Dr.

Ram Manohar
Lohiya National Law
University, Lucknow

POLITICAL SCIENCE PROJECT

TOPIC: INDIA – FRANCE RELATION

SUBMITTED TO – SUBMITTED BY-

PROF.(DR.) MONICA SRIVASTAVA PRASHANT KUSHWAH
HEAD OF DEPARTMENT ENROLLMENT NO- 210101117
POLITICAL SCIENCE BALLB (HONS) 1ST YEAR
RMLNLU, LUCKNOW SECTION-B
 TABLE OF CONTENT
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT………………………………………………………...3
 ANCIENT RELATION…………………………………………………………...4
 POLITICAL RALATIONSHIP…………………………………………………...5
 STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP……………………………………………5
 BILATERAL VISIT……………………………………………………….6
 DEFENCE COOPERATION……………………………………………...7
 SPACE COOPERATION………………………………………………….8
 CIVIL NUCLEAR COOPERATION……………………………………....8
 SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION………………………….8
 INDIAN DIASPORA IN FRANCE………………………………………..9
 ECONOMIC COOPERATION…………………………………………………….9
 CLIMATE COOPERATION………………………………………………………10
 CULTURE COOPERATION………………………………………………………10
 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………….11
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to express my gratitude towards all those whose help and constant support the project would not have
reached its current facet. Foremost I would like to thank PROF.(DR.) MONICA SRIVASTAVA for his kind
guidance and for quenching my queries on many doubts and technicalities which I came up during the making of
this project. I would take advantage of this situation to thank him for providing me with such an enriching
opportunity to work and research on this topic. This project would not have seen the light of the day without the
constant direction and guidance of my parents and guardians to whom I owe a lot. I would also like to use this
opportunity to thank my seniors in helping me out with the nitty-gritty of formatting. I would also like to thank all
of my friends who aided me along the way. I must also extend my gratitude to the library and library personnel
who provided me with research material and good books to work upon and the distinguished authors, jurists and
journals for providing in the public domain such invaluable information.

Thanking you,

PRASHANT KUSHWAH
 India France Relations Historical Aspect

 In the 17th century, Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb had a French physician named François
Bernier.

 The French were the last colonial power to enter into trade with India. It was only in the
seventeenth century that they did so, decades after the English and the Dutch entered into India
for commercial purposes.

 Like all colonial powers of that time, the French came in as traders but had greater aspirations.
The French East India Company was founded in 1664.

 They started meddling in the internal politics of the subcontinent and played their cards to their
advantage. Even though they had a few successes in the beginning and were able to establish
trading posts, the English ultimately ended up as the supreme power in the Indian subcontinent.

Read more on the Third Carnatic War, which established British paramountcy in India over the
French.

 The French were left with a few disparate colonies, all of which combined were called French
India. These places were Pondicherry, Mahe, Yanam, Karaikal and Chandannagar.

 During the Indian freedom struggle against the British, many freedom fighters, such as
Aurobindo Ghosh and Subramanya Bharathi took refuge in French India to escape from the
British.

 In 1947, France established diplomatic relations with an independent India.

  In 1948, an agreement was signed between both countries that stated that the people of French
India were free to choose their political future.

 In August 1962, as per the Treaty of Cession signed in 1956, the French ceded all their
possessions in India to the Indian government. Accordingly, all the former French colonies were
administered as the Union Territory of Puducherry.

Political Relationship
In this section, we discuss the political relationship between both countries under various subheadings.

Strategic Partnership

1. In 1998, the relationship between India and France took a new turn, when both nations entered
into a strategic partnership.
2. The 3 principal pillars of this strategic partnership are:

 Defence cooperation

 Space cooperation

 Civil nuclear cooperation

3. The commonality in the relationship is that both countries support a multi-polar world led by
democracies and not one that is polarised into two factions.
4. France has been a continued supporter of India’s claims to permanent membership in the United
Nations Security Council (UNSC).
5. France has also been a great supporter of India for membership to all the four multilateral export
control regimes, namely, the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA), the Nuclear Suppliers Group
(NSG), the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), and the Australia Group (AG).
6. France’s support was instrumental in India’s accession to the WA, MTCR and the AG.
7. Both nations are strongly in the war against global terror.
 Bilateral visits

 In May 2022, the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi visited France during which both
the countries signed a number of MoUs and issued Joint Statements reflecting upon ever
deepening cooperation between the two countries.

 In March 2018, the French President Emmanuel Macron visited India during which 14 business-
to-business agreements were signed.

 PM Modi had visited France in June 2017, and also previously in April 2015. The latter was his
first visit to a European country as PM.

 There have been several other high-level visits from France previously.

 Dialogue also takes place between the NSAs of both countries.

 France is the only country to be invited five times to the Republic Day Parade in India. This is
the highest for any country.
 Defence Cooperation

1. Regular talks take place between the service chiefs of both nations. An annual defence dialogue
at the ministerial level has also been initiated in 2018.
2. Regular defence exercises take place between France and India. Some of them are:

 Exercise Shakti (Army)

 Exercise Varuna (Navy)

 Exercise Garuda (Air Force)

 Exercise Pegas

 Exercise Desert Knight (Air Force)

3. India also buys defence equipment from France, the most famous of them being Rafale aircraft
and P-75 Scorpene project.
4. There is a Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited (DRAL) manufacturing facility at Mihan in
Maharashtra, which is a joint venture between India’s Reliance Group and the French aerospace
company Dassault Aviation.
 Space Cooperation

 India and France have been cooperating in the space domain for many years now.

 ISRO and CNES (the French space agency) have conducted joint research programmes and
satellite launches.

 Examples of joint Indo-French satellites: TRISHNA, Megha-Tropiques, etc.

 France is a major supplier of equipment and components for the Indian space programme.

Civil Nuclear Cooperation

 An agreement for civil nuclear cooperation was signed in 2008 when the then PM Manmohan
Singh visited France.

Science and Tech and Education

 The Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advance Research (CEFIPRA), formed in 1987,
funds joint proposals for research in the sciences. Its research has led to several patents.
 Since 2013, CEFIPRA also awards Raman-Charpak scholarships to scholars of Indian and
French origins.

 An estimated 6000 Indian students study in France.

Indian Diaspora in France

 There are more than 1 lakh NRIs in France, chiefly originating from the former French colonies.

 A good number of Indian origin persons also live in the French Overseas Territories of Reunion
Island, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Saint Martin. Most of them were taken to these territories as
indentured labourers during colonial times.

Economic Cooperation

 Both India and France have important bilateral investments and trade and commercial
cooperation. Almost 1000 French companies are present in India with a total turnover of US$ 20
billion. French companies have more than 25 R&D centres in India. France is the ninth largest
foreign investor in India with cumulative investment of US$ 6.09 billion from April 2000 to
October 2017. In France, about 120 Indian companies are present with an estimated investment
stock of Euro one billion and employing 7000 people.

 Almost all the major French companies are present in India including Renault, Saint Gobain, Veolia,
Michelin, Capgemini, Sanofi, EDF, Airbus, Lactalis, Sodexho, Total and others. Alstom has won a major
project worth Euro 3.2 billion of manufacturing 800 locomotives in Madhepura, Bihar. India’s Reliance,
Tata, Mahindra and other big companies have tied up joint cooperation with major French companies like
Dassault, SAFRAN, Thales and others in the defence sector. French infrastructure companies are looking
forward to major opportunities in Indian projects including in smart cities and renewable energy. AFD,
the French Agency for Development has extended a loan of Euro 100 million to the Government of India
for its Smart Cities Mission. French side has been actively cooperating with various programmes in
especially three Smart Cities, viz. Chandigarh, Nagpur and Puducherry. SNCF, the French railways and
the Indian Railways have established a Permanent IndoFrench Railway Forum. They have been
cooperating in the studies for the feasibility of semi-high speed upgrade of Delhi-Chandigarh section and
station development study of Ambala and Ludhiana.
Climate Change

 France and India are strengthening their cooperation for the

environment and the fight against climate change. The Agence
Française de Développement (AFD) started working in India in 2008,
and has a mandate focused on the preservation of global public
goods.
 The International Solar Alliance (ISA), jointly launched by France
and India in November 2015 during COP21, promotes the
development of solar energy
 The blue economy and coastal resilience are shared priorities for
France and India, which intend to strengthen cooperation in the field
of marine scientific research and their mutual knowledge of the
oceans

Cultural Cooperation

 Indian culture enjoys wide admiration among the people of France.

The Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) regularly sends
Indian cultural troupes to France
 India and France organize reciprocal festivals, aiming to promote
their culture: in France, the Namasté France festival showcased
India in late 2016, while in India, Bonjour India was held in late 2017-
early 2018.
 India was a guest of honour at the Paris Book Fair in 2021, while
France will be a guest of honour at the New Delhi World Book Fair in
2022
 Many notable Indians have been awarded by France for their
contribution in their respective fields as follows:
 France’s highest French civilian honour comes in recognition
of Shri A.S. Kiran Kumar’s invaluable contribution to the
development of the India-France space cooperation.
 Indian-origin Diagnostics company GeneStore awarded as
best investment in France
 Indian Soumitra Chatterjee has been awarded the France’s
highest award for artists
BIBILIOGRAPHY
1. https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/india-france/
2. https://www.insightsonindia.com/international-relations/bilateral-regional-and-
global-groupings-and-agreements-involving-india-and-or-affecting-indias-
interests/india-europe/india-france/
3. https://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/India-Israel_relations.pdf
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India%E2%80%93Israel_relations
5. https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-israel-relations
6. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/history-and-overview-of-india-israel-relations
7. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/topic/india-israel-relations
8. https://embassies.gov.il/delhi/AboutTheEmbassy/India-Israel-Relations/Pages/
default.aspx
9. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/the-india-israel-relationship-modi-
bennett-7753938/