India is set to strengthen its scientific engagement with the Italy-based International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) through a new cooperation fund aimed at institutionalising research collaboration and facilitating greater mobility of Indian researchers.
The India-ICTP Co-operation Fund was initiated following the signing of a Letter of Intent (LoI) between India’s Department of Science and Technology (DST) and ICTP during Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Dr. Jitendra Singh’s visit to the centre in Trieste, Italy.
The LoI was exchanged on behalf of the Indian side by Dr. Praveenkumar Somasundaram, Head of International Cooperation at DST.
Welcoming the initiative, Singh said the cooperation fund would enhance the impact of the existing partnership and create greater benefits for Indian researchers. He emphasised the importance of giving an institutional framework to the longstanding association to provide fresh momentum to scientific collaboration and researcher mobility.
The proposed fund is intended to provide a more structured framework for the existing engagement between India and ICTP, with particular emphasis on expanding opportunities for Indian scientists, researchers and students to participate in international research and academic programmes.
Long-standing scientific partnership
ICTP is a leading international centre for advanced research, higher education and capacity-building in physics, mathematics and related disciplines. Its engagement with India spans research collaboration, academic exchanges, workshops and capacity-building initiatives involving several Indian institutions.
Organisations and institutions, including DST, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), leading universities and Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), have collaborated with ICTP through joint research projects, workshops and exchange programmes.
Indian researchers regularly benefit from the centre’s visiting fellowships, diploma courses and postdoctoral opportunities. ICTP experts, in turn, engage with India’s scientific community in areas such as high-energy physics, astrophysics, climate modelling and computational science.
The India-ICTP Co-operation Fund is expected to strengthen these existing avenues of engagement, particularly by expanding opportunities for researcher mobility and facilitating closer interaction between scientific institutions in the two countries.
The partnership has helped build international networks of scientific excellence by bringing researchers and institutions together to advance fundamental discoveries and innovations with societal relevance. The new initiative is expected to further strengthen these networks and enhance opportunities for India’s research community.
Singh’s visit to ICTP, which included a welcome lunch and the initiation of the researcher mobility programme, was part of his official visit to Italy from November 11 to 15, 2026.
(PIB)
