India, UK sign pact to set up joint innovation centre for telecom, commit Rs 282 cr

New Delhi: India and the UK signed a strategic partnership at India Mobile Congress 2025 to jointly drive innovation in the digital connectivity space with an investment of 24 million pounds (about Rs 282 crore) in the next four years.

The agreement was signed by the United Kingdom’s Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, Deputy Director for Technology, Spectrum and Strategy division of Catherine Page and the Department of Telecom, Deputy Director General, Parag Agrawal, for setting up the India-UK Connectivity and Innovation Centre (CIC).

“Our governments have made a strong commitment to the new centre. We have agreed jointly to invest 24 million pound over a period of four years to bring together the world leading innovators, researchers and telecom businesses large and small that operate in both of our countries,” Page said.

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She said that the theme of IMC (India Mobile Congress) is “Innovate to Transform” and through the India-UK connectivity, both governments wish for this to have an impact in the real world.

Page said the India-UK Connectivity and Innovation Centre that it will operate across the whole spectrum, from early-stage research to applied innovation.

Agrawal said that India UK CIC will bring academic excellence with market driven innovation.

“The centre’s activities will focus on telecommunication, telecoms, cybersecurity, non-telecommunication ideas and the transformative role of AI in telecommunication. While also supporting joint testbeds, collaborative R&D projects and standardisation efforts, India’s own digital transformation journey has been unprecedented in both scale and inclusiveness,” he said.

Agrawal said that CIC will operate as a living bridge between the two nations, facilitating and tackling the most pressing connectivity challenges of the present and future.

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