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Jun 23, 2026
Ramaharitha Pusarla

France at the Heart of India’s Tech Pivot

PM Modi’s seventh visit to France, spread across three phases, featured the inauguration of Bharat Innovates 2026 at Nice, a quick trip to Évian-les-Bains for the G7 meetings and a stopover at Paris for the France VivaTech Summit. With geopolitical uncertainties mounting and traditional alliance structures rapidly eroding, the global order is undergoing significant realignment. Openly acknowledging this huge shift, PM Modi, addressing the G7 Summit, declared, “trust is the new global currency” and called for a world that moves “from donor-recepient to partnerships based on trust and equality”. Instructively, while new interest-based coalitions are shaping up, only partnerships anchored in ‘mutual trust and mutual respect’, like Indo-French ties, remained resilient amid global upheavals. India and France elevated ties to “Special Global Strategic Partnership” in February 2026 and jointly inaugurated the India-France Year of Innovation to expand and diversify cooperation in AI, innovation, digital technology, renewable energy, trade and education. The journey of both countries as partners in innovation began with the Paris AI Action Summit, co-hosted by President Macron and PM Modi in 2025. Taking up the baton, India held the subsequent AI Summit edition in New Delhi. Coincidentally, both countries have reviewed ties a day after the US ordered Anthropic to suspend access to foreign countries. Besides, jolting countries from complacency, it has exposed the critical vulnerability of relying on foreign technological infrastructure. The weaponisation of AI has triggered debates of technological sovereignty. It served as a wake-up call for nations to build sovereign infrastructure and develop independent foundational models. To insulate businesses from such shocks, enterprises are now moving away from single-model dependencies to multi-model architectures. To safeguard technological sovereignty from the overbearing conduct of the superpowers, Middle powers are now deepening issue-based coalitions. The coming together of India and France, both Middle Powers, is also rooted in their quest to unlock innovation potential and build a future-oriented innovation partnership. Positioning innovation as an important pillar of partnership with the India-France Innovation Roadmap 2030, countries attest to its role in economic resilience, sustainable development, strategic autonomy, and technological and industrial sovereignty. Firming up the innovation partnership, France hosted the first foreign edition of Bharat Innovates, a flagship initiative showcasing India’s deep-tech startups. This platform aims to become a launchpad for India’s technological ambitions. Jointly inaugurated by PM Modi and President Macron, 120 Indian startups and 500 global investors, venture capitalists, and business leaders participated in the event. Technology remained one of the focus aspects of PM Modi’s week-long visit to France and Slovakia, where he eloquently presented India’s human-centric and inclusive AI vision. To mobilise tech cooperation and investments, PM Modi attended the 10th edition of VivaTech in Paris, where India was the AI country of focus. At the event, PM Modi met CEOs of Mistral AI, Saint Gobain, Alstom and the CMA CGM Group and briefed them about India’s aspirations of becoming an innovation economy. Addressing the event, PM Modi hard sold India’s digital transformation that has phenomenally revolutionised Indian lives by delivering prosperity at the grassroots levels. Attended by tech giants, innovators, business leaders and 15,000 startups drawn from 165 countries, the Paris edition also had an Indian Pavilion. Over 80 deep-tech Indian startups showcased their innovations at the event. Taking a serious note of the US government’s directive to Anthropic to suspend access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models for foreign nationals, European companies like Siemens, Renault, Chaps Vision announced their plans to diversify their AI providers at the event. Rearing to become an innovation economy, India is investing heavily to build a technology ecosystem. In the past decades, India has launched Startup India, Digital India Programme (2015), National Supercomputing Mission (2015), Semicon India Programme (2021), Design Linked Incentive Scheme (DLI, 2021), National Quantum Mission (2023), National Blockchain Framework (2021), Chips to Startup Programme (C2S, 2022), and the Bharat6G Alliance (B6GA, 2023) to harness the innovative potential of Indian youth. Sustained investments and strong policy support helped India rise to the 38th position in the Global Innovation Index in 2025 from the 81st position in 2015. India ranks first among lower-middle-income countries in innovation. But India’s ranking woefully falls short of its ambitious vision of a $10 trillion economy by 2034-25. Despite strong digital infrastructure, a huge talent pool, government initiatives and massive AI penetration, India fares rather poorly in terms of AI infrastructure and innovation. Its R&D investment (0.65 per cent of GDP) is way behind the global average (2-3 per cent). Stymied by brain drain, India suffers from an innovation output and input balance. France has a robust research infrastructure and venture ecosystem. India has huge, unexplored, organically growing tech talent capable of providing cost-effective deep-tech solutions. Integrating these complementary strengths, countries can address the 21st-century global challenges. To concretise this synergy, countries have affirmed to adopt the India-France Innovation Roadmap 2030, which resonates with India’s 2047 Viksit Bharat and France 2030, an innovation flagship initiative of the French government. Working together for the shared vision of combating climate change, India and France instituted the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in 2015, a beacon of sustainable development with over 120 signatory nations. A decade later, on the foundation of shared values and vision, countries signed a declaration on Artificial Intelligence. In the recent past, countries have launched initiatives ranging from security to sustainability to provide solutions to global issues. Giving a huge fillip to the India-France Innovation ecosystem, countries are promoting academic collaboration, scientific cooperation, and strengthening frameworks for mutual recognition of academic qualifications. France has set a talent mobility target of 30,000 Indian students by 2030. To facilitate academic mobility, it has instituted welcoming legal pathways. Through InnoXchange Bridge, countries are developing a dedicated entrepreneurship corridor for reciprocal access to research organisations, technology platforms and innovation clusters, startup ecosystems. In addition to the India-France Innovation Network (IFIN), countries are strengthening partnerships between private space ecosystems and consent-based data sharing on global health challenges. Countries have signed 19 MoUs to seamlessly integrate the research ecosystems of both countries through collaborations between the elite research and academic institutions under the broad framework of Innovation Roadmap 2030. Reviewing the bilateral relations spanning diverse sectors, countries exchanged MoUs on the establishment of the Centre of Excellence in skilling in Aeronautics at IIT Kanpur, expanding the spread of UPI in France, the establishment of a high-level mechanism to double bilateral trade in the next five years, cooperation in high-speed rail development and human space exploration. Along with the traditional sectors like trade, textiles and engineering, countries are also intensifying cooperation in defence, nuclear energy and space. Tighter US immigration policies, persistent H1B visa issues, mounting green card backlogs and high visa denials Indian students have widened faultlines and strained longstanding tech collaboration frameworks. Additionally, the strategic tech ‘kill button’ wielded by Trump has prompted India to actively deepen ties with reliable and trusted partners. As a result, the Indian tech ecosystem is accelerating its drift towards Europe. India has signalled its commitment to open up pathways for trade, technology and tourism by signing the FTA with the EU. Among European countries, India’s relationship with France is one of its most enduring bilateral partnerships. As a resident power of Indo-Pacific, France occupies a unique place in India’s strategic calculus, making it a significant player in India’s geopolitical realm. France is emerging as a vital connecting point between the European and Indian innovation, industrial and tech ecosystems. India’s growing engagement with France is not a mere economic choice but a carefully calibrated strategic pivot. References https://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents?dtl/41306/IndiaFrance_Innovation_Roadmap_2030_June_14_2026 https://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents?dtl/41305/List_of_outcomes_Visit_of_the_Prime_Minister_to_France https://www.mea.gov.in/media-briefings?dtl/41335/Transcript_of_Special_Briefing_on_the_visit_of_Prime_Minister_to_Paris_France_June_19_2026 https://www.mea.gov.in/media-briefings?dtl/41307/Transcript_of_Special_Briefing_by_MEA_on_the_visit_of_Prime_Minister_to_Nice_France_June_14_2026 https://www.mea.gov.in/speeches-statements?dtl/41331/Prime_Ministers_address_during_VivaTech_2026_Paris_June_18_2026 https://www.mea.gov.in/speeches-statements?dtl/41302/English_Translation_of_Prime_Ministers_address_at_the_Bharat_Innovates_event_June_14_2026

Jun 23, 2026
Swami Pranaka

What Does It Mean to Be Truly Healthy?

How Ayurvedic wisdom and modern global health philosophy arrived at the same profound answer, centuries apart For centuries, humanity has lived with a deceptively simple question: What does it truly mean to be healthy? The answer, interestingly, looks strikingly similar whether one is reading a 2,500-year-old Sanskrit text or a 20th-century World Health Organisation charter. Modern medicine often defines health through what it can measure: blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose levels, scan reports, and other clinical markers. These are important and often lifesaving. But both ancient Ayurvedic wisdom and modern global health thinking remind us that health is something far richer, deeper, and more alive. The WHO’s Radical Redefinition When the World Health Organisation framed its landmark definition of health in 1948, it was quietly revolutionary: “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” World Health Organisation, 1948 The key phrase is “not merely.” With these two words, the WHO acknowledged what patients and healers have known for ages: a person can have a clean bill of health on paper and still feel utterly depleted. Mental balance, emotional stability, meaningful relationships, and social connection are not extras. They are central to what it means to be well. Ayurveda Said It First More than two millennia before the WHO, the ancient physician Sushruta expressed a remarkably similar understanding in a single Sanskrit verse: समदोषः समाग्निश्च समधातुमलक्रियः । प्रसन्नात्मेन्द्रियमनाः स्वस्थ इत्यभिधीयते ॥ Suśruta Saṃhitā, Sūtrasthāna 15/41 In essence, a person is healthy when the three doshas are balanced, digestion is strong, bodily tissues are well nourished, waste is eliminated efficiently, and most importantly, the soul, senses, and mind remain peaceful and content. The Five Pillars of Ayurvedic Health Ayurveda describes health through five key dimensions: Sama Dosha: The three biological forces, Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, remain in balance. Sama Agni: The digestive and metabolic fire functions well. Sama Dhatu: The seven bodily tissues are properly nourished. Sama Mala Kriya: Waste products are eliminated efficiently. Prasanna Atma, Indriya, Manas: The inner self, senses, and mind are calm, clear, and content. This last point is especially important. Ayurveda does not treat the body and mind as separate worlds. A disturbed mind, dull senses, poor digestion, and low vitality are all signs that the system needs attention. Why Digestion Is Everything One of Ayurveda’s most striking insights is the central role of Agni, the digestive and metabolic fire. In everyday language, digestion usually means breaking down food. In Ayurveda, it means much more. Agni is the force that transforms food into energy, nourishment, immunity, clarity, and vitality. When Agni is balanced, the body feels light, the mind feels clear, and energy remains steady. When Agni is disturbed, imbalance can show up in different ways depending on one’s dominant dosha. Vata imbalance may appear as irregular digestion, bloating, anxiety, disturbed sleep, and fluctuating energy. Pitta imbalance may show up as acidity, excess heat, irritability, inflammation, and sharp, insistent hunger. Kapha imbalance may appear as sluggish digestion, heaviness, lethargy, poor immunity, and accumulation of toxins. Modern science is now beginning to understand these deep connections through research on the gut-brain axis, the microbiome, and psychoneuroimmunology. These fields show how closely digestion is linked with immunity, mood, and cognition, ideas that Ayurveda has explored for centuries. Established in Oneself The Ayurvedic word for health, Swastha, is worth pausing on. It does not simply mean “not sick.” Literally, it means “established in one’s own Self.” This is a very different way of looking at health. Consider a person with perfect lab results who is constantly anxious, exhausted, and disconnected from meaning. Ayurveda would not call this complete health. On the other hand, a person managing a chronic illness, yet remaining emotionally grounded, mentally clear, and inwardly peaceful, reflects a dimension of wellness that disease-centred medicine may not always measure. The WHO points toward this through the phrase “social well-being.” Ayurveda goes even further by including consciousness itself in the definition of health. Ancient Wisdom, Modern Urgency The convergence of these two frameworks is significant. One comes from millennia of clinical observation and inner exploration. The other comes from 20th-century global health policy. Yet both point to the same truth: health cannot be reduced to numbers on a chart. Ayurvedic sages understood the human being as an interconnected ecosystem of body, mind, environment, behaviour, digestion, and consciousness. Modern integrative medicine is gradually rediscovering this through neuroscience, lifestyle medicine, microbiome research, and preventive healthcare. The two traditions need not compete. They can illuminate each other. As Sadhguru says, “Health is not just being disease-free. Health is when every cell in your body is bouncing with life.”

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