India, France to Enhance Students Exchange Programs

India and France have agreed to work together to develop a plan for the blue economy and ocean governance. They will collaborate scientifically on marine science and technology, and students and researchers will be exchanged to monitor, conserve, and ensure the sustainable use of marine biodiversity. The agreement was struck during Indian External Minister S. Jaishankar's three-day visit to France. The scientific section of the French Embassy in India and India's Ministry of Earth Sciences will be in continual communication to bring the knowledge summit's debates to life. The French Embassy will fund five scholarships in marine sciences, with the Indian government ensuring that they are implemented quickly.

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Both countries agreed to work together to conserve the ocean and advance scientific knowledge. The MEA stated that the ocean will remain a free trade zone and a common ground for all. They'll ask for private cash to help push the initiative forward. The agreement will be focused on combating marine pollution, environmental effect research on marine life, physical and geographical oceanography, genetic biodiversity mapping, and the preservation of the marine ecosystem. The MEA also recommended looking into the factors that exacerbate the impact on the marine environment, such as pollution, ocean acidification, and unfavourable weather.

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The National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), and the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management are among the oceanographic institutes in India that France plans to send a team of scientists to interact with. Also see: Indian Students Applying to Study Abroad in Large Numbers Growing GOAT (Goa Atlantic Cooperation in Marine Science and Technology), a scientific and academic initiative agreed in January 2020 in Brest, has been effectively begun. India and France will back GOAT and make visas easier to facilitate student and researcher mobility in the blue economy.

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