♦ India and the Netherlands on 6 February 2026 took a step toward strengthening bilateral cooperation in clean energy research with the launch of the India-Netherlands Hydrogen Fellowship Programme and the signing of a key academic partnership between the University of Groningen and 19 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). The initiatives, facilitated by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), aim to boost research capacity, talent development, and deployment-oriented innovation in green hydrogen technologies, a critical pillar of India’s clean energy transition.

♦ The Hydrogen Fellowship Programme, for which the scheme guidelines and call for proposals were released on Thursday, is a national capacity-building initiative open to eligible doctoral, postdoctoral, and faculty applicants from Indian institutions. The programme will provide structured exposure to advanced hydrogen ecosystems in the Netherlands, focusing on system integration, safety, techno-economic analysis, life-cycle assessment, and pathways for indigenisation.