India has committed more than 7 million Euros over five years, beginning in 2026-27, to participate as a co-partner in the redevelopment of research beamlines at Italy’s Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste under the Elettra 2.0 programme. The investment will support advanced research infrastructure and human resource development, strengthening scientific cooperation between India and Italy.
The announcement was made by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh, during his visit to Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste on November 13.
The upgraded facilities are expected to create new research opportunities in chemistry, physics, advanced materials, structural biology and other scientific disciplines. The enhanced infrastructure will benefit researchers from India and other countries, while providing Indian scientists access to advanced experimental facilities.
India’s participation in Elettra 2.0 builds on more than 25 years of scientific collaboration with the Italian research facility. Indian research groups have been conducting experiments at Elettra since 1998, and India is currently its second-largest user after Italy.
The strong engagement of Indian researchers is reflected in the more than 1,100 experimental proposals submitted by Indian research groups. India ranks second in the number of proposals, after Italy, which has submitted 54,140 proposals, and ahead of France, with 1,098 proposals.
Under the Elettra 2.0 programme, the existing India-centric XRD2 and Xpress beamlines will be decommissioned and replaced with two upgraded facilities offering enhanced research capabilities. These will include a microfocus beamline for macromolecular crystallography, named micro-XRD (μXRD), and a high-pressure diffraction beamline called Xpress Superbend (Xpress-SB).
The redevelopment builds on India’s earlier investment in dedicated research infrastructure at Elettra. The Department of Science and Technology (DST), along with the Italian side, had supported the construction of the existing XRD2 and XPRESS diffraction beamlines with a contribution of approximately ₹22 crore. The two facilities were jointly inaugurated on October 20, 2016, during the visit of the DST Secretary to Italy.
Since their commissioning, the beamlines have been extensively used by Indian researchers. Around 50–60 Indian scientists visit Trieste every year to conduct experiments at the facility.
The DST has also facilitated access to Elettra for Indian researchers through the Indo-Italian Executive Programme of Cooperation (EPOC). Under EPOC 2022–2024, the department sanctioned ₹2 crore over three years to support visits by 50 Indian researchers annually, with 25 visits in each semester, enabling them to conduct experiments during their allocated beamline shifts.
The EPOC 2025–2027 programme also includes a proposal to support Indian researchers undertaking experiments at Elettra, with a proposed allocation of ₹1.5 crore over three years.
India’s participation in the redevelopment had earlier been conveyed by the DST, and a Letter of Intent (LoI) was signed in this regard. During his November 13 visit, Dr Jitendra Singh reaffirmed the country’s commitment through the announcement of the investment exceeding €7 million over the next five years.
The new investment will build on the experience gained through the development and successful utilisation of the existing beamlines, while creating upgraded facilities for the next phase of India–Italy scientific collaboration.
Through its participation in Elettra 2.0, India aims to strengthen its engagement with the Italian research ecosystem and expand access to specialised research infrastructure for Indian scientists, while contributing to international scientific cooperation in advanced areas of research.
(PIB)
