New Delhi: The European Union and India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have launched a joint funding initiative for the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Staff Exchanges, part of the EU's research and innovation program, the Delegation of the European Union to India and Bhutan said on Wednesday.

This new partnership will promote a balanced researcher mobility and long-term collaborations.

"Through this scheme, CSIR will top up selected MSCA Staff Exchanges projects, enabling its institutes to engage in joint research projects with European and international partners and second their scientific and technical staff to European research organisations for knowledge sharing and research activities," the statement added.

This new partnership will strengthen research and innovation ties between Europe and India and drive forward scientific and technological progress by enhancing bilateral institutional cooperation, collaborative research and researcher exchanges in a plurilateral setting under Horizon Europe.

According to the official statement, through its Staff Exchanges scheme, the MSCA promote collaborative research, knowledge transfer and innovation by supporting the secondment of research and innovation staff within international consortia of organisations based in the EU, countries associated with Horizon Europe and third countries.

Following this, Ambassador of the European Union to India, Herve Delphin stated, "The Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Staff Exchanges co-funding initiative marks a watershed moment in EU-India research cooperation. This initiative comes in support of our political commitment to enhancing scientific excellence and people-to-people connectivity, as outlined in the EU-India Joint Roadmap 2025."

"Facilitating exchanges between our most brilliant researchers, will turbocharge joint innovation in all domains and pool our expertise to better address global challenges that impact our economies and societies," he added.

Director General, CSIR, N Kalaiselvi and Secretary DSIR, Government of India expressed their excitement for this collaboration with EU. He stressed that this "programme will not only boost the exchanges of our researchers but also forge stronger institutional ties."

"We are excited to join forces with the EU on this transformative initiative. The Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Staff Exchanges co-funding programme will not only boost the exchanges of our researchers but also forge stronger institutional ties and foster ground breaking research collaborations. We look forward to the profound impact this will have on science and technology in both regions," he said.

CSIR is India's premier research and development organisation, comprising 37 national laboratories and a dedicated team of over 8,000 scientific and technical staff.

The Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions under Horizon Europe is the reference programme for doctoral education and postdoctoral training. They support researchers across any career stage, as well as doctoral training and postdoctoral fellowship programmes and collaborative research in all domains.

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