As part of its launch, the Australia-India Cyber and Critical Technology Partnership (AICCTP) has funded three projects under a grants programme, while the second round will open for applications by mid-year.

A project by the Centre for International Security Studies at the University of Sydney and the Observer Research Foundation to develop ethical frameworks and best practices for emerging quantum technologies and another to operationalise ethical frameworks in global companies’ critical technology supply chains received funding under the partnership.

The third one, to address privacy and security challenges in next-generation telecommunications networks by the School of Computer Science at the University of Sydney, in partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, RJio and the University of New South Wales, also received funding, according to a statement by the Australian government.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne announced the funding of the projects in the first round of the partnership. The partners to the programme are Observer Research Foundation, Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur, Indian Institute of Technology-Madras and Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJio).

The grants programme aims to enhance practical cooperation and collaboration between India and Australia on cyber and critical technology issues, which will help shape a global technology environment that meets the countries’ shared vision of an open, free, rules-based Indo-Pacific region.

The Grant Round 1 prioritised proposals that focused on strengthening understanding of ethical frameworks and developing best practice to translate them into practical action and encourage the development of technical standards on critical technologies.

Australia and India, with their technical expertise and engaged user base, are key players in the global development of critical and emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), next-generation telecommunications (5G/6G), Internet of Things (IoT), quantum computing, synthetic biology, blockchain and big data.

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