The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is pleased to announce the India–Netherlands Hydrogen Fellowship Programme for Human and Technical Capacity Building. Building on DST’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell (HFC) initiatives, this programme aims to strengthen the skilled workforce and technical expertise required to support the development and implementation of India’s emerging hydrogen economy.

  Need for this Call 

At COP26 in Glasgow (2021), India announced the Panchamrit strategy, committing to: 

1. 500 GW of non-fossil energy capacity by 2030,
2. meeting 50% of energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030,
3. reducing projected carbon emissions by 1 billion tonnes by 2030,
4. lowering the carbon intensity of the economy by 45% by 2030 (relative to 2005), and
5. achieving net-zero emissions by 2070. 

In parallel, India has set a goal of achieving energy independence by 2047, enabling a transition from fossil fuels to clean and sustainable energy systems. Meeting these national commitments requires rapid decarbonisation across the transport, chemical, steel, and power sectors while ensuring long-term energy security. Owing to its high energy density and versatility across production, storage, transport, and end-use, hydrogen is a critical enabler of this transformation.

 To realize this potential, India must develop a highly skilled workforce capable of designing, implementing, operating, and maintaining hydrogen technologies across the full value chain. Structured capacity-building and international exposure are crucial for equipping India’s emerging hydrogen workforce with globally benchmarked technical knowledge and operational expertise.

Successful skill development will also accelerate indigenisation, technology development, and commercialisation of hydrogen systems, enabling domestically developed solutions that directly contribute to the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

 This Call therefore seeks to support advanced training, collaborative research, and human resource development through engagement with leading hydrogen research ecosystems in the Netherlands, strengthening India’s readiness for a hydrogen-based economy.

 Context and call for proposals objectives

Following the meeting of the Indo-French Joint Committee of Science and Technology (JCST) which took place in Delhi NCR on January 18th, 2024, an initial call dedicated to "Green hydrogen innovations for sustainable energy solutions" was launched in 2025.

 In order to strengthen the Indo-French scientific partnership, the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India  and the French National Research Agency (ANR) are launching a second call for proposals in February 2026, dedicated to Applied Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence.

The aim of this second call is to consolidate Indo-French research networks in Applied Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence and create new ones. Through bilateral funding, both organizations seek to fund innovative binational projects that demonstrate strong synergy between the teams in each country and real integration of joint work, i.e. effective cooperation between the Indo-French partners. Partners will work together as a joint team with complementary competencies in one common project, creating a joint output.

Each side will allocate a maximum of 1.5 million EUR, to support joint research and innovation projects. The financial requirements should align with the project's goals and the number of applicants involved.

Each funding agency will cover expenditures for their respective country’s teams according to its own rules. Details can be found in the underlying call text in the “Funding Regulations” section (§ 6). As far as possible, the project starts, and end dates should be the same for the French and Indian partners. The projects will be funded for up to three years[1]. 

As both countries intend to encourage researchers’ mobility and knowledge exchange between France and India, consortia are asked to include concepts for integrated collaboration between partners from both countries and cross-border networking (e.g. regular meetings of participating work groups, common workshops, exchange of personnel between research organizations, joint publications, visas, medical insurance[2]  etc.).

International Research Training Groups IRTGs, in which German universities cooperate with research institutions in other countries, combine innovative top-level research and the structured promotion of excellent early career researchers. As bilateral collaborations set up by experienced scientists, IRTGs promote systematic scientific cooperation through joint research programmes and corresponding qualification measures for post doctoral researchers.

Mission सह-SANKALP (Science and Advanced Networks for Knowledge-driven Action for Livelihood Promotion) - a national mission for addressing the need to integrate S&T solutions in rural livelihoods to promote sustainability, resilience, and inclusive growth, especially in the Aspirational Blocks identified by Niti Aayog