India and France have in recent years enhanced their strategy cooperation in defense, space, economic, digital and multilateral spheres. In defence, France is the second-largest arms seller to India with big deals such as the Rafale aircraft and Scorpene Submarines. Both the countries have started a process known as ‘defense industrial roadmap – a framework of co-design, co-development for co-production to build defense capabilities. The India-France Indo-Pacific Road-map set up in 2023 enhance their engagement from the Indian ocean region to the Indo-pacified region. In space sector, France is deeply involved with India and in fact, at the economic front also, France continues to be an important investor in India.
Besides, India and France have agreed to carry out a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create the Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum in New Delhi under the Centre Vista Rejuvenation Scheme. The museum, which covers India’s unbroken civilizational history, would span north and south blocks and would involve adaptive reuse with reference to French ‘Grands Projets’. This strengthens the bilateral cultural relationship that marries Indian history to French professionalism in museums creation.
Key Points:
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The Ministry of Culture, Government of India has signed an MOU with France Museums Development (FMD) to build the Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum.
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It will be spread over 155,000 sq km in the North and the South Blocks of New Delhi under the Central Vista Redevelopment Project.
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The museum will be dedicated to the Indian civilization that has an unbroken historical and cultural continuum.
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India and France will maintain partnerships that range from feasibility studies, interpretive planning as well as programming of lifestyle activities where France has adopted concrete examples of museum construction evidenced by the Grand Louvre.
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The North block and South block will be re-purposed according to the French “Grands Projets” that aimed at the conversion of government structures into cultural ones keeping historical appearance of the building in mind.
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The purpose of this partnership is to promote cultural and historical relations between the two countries, as well as the development of historic buildings’ adaptive reuse.
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Which the Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum seeks to accomplish by acting as the nexus between India’s past, present and future while offering a cultural loudspeaker to India’s entire population.
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The foundation for this cooperation enhances the 2020 LOI that speaks more of museum and heritage with additional emphasis on this aspect having been made by the Prime Minister during his Paris visit in 2023
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The museum will transform conventional methods of museum visits, connect India’s diverse cultural past with the present and provide the society with a venue that embraces versatility and encourages generations to come.
India-France relations
India and France have indeed blossomed into a qualitatively complex strategic relationship especially in defense, space, economic, digital and multilateral spheres.
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Defense Cooperation: France is the second largest arms supplier to India which includes a few major projects such as Rafale aircraft and the P-75 Scorpene Submarine project. To meet Indian defense needs and to create export potential both of the nations have started a program called ‘defense industrial roadmap’ aiming at co-design, co-development and co-production. Their intensified military cooperation is evidenced by the bilateral exercises: VARUNA and FRINJEX-23.
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Geo-Strategic: Reacting to the shifting dynamics in the region in 2023, Paris and New Delhi have begun to build the Indo-Pacific Roadmap for India-France cooperation in ensuring the stability of the area, which has broadened the topic of bilateral cooperation from the Indian Ocean space to the larger Indo-Pacific region.
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Space Cooperation: France still remains the partner of India in space affairs providing parts and discussing future projects including the TRISHNA Earth Observation mission and LV tech.
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Economic Cooperation: France is among the top ten sources of FDI for India in the fiscal year-2022, with FDI of $659.77 million. Tata Group and Airbus signed an understanding to produce Indian-built civilian helicopters as well as Akasa Air acquiring more than 300 LEAP-1B engines from CFM International.
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Digital Cooperation: India and France have taken UPI to the global level by launching the Unified Payments Interface from the Eiffel Tower and announced cooperation between PayTM and Orange for safe transactions for Indian tourists and Non-Resident Indians. Also, France has designed supercomputers for India which includes Param Siddhi, the fastest supercomputer in India.
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Multilateral Cooperation: France has backed India’s aspiration for a permanent membership of the UNSC and supported India on issues including Kashmir and terrorism and on nonproliferation endeavors. France assisted in the inclusion of India in MTCR in the year 2008, WA in the year 2011 and AG in the year 2016.
Conclusion
The increase in the relations between India and France shows an indication of the relationship with strategic and cultural bonds. There are large defense, space, and economic interactions between both nations and the Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum is a major cultural cooperation. This is not only to show and embrace the historical and cultural values of India but also has required relationship for mutual benefit. This way the relationship between the two nations is shifted to the synergy of the new functions of the historical buildings for the contemporary cultural meanings evolutionary program is set for the further cooperation of the two countries in both technical and cultural front.
