Old relationship, new start-ups

Avenue Louise in Brussels is a major boulevard of the city that is home to the headquarters of European Union (EU). The boulevard is lined with stunning Art Nouveau buildings where shoppers visit the world’s best-known luxury brands.

Avenue Louise is also home to Ertico ITS, a consortium of over 100 companies and institutions that promise to radically change our concept of mobility. ITS or intelligent transport systems is a project funded by EU to experiment and explore new ways to move people using technologies that are unimaginable and possible at the same time.

The 100 companies and institutions that are collaborating in a unique model include companies like Siemens, Vodafone, Fujitsu, Volkswagen; public authorities like the city of Hamburg, Swiss Confederation, Norwegian Public Road Administration; and an assortment of global research bodies. The EU has allocated 20 million euros to Ertico ITS for creating pilot projects for clean, safe and smart mobility. These include electrification of road transport, accident-free travel and use of data technologies to improve understanding of mobility patterns.

For instance, it is developing the concept of platooning which involves moving a convoy of driverless trucks with connectivity technology and automated driving systems. This could improve safety and efficiency in logistics.

Ertico ITS is a mammoth effort by EU to use technology for improving lives. The collaboration between so many bodies will ensure harmonisation of practices and standardisation of technical specifications. Typically, individual companies run their own projects. Under Ertico ITS, EU wants a network of collaborators so that technology sharing and innovation happen simultaneously between developers, users, service providers and regulators.

The budget of 20 million euros allows the consortium to work without worrying about short-term cost while focusing on sustainable results. This is within the even larger effort called Horizon 2020 by EU that has allocated over 80 billion Euros for breakthrough innovation to take ideas from the lab to the market.

The exciting part of this idea is that EU is being inclusive in its approach. It has reached out to non-EU countries and companies to contribute to research and innovation. India can play an important role here. Technology cooperation has emerged as one of the key pillars of cooperation between India and EU. The expected deliverables at the EU-India summit that will happen next week include a big emphasis on connected technology and cybersecurity. Also on agenda is collaboration on smart cities, clean energy and research cooperation.

“EU is India’s largest regional trading partner with bilateral trade in goods standing at $88 bn in 2016. The EU is also the largest destination for Indian exports and a key source of the investment and cutting-edge technologies. India received around $83 bn FDI flows from Europe during 2000-17 constituting approximately 24 per cent of the total FDI inflows into the country during the period,” says a statement by India’s Ministry of External Affairs.

India and EU free trade agreement that has been discussed for a decade is still stuck on key issues like import of completely built automobiles. However, a mature approach is allowing both sides to move ahead on many other fronts. India and EU are working closely on other technology fronts including space cooperation, earth observation and smart cities. “The relationship between India and EU is multi-dimensional. From funding infrastructure project to defence cooperation. We are moving ahead at a rapid pace,” says a senior EU official based in Brussels.

A big effort is on for ICT cooperation. EU and ministries of IT and Telecom in India are working on several projects through a joint working group. The projects include standardisation efforts for 5G telecom services. India does not have its own standardisation institute for telecommunications. EU is expected to help on this front.

India’s vibrant start-up community will also be connected with similar groups in EU. Estonia has the presidency of EU currently. The startup community in Estonia has become a model for the rest of EU. Both side are taking steps to bring startups from EU and India together for potential collaboration.

EU recognizes that India is an important economic ally. The latest World Competitiveness Report of World Economic Forum shows improved ranking of India. The WEF reports ranks India at its highest lever so far at number 40. Among the BRICS it is right in the middle. China is at 27, Russia 38, South Africa 61 and Brazil at 80.

The fourth industrial revolution technologies like IoT, 3D printing and artificial intelligence are taking root in India. Now India must consider co-development of new age technology solutions with EU. Indian companies and institutions should explore working with its Horizon 2020 and Ertico ITS programmes. In a rare coincidence the WEF India summit and India EU summit will be held simultaneously next week. Hopefully, these gatherings will strengthen technology connections between India and EU. And trip to Avenue Louise would be useful.

The writer is an economic analyst and author of Kranti Nation: India and The Fourth Industrial Revolution.