Centre for Australia-India Relations

What Centre for Australia-India Relations does

The Centre for Australia-India Relations (CAIR) is a national platform established by the Australian Government in 2023 under the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to coordinate and deepen bilateral engagement between Australia and India. Operating with a team of 17, the Centre works across government, industry, academia, and civil society to advance four priorities: promoting policy dialogue, building India business literacy and links, engaging Indian diaspora communities, and deepening cultural connections and mutual understanding. It does so through programming, advocacy, and bilateral exchange, and through its management of the flagship Maitri (meaning "friendship" in Sanskrit) Grants, Fellowships, and Scholarships programs.

CAIR's core service lines are programmatic rather than technological. Maitri Grants fund cultural, education, research, and business collaborations, with over AUD $15 million deployed across more than 70 projects and 100+ cumulative grants since inception. Maitri Fellowships enable policy researcher secondments between Australian and Indian institutions, while Maitri Scholarships support India's top students to undertake PhDs in STEM fields at Australian universities, aligned with the "A New Roadmap for Australia's Economic Engagement with India" framework. The Centre also convenes a CEO and Director Network of Indian-Australian corporate leaders chaired by Orica CEO Sanjeev Gandhi, and publishes Maitri Stories content highlighting grantee impact. The inaugural Maitri Showcase in October 2025 convened 250 cross-sector leaders in Melbourne.

As a government-funded entity, CAIR charges no fees for its services. All programs are fully financed by the Australian Government through DFAT and delivered via application-based processes on the SmartyGrants platform. Revenue mechanics are therefore appropriations-based rather than market-based, with DFAT acting as sole funder. Customer relationships are framed as stakeholder beneficiaries (diaspora, researchers, students, cultural organisations, Australian businesses seeking India market access) rather than paying accounts. The organisation is overseen by an Advisory Board chaired by Swati Dave (former CEO of Export Finance Australia) and including the DFAT Secretary Jan Adams AO PSM, Steve Waugh AO, and other senior figures; Ryan Neelam was appointed CEO in December 2025.

Name

Centre for Australia-India Relations

Legal name

Centre for Australia-India Relations

Website

https://australiaindiacentre.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Centre for Australia-India Relations (CAIR) is an Australian Government national platform, established in 2023 under DFAT, that delivers Maitri Grants, Fellowships, and Scholarships programs to deepen education, cultural, and policy ties between Australia and India.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bilateral Government Relations Services

NAICS

National Security and International Affairs (928), International Affairs (92812)

SIC

International Affairs (9721), Foreign Governments (8888)

akta.pro primary industry

Development Cooperation & Foreign Aid Administration (BPAIAIAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Donor Coordination & Aid Effectiveness (BPADAOAA), Diaspora & Expatriate Engagement (BPAIAIAI), Bilateral Development & Aid Agencies (HLAJAKAB)

Keywords

• Bilateral government relations
• Diplomatic engagement services
• Government grants programs
• Fellowship and scholarship programs
• International cultural exchange

Headquarters

HQ city

Not specified in source materials

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Centre for Australia-India Relations is a national platform established by the Australian Government in 2023 to promote and coordinate enhanced cooperation and exchange between Australia and India. It manages the Maitri (friendship) programs — Maitri Grants, Maitri Fellowships and Maitri Scholarships — and runs a CEO and Director Network, facilitating bilateral engagement across government, industry, academia and civil society. All programs are fully funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

Product overview

The Centre for Australia-India Relations operates a unified platform consisting of three core Maitri programs: Maitri Grants (supporting cultural, education, research and business collaborations), Maitri Fellowships (enabling policy researcher secondments), and Maitri Scholarships (funding Indian PhD students at Australian universities). The organisation also manages a CEO and Director Network of Indian-Australian business leaders, publishes Maitri Stories showcasing grant recipients, and conducts bilateral engagement activities across government, industry, academia and civil society. These programs collectively support Australia's economic and cultural engagement with India under the A New Roadmap framework.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Maitri Programs: Flagship programs including Maitri Grants, Fellowships, and Scholarships supporting collaboration between Australia and India
• Maitri Grants
• Maitri Fellowships
• Maitri Scholarships
• CEO and Director Network

Products and services

• Maitri Grants Program Flagship grant program supporting greater exchange and collaboration between Australian and Indian cultural, education, research, and business communities. Since establishment, it has funded over 100 grants to foster deeper connections between the two nations.
• Maitri Fellowships Program Program supporting leading policy researchers to undertake secondments with prominent Australian and Indian organisations, building institutional links and academic capacity in both countries.
• Maitri Scholarships Program Scholarship program supporting India's top students to study at Australia's world-class universities, prioritising PhD studies in STEM-related fields aligned to priorities in A New Roadmap for Australia's Economic Engagement with India.
• CEO and Director Network Network of Indian-Australian corporate leaders who use their expertise to lift Australian business capability on India and support business peers to engage with opportunities from India's growth.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Austrade (Australian Trade and Investment Commission)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Austrade supports the Centre's work through programs including Australia India Business Exchange, Digital Education Hub, Australia India Innovation Network, and Australia-India Future Skills Initiative. These programs support Australian businesses entering the Indian market and vice versa.
• Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023DFAT established the Centre in 2023 as a national platform and provides ongoing support, oversight, and funding for all programs. The Centre team operates within DFAT's framework and programs are administered in line with DFAT's due diligence requirements.
• Australia-India Strategic Research FundcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Since 2006, Australia and India have funded joint research projects in areas of mutual importance through the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund, supporting scientific collaboration across both nations.
• Australia-India CEO ForumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023The Australia-India CEO Forum program supports business engagement between the two countries. The Centre's CEO and Director Network complements this Forum with Indian-Australian corporate leaders.
• Australian Researcher Cooperation Hub (ARCH-India)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023ARCH-India supports Australian researcher cooperation with India, including the Australia-India Research Student Fellowship Program and Mentorship Program.
• CEO and Director NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA group of Indian-Australian corporate leaders who use their expertise to lift Australian business capability on India. Chair: Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO of Orica). Includes senior executives from major Australian corporations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• British Council: The UK's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, operating globally across 100+ countries. A broader incumbent in cultural diplomacy and educational exchange that performs the same people-to-people function as CAIR, but at a much larger scale.
• Goethe-Institut: Germany's globally operating cultural and language institute promoting bilateral cultural exchange through grants, programming, and education. Comparable to CAIR's cultural pillar, but with multilateral rather than single-bilateral scope.
• Japan Foundation: Japan's government-affiliated organization running global cultural exchange, language education, and intellectual exchange programs. Comparable to CAIR's role but executed across many countries rather than focused on a single bilateral relationship.

Direct peers

• Australia-Indonesia Institute: A DFAT-administered bilateral platform promoting people-to-people links between Australia and Indonesia. CAIR is essentially modelled on this sister institute structure, sharing the same funding mechanism, governance pattern, and mandate type (grants, scholarships, alumni, advisory board).
• Indian Council for Cultural Relations: India's government body for promoting Indian culture abroad through scholarships, cultural exchanges, and bilateral programming. The Indian counterpart institution to CAIR, operating the inverse side of the bilateral relationship.
• Australia-Japan Foundation: Another DFAT-administered bilateral foundation with grants, fellowships, and engagement programs for Australia-Japan relations. Operates with the same model, scale, and policy oversight as CAIR.
• Australia-China Council: A DFAT-funded bilateral council operating under the same institute framework as CAIR, administering grants, exchanges, and alumni programs to deepen Australia-China relations. Direct structural and operational peer.
• Australia-Korea Foundation: DFAT-administered bilateral foundation supporting Australia-Korea engagement via grants, alumni, and people-to-people programs. Same institutional template as CAIR within Australia's broader bilateral relations architecture.
• UK-India Business Council: A bilateral UK-India platform that promotes trade, investment, and policy dialogue between the two countries, including a CEO forum and sector working groups. Functionally similar to CAIR's trade and business engagement remit, though UK-based.

Regional players

• Australia Council for the Arts: Australia's peak arts funding and policy body, which runs grant programs, international arts strategy, and cultural development initiatives. Several CAIR Advisory Board members have direct ties to this body, and its international development function is directly comparable to Maitri Grants' cultural pillar.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ausindiacentre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ausindiacentre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Centre for Australia-India Relations