India, Japan sign agreements in quantum technology, health research cooperation

India and Japan exchanged two agreements during a high-level bilateral meeting in New Delhi on May 6, 2026: a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in health and m...

What Happened

India and Japan exchanged two agreements during a high-level bilateral meeting in New Delhi on May 6, 2026: a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in health and medical devices, and a Letter of Intent (LoI) on cooperation in quantum science and technology.
The MoC in health was signed between Japan's Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), India's Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
The quantum LoI was signed between Japan's Cabinet Office and India's DST.
Japan's Minister for Science and Technology Policy and Minister of State for Space Policy, Onoda Kimi, led the Japanese delegation and met Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh.
Discussions covered cooperation in quantum computing, quantum communication, sensing, materials, artificial intelligence, advanced computing, and medical devices.
Both sides agreed to strengthen linkages between their respective quantum ecosystems: India's National Quantum Mission (NQM) and Japan's network of quantum innovation hubs.
Japan shared its global initiatives aimed at industrialisation and standardisation of quantum technologies, expressing interest in building stronger institutional linkages with Indian research bodies.

Static Topic Bridges

National Quantum Mission (NQM)

The National Quantum Mission was approved by the Union Cabinet on April 19, 2023, at a total cost of ₹6,003.65 crore for the period 2023–24 to 2030–31. Implemented by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the NQM aims to seed, nurture, and scale up scientific and industrial R&D in quantum technologies and create an innovation ecosystem in India. The mission targets the development of intermediate-scale quantum computers with 50–1,000 physical qubits across superconducting and photonic platforms within 8 years.

Cabinet approval: April 19, 2023
Total outlay: ₹6,003.65 crore (2023–24 to 2030–31)
Nodal agency: Department of Science and Technology (DST)
Four thematic pillars (T-Hubs): Quantum Computing, Quantum Communication, Quantum Sensing and Metrology, Quantum Materials and Devices
Quantum computing target: 50–1,000 physical qubits in 8 years
Quantum communication target: Satellite-based secure communication over 2,000 km; inter-city quantum key distribution network
Key applications: Cryptography, drug design, financial modelling, navigation, climate modelling

Connection to this news: The India-Japan LoI on quantum science directly advances NQM's international collaboration pillar. Japan's mature quantum innovation hubs can provide India access to industrialisation expertise and standardisation frameworks that the NQM is still developing domestically.

India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership

India and Japan upgraded their bilateral relationship to a "Special Strategic and Global Partnership" in 2014. The partnership covers defence, economic, and technology cooperation through multiple institutional mechanisms including the Annual Summit, 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue, and sectoral working groups. Science and technology cooperation between the two nations has a formal basis dating to 1985 through an inter-governmental agreement between India's Ministry of External Affairs and Japan's science ministry. Recent milestones include the India-Japan AI Cooperation Initiative and an Economic Security Initiative covering supply chain resilience in semiconductors, clean energy, telecom, and pharmaceuticals.

Partnership status: Special Strategic and Global Partnership (since 2014)
S&T cooperation formalized: 1985 (MEA-Japan MEXT agreement)
2+2 Ministerial Dialogue: Covers foreign and defence ministers of both countries
Economic Security Initiative: Supply chain resilience in semiconductors, clean energy, telecom, pharma, critical minerals
India-Japan AI Cooperation Initiative: Joint research, LLM development, trustworthy AI ecosystem
Japan's quantum programme: Cabinet Office-led, with a network of Quantum Innovation Hubs linked to industry

Connection to this news: The quantum LoI and health MoC are nested within the broader Special Strategic and Global Partnership framework, reflecting a deepening of the S&T cooperation strand of the bilateral relationship into frontier technology areas.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Health Research Governance

The ICMR, established in 1911 and headquartered in New Delhi, is the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination, and promotion of biomedical research. It operates under the Department of Health Research (DHR), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. ICMR manages a network of 26 national institutes and 6 regional medical research centres. It sets ethical guidelines for biomedical and health research and maintains the National Institute of Communicable Diseases and National Institute for Research in Reproductive and Child Health, among others.

Established: 1911 (as Indian Research Fund Association; renamed ICMR in 1949)
Parent department: Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Network: 26 national institutes, 6 regional medical research centres
Key roles: Funding, coordination, ethical oversight, and conduct of biomedical research
Japan counterpart — AMED (Agency for Medical Research and Development): Japan's equivalent of NIH; funds translational medical research

Connection to this news: The ICMR-AMED-DST MoC creates a formal institutional channel for collaborative research in medical devices — an area where Japan has deep manufacturing and regulatory expertise and India has large clinical trial capacity and growing medical device manufacturing ambitions.

Key Facts & Data

Agreements signed: (1) MoC in health and medical devices — AMED + ICMR + DST; (2) LoI on Quantum Science and Technology — Japan Cabinet Office + DST
Indian minister: Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Science and Technology, Earth Sciences)
Japanese minister: Onoda Kimi, Minister for Science and Technology Policy and Minister of State for Space Policy
Meeting location: New Delhi, May 6, 2026
NQM approval date: April 19, 2023; outlay ₹6,003.65 crore through 2030–31
NQM nodal agency: DST; four T-Hubs covering Computing, Communication, Sensing, Materials
ICMR: Apex body for biomedical research under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; est. 1911
AMED: Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development — Japanese counterpart to ICMR/NIH
India-Japan bilateral: Special Strategic and Global Partnership since 2014; S&T MoU since 1985