Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday inaugurated the Bharat Innovates 2026 in Nice, France, which aims to showcase showcasing India’s deep tech innovators and start-ups to the global investors and industry in the French city.
Macron hails India’s innovation
Addressing the ‘Bharat Innovates’ event alongside PM Modi, Macron hailed India’s growing role in shaping global technological progress and said the country is “spearheading global innovation” as he reaffirmed France’s commitment to deepening cooperation with India in areas ranging from artificial intelligence to clean energy and scientific research.
“A country with 1.4 billion inhabitants, a country who pays on know-how and research knowledge and training as many engineers as Europe and the US combined, more than one million per year. So in every respect, a country with research innovations and frontier models is spearheading global innovation,” Macron said.
Macron said the India-France relationship is built on a shared belief in innovation and international cooperation. “The question is no longer whether India innovates. The question is who will innovate with India,” he said, adding that France was honoured to host the first Bharat Innovates event outside India.
What PM Modi said about India-France relations?
Speaking at the event, PM Narendra Modi said innovation, technology and the aspirations of the country’s youth are driving India’s transformation and shaping the future.
Highlighting that India-France relations are driven by shared vision and shared interests, Modi said that the relationship has “connection, conviction, innovation, inspiration, shared values and shared vision”, based on which the two countries have launched new initiatives and guided new ideas in the past few years.
“We have also made all efforts to find solutions to global challenges. Be it International Solar Alliance, AI-related dialogues, our partnership from security to sustainability – meaning, our two nations have worked together in finding solutions to challenges related to humanity. In February this year, India-France Year of Innovation was started. I am delighted that today we are inaugurating ‘Bharat Innovates’ with France,” the Prime Minister
What is ‘Bharat Innovates’?
A first-of-its-kind event, Bharat Innovates aims to showcase India’s deep tech innovators and start-ups to the global investors and industry in Nice, and will serve as a high-impact platform for advancing innovation-led partnerships between India and global stakeholders.
Several key announcements and outcomes are expected during the event, including strengthened collaboration frameworks in Deep Tech, research and development, start-up scaling, and cross-border investment facilitation.
Bharat Innovates 2026 features about 120 Indian innovators, nearly 15 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and over 500 investors, including leading corporates and venture capital firms, along with global CEOs and industry leaders.
The event covers 13 key sectors such as advanced computing, semiconductors, space technology, biotechnology, energy, healthcare, and manufacturing, highlighting India’s growing innovation and Deep Tech ecosystem.
What did PM Modi say about the event?
The event marked the start of PM Modi’s visit to France that will also include engagements in Evian and Paris, aimed at deepening India’s bilateral and multilateral partnerships.
Earlier, the prime minister the landmark event, being held against the backdrop of the India-France Year of Innovation, will connect India’s most promising start-ups with global investment and serve as a major accelerator for innovations emerging from India’s higher education ecosystem.
French President Macron noted that Bharat innovates follows the launch of the France-India Year of Innovation and serves as a platform to connect Indian startups and innovators with French partners, investors and researchers.
Meanwhile, Macron also congratulated PM Modi on becoming India’s longest-serving Prime Minister since independence.
“A few days ago, you’ve become the Prime Minister with the longest serving time since the independence of India. This long run says a lot about your determined action, the strengths of your country, and its wonderful assets and your leadership. So we are very proud to have you here,” he said.
Modi, Macron inaugurate ‘Bharat Innovates’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday jointly inaugurated the ‘Bharat Innovates 2026’ conclave in Nice, bringing together leading startups, innovators and venture capital funds from India, France and several other countries.
The high-profile event, which brings together top innovation startups from India, France and the world, marks a crucial milestone in the ongoing ‘India-France Year of Innovation’ and underscores the rapidly expanding tech partnership between the two nations.
The three-day innovation conclave, running from June 14 to June 16, serves as a powerful platform to connect Indian innovators with global investors, industry leaders and academic institutions
First published on: Jun 14, 2026 04:58 PM IST
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