A new dawn in Indo-French ties

India and France may well have found their next big common meeting ground in surya namaskar . No, we are not talking of yoga but the path-breaking international solar alliance of over 120 countries that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched along with French President Francois Hollande at the Paris COP21 climate summit.

There are other promising areas of engagement which can be taken forward during President Hollande’s visit as the Republic Day chief guest. Meanwhile, the solar alliance demonstrates climate justice in action and can be a true game-changer.

This holds true even in the context of the bilateral engagement between India and France. Most large French companies are now present in India, leading to a huge growth of French investments aimed at the Indian market, as a consequence of ‘Make in India’.

Most French investors have R&D centres in India, which not only work for the Indian market but also the global one. The French have made ‘Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan’ a priority in the bilateral engagement. More recently, the terror attacks in France have united both people as never before.

Prime Minister Modi’s visit to France last April has made this relationship transformational by reassuring French investors that India was committed to reforms driven by good governance, easier norms of doing business and expeditious decision making.

The stage is set for a paradigm change in the structure and content of the strategic cooperation in areas like defence. Scorpene submarines are already under construction at the Mazagon Dock Ltd (MDL) in Mumbai in partnership with French group DCNS. India and France have the opportunity to team up on several other defence projects.

A new and evolving strategic dimension of the engagement is renewable energy, which has received a big boost with the international solar alliance forged in Paris. There could not be a better time for India and France to take this partnership ahead. Solar technology is evolving, costs are coming down and grid connectivity is improving. There is already a commitment from the French side to realise 10 per cent of the 100 GW of solar energy goal that the Prime Minister has announced.

Moreover, the Indian Government is investing an initial $30 million in setting up the alliance’s headquarters in India and this initiative opens gives possibilities of sharing technology and mobilising financial resources. The third strategic frontier is nuclear energy which has seen two very transformative initiatives during the visit of PM Modi to France. The partnership between Areva and L&T opens the door to nuclear manufacturing in India of the critical parts.

The capacity to manufacture this will be developed in India with L&T for the Jaitapur project, as also for other reactors that will be built in India or elsewhere, keeping open the export facility in future. The other agreement is between Areva and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) for high-end pre-engineering studies aimed at fine tuning the details of these projects as well as exploring the scope for price reduction and improvement of some elements.

As for the Smart City project, French companies are already working in 20 big projects in cities across India in areas like the metro and water. That apart, France will also focus on three specific cities and provide a $2.18 billion line of credit to support these projects. That is a great opportunity for the business community.

The French are also keen to work with India on electricity supply, sewage and waste management, energy efficient buildings, security and a range of other small things – like emergency services for hospitals.

Going ahead we need to intensify people-to-people linkages through more scholarly exchanges, tourist flows both ways and maybe yoga. Time to let the champagne flow.

The writer is President, FICCI

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