworks anchored by the NSA. The first, with the United States, began in January 2023 as the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET). In February 2025, during PM Modi’s visit to Washington, the framework was restructured and renamed U.S.–India TRUST (Transforming the Relationship Utilising Strategic Technology). The TSI with the UK is India’s second such mechanism.
Ravi Shankar
Dr Ravi Shankar has over two decades of experience in communications, print journalism, electronic media, documentary film making and new media.
He makes regular appearances on national television news channels as a commentator and analyst on current and political affairs. Apart from being an acknowledged Journalist, he has been a passionate newsroom manager bringing a wide range of journalistic experience from past associations with India’s leading media conglomerates (Times of India group and India Today group) and had led global news-gathering operations at world’s biggest multimedia news agency- ANI-Reuters. He has covered Parliament extensively over the past several years. Widely traveled, he has covered several summits as part of media delegation accompanying the Indian President, Vice President, Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister and Finance Minister across Asia, Africa and Europe.
