Indo U.S. Science and Technology Forum

What Indo U.S. Science and Technology Forum does

Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) is an autonomous bilateral organization established in March 2000 under an agreement between the Governments of India and the United States, and is jointly funded and co-governed by both governments. The Department of Science & Technology (Government of India) and the U.S. Department of State serve as the respective nodal departments. Headquartered at Fulbright House, 12 Hailey Road, New Delhi, IUSSTF operates with a lean staff of approximately 11-15 personnel distributed across an Executive Director's Office, a Science/Program Team, and a Finance & Administration Team. Its mission is to promote science, technology, engineering, and innovation through substantive interaction among government, academia, and industry in both countries.

Name

Indo U.S. Science and Technology Forum

Legal name

Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum

Website

https://iusstf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Short description

IUSSTF is an autonomous bilateral organization jointly funded by the Governments of India and the United States that promotes Indo-U.S. science, technology, and innovation through grants, fellowships, research programs, and strategic initiatives serving academia, industry, students, and government stakeholders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bilateral Science and Technology Cooperation Services

NAICS

International Affairs (92812), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

International Affairs (9721), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Donor Coordination, Monitoring & Evaluation (MEL) Programs (BPADABAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Technical Committees, Working Groups & Expert Panels (BPADANAB)

Keywords

• Bilateral science cooperation
• International research collaboration
• Science technology fellowships
• Academic exchange programs
• Research grants funding

Headquarters

HQ city

New Delhi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Funding (Bilateral): IUSSTF is jointly funded by the Governments of India (Department of Science & Technology) and the United States (Department of State). The organization does not generate revenue from commercial operations but receives government appropriations to fund bilateral science and technology collaboration programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IUSSTF is an autonomous bilateral organization that funds and facilitates Indo-U.S. science, technology, engineering, and innovation collaboration through competitive grant programs, fellowships, research exchanges, and strategic initiatives. It administers programs across five pillars: Scientific Networks, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Research & Development, Visitations & Fellowships, and Strategic Initiatives, including flagship efforts such as the U.S.-India AI Initiative (USIAI), Solar Decathlon India, the Indo-U.S. Joint Clean Energy R&D Centre (JCERDC), and the United States-India Science & Technology Endowment Fund (USISTEF).

Product overview

IUSSTF is an autonomous bilateral organization that operates as a platform-plus-programs model, facilitating Indo-U.S. scientific collaboration through five interconnected program pillars: Scientific Networks, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Research & Development, Visitations & Fellowships, and Strategic Initiatives. The flagship Strategic Initiatives include the U.S.-India Artificial Intelligence (USIAI) Initiative, Solar Decathlon India, Space Experiential Learning Centre (SELC), and Young Innovators STEM Lab (YISL). Core grant programs like USISTEF (United States–India Science & Technology Endowment Fund) provide funding up to Rs. 2.50 crores for joint applied R&D. Fellowship programs including IUSSTF-Viterbi, WARI, Bhaskara Advanced Solar Energy (BASE), and B-ACER support student and scientist exchanges. Research initiatives such as the Indo-U.S. Joint Clean Energy Research & Development Centre (JCERDC) Phase I and II and Real Time Water & Air Quality Monitoring (WAQM) address critical technology challenges.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• USISTEF: United States–India Science & Technology Endowment Fund - established by the governments for promoting joint activities leading to innovation and entrepreneurship.
• USIAI
• Solar Decathlon India
• SELC
• YISL

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 100 Indian and U.S. academic and industrial partners collaborated through JCERDC Phase I alone
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

29 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, flagship and minor.

• Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of IndiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDST is the Indian nodal department for IUSSTF and provides government funding and oversight. DST and U.S. Department of State jointly fund IUSSTF as the implementing agency for bilateral S&T cooperation programs.
• U.S. Department of StatecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe U.S. Department of State is the American nodal department for IUSSTF, providing bilateral funding and governmental oversight for the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum.
• Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of IndiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDBT partners with IUSSTF on biotechnology programs including the Bioenergy-Awards for Cutting Edge Research (B-ACER) and collaborates on joint initiatives with the U.S. government.
• Ministry of External Affairs, Government of IndiamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMEA is listed as an Indian partner organization, contributing to the diplomatic and governmental coordination of bilateral science and technology cooperation.
• Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of IndiamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMNRE co-administers the PACEsetter Fund (INR 50 crore / USD 7.9 million) for off-grid clean energy commercialization, implemented through IUSSTF.
• Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSERB partnered with NSF on the PIRE program and supports Indo-U.S. postdoctoral fellowships. SERB is a statutory body under DST for funding research in India.
• U.S. Department of EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDOE co-founded the Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Centre (JCERDC) with the Government of India, committing US$1.5 million per year over five years in Phase II. DOE is a key bilateral partner for clean energy R&D.
• National Science Foundation (NSF), USAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNSF is the flagship funding agency for the PIRE (Partnerships for International Research and Education) program, administered by IUSSTF in coordination with SERB for Indian researchers.
• University of Southern California (USC) Viterbi School of EngineeringflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerUSC Viterbi partners with IUSSTF on the Viterbi Program, a student summer research placement program providing Indian students 8-week research opportunities at USC's Viterbi School of Engineering.
• University of Nebraska (UNL)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNL, through its Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute (DWFI), partners with DST and IUSSTF on the Water Advanced Research and Innovation (WARI) Fellowship Program for both India-to-U.S. and U.S.-to-India exchanges.
• American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAAAS is listed as a U.S. professional body partner, supporting scientific collaboration and knowledge exchange between India and the U.S.
• American Physical Society (APS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAPS partners with IUSSTF on the IUSSTF-APS Fellowship program, providing research exchange opportunities for physicists from India and the U.S.
• American Society for Microbiology (ASM)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerASM partners with IUSSTF on the ASM-IUSSTF Indo-US Professorship in Microbiology, providing travel grants for research and teaching partnerships in microbiology.
• National Academy of Engineering (NAE)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNAE is listed as a U.S. professional body partner, contributing to engineering collaboration between India and the U.S.
• National Academy of Sciences (NAS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNAS is listed as a U.S. partner organization, supporting scientific collaboration between Indian and American researchers.
• Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCII is listed as an Indian industry association partner, facilitating industry engagement and private sector participation in bilateral S&T programs.
• Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFICCI is listed as an Indian industry association partner, supporting industry collaboration and private sector engagement in IUSSTF programs.
• STEAM VarsitymajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSTEAM Varsity is the implementation partner for the Young Innovators STEM Lab (YISL) program, which delivers AR/VR and design thinking workshops to Indian students across 5 cities in India.
• Genex SpacemajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGenex Space is the implementation partner for the Space Experiential Learning Centre (SELC), collaborating with IUSSTF and the American Center to deliver space science education and workshops in India.
• Intel CorporationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIntel partnered with DST and IUSSTF on the Real-time River Water & Air Quality Monitoring (WAQM) initiative, providing technology expertise for sensor and analytics solutions.
• National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIBIB is listed as a U.S. federal agency partner, supporting bilateral collaboration in biomedical imaging and bioengineering research.
• American Center in New Delhi (U.S. Embassy)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe American Center serves as the venue and partner for the Space Experiential Learning Centre (SELC) and Astronomy and Space Club, with support from the Public Diplomacy Section of the U.S. Department of State.
• U.S. Department of State's Public Diplomacy Section in New DelhiflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Public Diplomacy Section funds and supports the Young Innovators STEM Lab (YISL) and SELC initiatives as part of the U.S.-India TRUST (Transforming the Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technology) framework.
• Social AlphaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial Alpha is listed as an Indian ecosystem partner supporting innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives.
• Indian Angel NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndian Angel Network is listed as an Indian ecosystem partner contributing to the innovation and startup ecosystem engagement.
• TiE Global and TiE Silicon ValleyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) is listed as a U.S. ecosystem partner supporting entrepreneurship and startup collaboration in the Indo-U.S. innovation ecosystem.
• WINStep ForwardminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWINStep Forward is listed as a U.S. partner organization supporting women in STEM and entrepreneurship initiatives.
• Lockheed MartinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLockheed Martin is listed as a U.S. industry partner, contributing to Indo-U.S. science and technology collaboration in the aerospace and defense domains.
• Vigyan PrasarminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVigyan Prasar is listed as an Indian partner organization supporting science communication and outreach activities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC): Bilateral autonomous body jointly funded by India's DST and Germany's BMBF to promote Indo-German S&T collaboration through grants, workshops and fellowships. Operates an essentially identical model to IUSSTF but with Germany as the counterpart, making it the closest structural analogue.
• Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (CEFIPRA / IFCPAR): Bilateral organization between India (DST) and France (Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs) funding collaborative research, fellowships and industry-academia projects. Same bilateral grant-making architecture and Indo-anchored governance as IUSSTF.
• Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS): Japan's core bilateral and multilateral science promotion agency, running fellowship programs and international cooperation agreements with counterparts worldwide. Directly comparable as a government-backed facilitator of cross-border research and researcher mobility.
• Alexander von Humboldt Foundation: German government-funded foundation that sponsors internationally mobile researchers and international research cooperation, including India-specific programs. Closely mirrors IUSSTF's fellowship and research collaboration mission on a country-pair basis.
• U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF): Binational foundation jointly funded by the U.S. and Israeli governments to support collaborative research between scientists in both countries. Same model of two-government funding, peer-reviewed grants, and bilateral research collaboration as IUSSTF.
• Fulbright Commission (U.S.-India Educational Foundation): Bilateral U.S.-India body administering Fulbright and other educational exchange programs. Highly comparable in operating under a U.S.-India inter-governmental mandate, hosting flagship exchange and fellowship programs, and being headquartered in India.

Broad incumbents

• German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD): Larger, established German government agency that administers academic exchange and international research cooperation globally. Overlaps with IUSSTF on Indo-German student and researcher mobility but operates at much greater scale and across many partner countries.
• Royal Society (UK): UK's national academy of sciences running international fellowship, exchange and partnership programs (including with India). Comparable in promoting bilateral research collaboration but as a broader scientific academy rather than a single-purpose bilateral body.

Others

• TWAS — The World Academy of Sciences: UNESCO-affiliated academy based in Trieste that supports scientific capacity building in the developing world, including researcher exchanges and grants. Adjacent thematic peer in international S&T cooperation but multilateral rather than bilateral.

Emerging players

• Indo-Pacific Council / Quad S&T initiatives: Emerging multi-country S&T cooperation vehicles (Quad Critical and Emerging Technology working group, Indo-Pacific dialogues) that increasingly fund joint research and fellowships across the Indo-Pacific. Partial overlap with IUSSTF and a potential alternative platform for bilateral projects.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Indo.US.STF

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments1 record

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Frequently asked questions about Indo U.S. Science and Technology Forum