Expanding Bilateral AI Cooperation
Organised jointly by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (OPSA), IISc, and the Consulate General of France in Bengaluru, the roundtable continued the ongoing Track 1.5 dialogue series on AI policy cooperation between India and France. Earlier editions of this dialogue were hosted in Bengaluru and Paris during 2025.
The session focused on advancing collaboration in AI infrastructure, industry partnerships, research initiatives, and responsible AI governance. Participants emphasised the shared vision of equitable access to AI resources and fostering inclusive innovation across both countries.
Leadership and Moderation
The roundtable was co-chaired by Her Excellency Ms. Anne Bouverot, Special Envoy of the President of the French Republic for Artificial Intelligence, and Shri Amit A. Shukla, Joint Secretary of the Cyber Diplomacy Division, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. Both leaders highlighted the importance of strengthening bilateral ties in emerging technologies.
The discussion was co-moderated by Professor Chiranjib Bhattacharyya from IISc and Professor Francis Rousseaux from ETI Expertise France and the iSPIRT Foundation, representing France.
Key Discussions and Insights
Participants highlighted India’s robust AI ecosystem, built on digital public infrastructure, a thriving startup network, and leading academic institutions, as a platform for co-development with French partners. The French delegation reaffirmed its commitment to human-centric AI and stressed the value of industrial cooperation to expand access to AI technologies and computational resources.
Interventions came from representatives across government, industry, startups, and academia, including:
- Dr. Preeti Banzal, OPSA
- Mr. Marc Lamy, Consul General of France in Bengaluru
- Ms. Kavita Bhatia, MeitY
- Mr. Emilien Coquard, CEO, The Scalers
- Mr. Ankush Sabharwal, Founder & CEO, CoRover and BharatGPT
- Mr. Alexandre Correia, Sopra Steria, French Tech India
- Mr. Rajgopal A. S., NxtGen Cloud Technologies
- Mr. Vikram Balakrishna, CTO, Atos
- Mr. Ashish Tewari, Head, Responsible AI Office, Infosys
- Dr. Jyoti Joshi, Kroop.ai, Monash University
Other notable contributors included representatives from the French Embassy, IIT Jodhpur, IISc, and Aapti Institute. Discussions are expected to feed into both the AI Impact Summit 2026 and the India–France Year of Innovation 2026.
Looking Ahead
The roundtable reinforced India and France’s commitment to collaborative AI research, industrial cooperation, and responsible technology development. These discussions are set to guide policy frameworks and innovation strategies for upcoming bilateral initiatives and international summits.