India to Invest Over €7 Million in Italys ELETTRA 2.0 Project

New Delhi, November 14 (Daily Kiran) : India will invest more than €7 million in the ELETTRA 2.0 project in Italy, as announced by Dr. Jitendra Singh, the Union Minister of Science and Technology, on November 14. This investment will be phased over the next five years, starting in 2026-27.

According to an official statement from the Ministry of Science and Technology, this move demonstrates India’s commitment to advanced international scientific collaboration and marks the beginning of a new chapter in India-Italy scientific relations.

The announcement was made during Dr. Singh’s visit to the ELETTRA Synchrotron in Trieste, Italy, on November 13. The ministry noted that India’s participation will enhance the development of cutting-edge research infrastructure and strengthen scientific human resource capacity.

The advanced facilities developed under this project will provide new research opportunities in fields such as chemistry, physics, advanced materials science, structural biology, and other scientific areas, benefiting researchers worldwide.

Currently, India is the second-largest user of the ELETTRA facility after Italy, indicating a long-standing active engagement of the Indian scientific community with this institution.

The ministry highlighted that the scientific collaboration between India and ELETTRA has a history of over 25 years. Since 1998, Indian scientists have utilized this facility for research experiments, with numerous researchers continuing their work there today.

Data shows that Indian research groups have submitted over 1,100 experimental proposals to ELETTRA, making India second only to Italy in proposal submissions. Italy has submitted 54,140 proposals, while France has sent in 1,098 proposals.

Under the ELETTRA 2.0 program, two new and more advanced beamlines will replace the existing XRD2 and EXPRESS beamlines. These new facilities will provide a better technical foundation for research for both Indian and international scientists.

Notably, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) had previously contributed approximately ₹22 crores towards the construction of state-of-the-art diffraction beamlines like XRD2 and EXPRESS, which have been widely utilized by Indian researchers.

Every year, around 50 to 60 Indian scientists travel to Trieste to conduct research experiments at ELETTRA. Additionally, the EPOC 2025-2027 program includes provisions to support Indian researchers in utilizing this facility, with a proposed budget of ₹1.5 crores over three years.

The ministry has already agreed to participate in the redevelopment of India-centric beamlines under ELETTRA 2.0, with a letter of intent (LOI) already signed regarding this collaboration.