India stands as the world's largest democracy and, with a population of 1.4 billion, it is also the most populous country. The World Bank expects India to overtake Japan and Germany and emerge as the world’s third-largest economy by 2030.
Our partnership
As the world's two largest democracies, the European Union and India are united in their commitment to a rules-based global order, effective multilateralism, and sustainable development. In 2004, India was designated as one of the EU's strategic partners.
2022 marked the 60th anniversary of EU-India bilateral relations, highlighting several key achievements:
- The EU was India's third-largest trading partner in 2021.
- EU foreign direct investment (FDI) in India reached €87 billion in 2020.
- Nearly 15% of Indian exports were directed to the EU in 2021.
- Trade in goods and services between the two amounted to €95.5 billion in 2020.
- 6,000 EU companies operating in India have created 1.7 million direct jobs and an additional 5 million indirect jobs.
- The European Investment Bank (EIB) has invested over €3 billion in infrastructure, energy, and climate projects in India.
The collaboration between the EU and India from 2020 to 2025 is steered by the EU-India Strategic Partnership Roadmap, the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, and the Global Gateway Strategy.
Furthermore, EU-India Joint Declarations have been adopted to bolster efforts on connectivity, water, and resource efficiency, employing a circular economy approach. In 2023, the EU and India also launched a Trade and Technology Council focusing on digital transformation and green technologies.
Under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI-Global Europe), India is set to receive €90 million in grant funding for the period 2021-2027. Additionally, India is a beneficiary of various multi-country EU programmes.
Team Europe in India brings together the EU, the European Investment Bank, France, Germany and the private sector to deliver on Global Gateway objectives.
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Our flagship initiatives
- Sustainable urbanisation
- Smart cities: For a more inclusive and sustainable urban development by supporting green and sustainable upgrading and rehabilitation of urban infrastructure, with a focus on integrated waste management and climate-sensitive urban management.
- Access to water: Enabling a 24/7 water supply in Chandigarh, including rehabilitation of 242 km of networks.
- Urban mobility: European investments for metros across India.
- Sustainable mobility: Through a new dedicated EIB technical hub in Delhi.
- Waste solutions for circular economy: Implemented through the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action facility (NAMA).
- Energy
- EU-India Clean Energy and Climate Partnership: Continued support for energy efficiency and renewable energy, including solar, green hydrogen, wind, biofuels and energy storage, (smart) grid integration and financing, climate mitigation and adaptation.
- EU-India Green Hydrogen Partnership: Support for policy dialogue and pilot projects on green hydrogen and off-shore wind technology and expertise, supporting EIB’s new €1 billion green hydrogen fund.
- Energy efficiency: Scaling private sector business models for sustainable electrification of social infrastructure (DESIREE blending programme).
- Energy transition: Supporting a just energy transition in coal producing regions.
- Green and sustainable finance
- Loans to green financial institutions: Financing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to support green tech development (Kuali fund). This also supports transfer of best practices between Latin America and the Caribbean, and India.
- Green finance market awareness: Providing expertise to public and private financial institutions, helping facilitate specific credit lines (for energy efficiency, clean energy transition, electric vehicles projects), as well as building new pipelines of investment.
- Infrastructure investment: Focusing on energy storage and climate financing strategies for private banks through the EU-IFC Accelerating Climate Smart Infrastructure (ACSIIS) in South Asia partnership.
- Global Green Bonds Initiative: Supporting the issuance of green bonds in India and its green finance frameworks with EIB.
- Sustainable trade and agriculture
- Free trade agreement: Continued support to the ongoing negotiations, including through the establishment of the Federation of European Businesses in India.
- Indian and EU private sector cooperation: Supporting responsible business conduct through a new platform.
- Sustainable consumption and production: Integrating sustainable considerations when dealing with plastic waste management, cotton and bamboo products, organic foods, fair trade, clean technology, waste management and financial inclusion (SWITCH Asia programme).
- Sustainable agricultural supply chains: Support through equity investment (Huruma Fund).
- Agro-ecology, forestry and natural farming: Support in line with the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework on Biodiversity.