India, UK to advance digital inclusion, shape future of secure, innovative communications
In a landmark move, India and the UK have forged a strategic partnership to advance digital inclusion and shape the future of secure and innovative communications. The India-UK Connectivity and Innovation Centre will bring together complementary strengths in UK and Indian innovation in advanced connectivity - linking cutting-edge research at universities, with lab testing and field trials, through to market deployment. The initiative will create new commercial opportunities by enabling industry partners to innovate, test and scale products with a pathway to market adoption.
Over the next four years, a critical period when the technological and commercial parameters for 6G will take shape, the Centre will drive advancements in three key areas: Transforming telecom with AI; Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs); and Telecoms Cybersecurity. Connectivity and telecommunication technologies critically underpin economies and societies. Developing them together on a single platform is expected to bring economic and security benefits to both countries.
India and the UK have committed a combined initial 24 million pound over four years to advance this initiative. This funding will support applied research among established UK and Indian research centres, industry-academic partnerships, joint testbeds, and targeted collaboration in global technical standards development. This initiative, delivered as part of the UK-India Technology Security Initiative jointly by UKRI (UK Research and Innovation) and DoT (The Department of Telecommunications), stands as a flagship example of the UK-India Research and Innovation Corridor in action, and reflects the shared ambition set out in the India-UK 2035 Vision.
