2 Billion Connected
From 2,700 researchers crossing borders under Marie Curie to 1 million Schengen visas in a single year — the EU-India people-to-people corridor is the most consequential talent and cultural pipeline between any two democratic blocs on earth.
An editorial overview of the human infrastructure powering the EU-India Strategic Partnership
Supporting close to 800,000 EU jobs. The EU is India's largest trading partner. India is the EU's largest in the Global South.
Talent & Research Pipelines
Choose a professional profile to explore active visa regimes, academic credits, research networks, and treaty-guaranteed mobility pathways.
India Ranks #1
in Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions globally since 2014
Over 2,700 Indian researchers have been funded by MSCA — more than any other country in the world. India ranks 3rd globally with 77 European Research Council grantees. Indian institutions participate in EU consortia with projects valued over €500 million under Horizon Europe. The EU and India are now exploring India's association to Horizon Europe, which would grant Indian researchers equal footing with European partners in collaborative projects across the wide range of fields covered by the programme.
"India ranks 1st with over 2,700 Marie Skłodowska-Curie researchers since 2014"
Bilateral Program Initiatives
Strategic Synergy Networks
The institutional structures, policy think-tanks, business chambers, and sub-national agreements driving bilateral implementation on the ground.
Policy & Engagement Nodes
Click a quadrant to inspect active Track 1.5 dialogue series, trade councils, or subnational provincial initiatives.
Cultural Diplomacy
Film, Literature, Ideas
Connecting on culture through film festivals, literature exchanges, and diplomatic dialogue
The EU and India reinforce cooperation in the cultural and creative sectors, particularly in publishing and printing, architecture and cultural heritage, including through research and innovation as well as artist exchanges and cultural co-creation. The partnership promotes two-way cultural and language exchanges to increase mutual understanding.
Bilateral Forums & Frameworks
Connecting on culture through film festivals and literature exchanges
— EU-India Strategic Agenda, June 2025The Institutional Architecture
How people-to-people cooperation is governed, funded, and delivered
Summit Level
Highest political guidance and strategic blueprints setting the overall bilateral baseline.
Ministerial Level
Cabinet-level dialogues translating strategic goals into actionable policy frameworks.
Operational Level
Practical institutions, visa gateways, and recruitment platforms facilitating mobility.
People Level
Direct scientific exchanges, university grants, and cross-border creative collaborations.
The Human Infrastructure of a Strategic Partnership
From researchers to entrepreneurs, from students to traditional medicine practitioners, from film festivals to think tank dialogues — the EU-India people-to-people corridor is not a soft power exercise. It is the connective tissue that makes every other dimension of the partnership — trade, security, technology, climate — actually work. Without the people, the policies are just paper.