Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, joined the flagship Bharat Innovates 2026, held from 14-16 June 2026 in Nice, France. Commemorating the India–France Year of Innovation 2026, the summit was jointly inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, and the Hon’ble President of the Republic of France, Shri Emmanuel Macron, in the presence of Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar, National Security Adviser Shri Ajit Doval, along with founders of deep-tech startups and accelerators, business and academic leaders, and global venture capitalists. Organised under the aegis of the Ministry of Education, Bharat Innovates 2026 served as a global platform for academic institutions and startups to showcase cutting-edge innovations across emerging technology domains. The summit fostered international engagement by strengthening research networks, promoting joint innovation activities, and creating opportunities for new partnerships across the global innovation ecosystem. As part of the programme, Prof. Sood, along with the Indian delegation, visited the startup pavilion, where more than 120 deep-tech startups, 15 leading academic institutions, and over 500 global stakeholders showcased products and technological innovations across 13 frontier sectors, including advanced computing, semiconductors, space technology, biotechnology, healthcare, energy, and advanced manufacturing. Prof. Sood also joined the signing of more than 30 strategic Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and joint declarations aimed at strengthening collaboration between Indian and global innovation ecosystems. These included 12 agreements connecting Indian higher education institutions and incubators with French and international partners to advance entrepreneurship, innovation, research collaboration, and startup support. Additionally, 16 MoUs were signed with leading global corporations to accelerate technology development, enable commercialisation, and expand market opportunities for Indian innovators. Academic collaboration received a further impetus through 13 partnership agreements between French universities and 11 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). Ministry of External Affairs, India | French Embassy in India / Ambassade de France en Inde | Startup India | Kritsnam Technologies | Pandorum Technologies | 5C Network | Rukam Capital | Pramatra Space | QNu Labs | Blue Machines AI | Asian Paints | Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay | Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi | Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar | Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad | Indian Institute of Technology, Indore | Indian Institute of Technology Jammu | Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar | Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur | Indian Institute of Technology, Madras