India, US join hands to launch Global Challenges Institute, joint research centres

NEW DELHI: India and the United States announced multiple collaborations in the field of education among others as prime minister Narendra Modi and US president Joe Biden met during the ongoing G20 summit in New Delhi. The two countries have joined hands on various initiatives such as an institute on global challenges, joint research centres, and partnership in the quantum domain.

The Council of Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT Council) and the Association of American Universities (AAU) signed an agreement to establish the India-US Global Challenges Institute, with a combined initial commitment of at least 10 million US dollars, as per an official statement.

The institute aims to solve global issues including sustainable energy and agriculture, health and pandemic preparedness, semiconductor technology and manufacturing, advanced materials, telecommunications, artificial intelligence, and quantum science.

IITs, US universities to start research centers

IIT Kanpur is joining hands with the New York University Tandon School of Engineering to start the NYU-Tandon Advanced Research Center in critical and emerging technologies.

Moreover, IIT Kanpur, IIT Jodhpur, IIT BHU and IIT Delhi will tie up with the State University of New York at Buffalo to set up joint research centers. IIT Kanpur, IIT Hyderabad and other institutes will also participate in the Academia Startup Partnership under the India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X).

As a part of the collaboration, SN Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata has become a member of the Quantum Economic Development Consortium while IIT Bombay joined the Chicago Quantum Exchange as an international partner.

Talking about the tie up, the ministry of education said in a tweet, “India-US bond deepens as collaboration in academics soars with the growing number of multi-institutional collaborative education partnerships between the two countries.”

“These partnerships serve as a testament to the strengthening educational ties between India and the United States in the core, key sector of education,” it added.

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan also expressed joy over the collaboration and applauded the educational institutes.

As the #G20Summit gets underway, I'm delighted to share the transformative Joint Statement issued by Hon. PM Shri @narendramodi and President Joe Biden @POTUS. This statement celebrates our educational collaboration through the India-U.S. Global Challenges Institute and marks a…

— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) September 9, 2023