India and Japan Enhance Technological Collaboration with Key Agreements in Quantum and Health Research | India News
New Delhi: India and Japan on Wednesday strengthened their cooperation in emerging technologies and health research, with both countries exchanging agreements in the fields of quantum science and medical devices during a high-level bilateral meeting in New Delhi.Japan’s Minister of Science and Technology Policy and Minister of State for Space Policy, Onoda Kimi, along with a high-level delegation, met Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh to discuss cooperation in frontier technologies including quantum science, artificial intelligence, health research and advanced computing.A Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) on health and medical devices was exchanged between Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Department of Science and Technology (DST) during the meeting. A Letter of Intent (LoI) on Cooperation in Quantum Science and Technology has been signed between the Cabinet Office of Japan and DST.The Ministry of Science and Technology said the engagement is aimed at advancing the India-Japan strategic partnership in “Science, Technology and Innovation” with a “strong focus on emerging and critical technologies”.Addressing the gathering, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, “India and Japan share a natural synergy in science and technology. While Japan brings advanced technological capabilities, India offers a vast pool of talented human resources. Together, we can accelerate innovation in frontier areas and translate research into impactful societal outcomes.”He added that India’s growing focus on the deep-tech sector through national missions on “quantum technologies, cyber-physical systems, electric mobility, clean energy and advanced computing” is creating opportunities for “joint research, co-development and industrial partnerships”.The ministry said the talks were based on the outcome of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan in August 2025, where both countries agreed to expand cooperation under the India-Japan Science, Technology and Innovation Partnership.During the interaction, Onoda Kimi praised India’s “rapid economic growth and its strong commitment to innovation,” particularly the “large-scale adoption of artificial intelligence in the field.”He also said his engagement with Indian academic institutions reflected “a strong culture of resilience among young researchers, with the ability to learn from failure and continue to innovate”.According to the ministry, the Japanese side highlighted that the country’s strengths in “advanced manufacturing and computational technologies including quantum and AI” are closely aligned with India’s growing technology ecosystem.The two sides also discussed cooperation under India’s National Quantum Mission, which includes areas such as quantum computing, communications, sensing and secure communication networks. Japan has shared insights from its quantum innovation hubs and expressed interest in connecting them with Indian institutions.Further discussions included researcher mobility programmes, joint innovation platforms and industrial internships for Indian researchers in Japan with a view to strengthening academic and industrial partnerships between the two countries.The ministry said both countries have agreed to deepen engagement through “researcher-to-researcher collaboration, institutional partnerships and industrial linkages” to strengthen India-Japan cooperation in science, technology and innovation.
