The European Union’s Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026–2027 includes two forthcoming research calls for which India’s Ministry of Earth Sciences will provide dedicated co-funding to eligible Indian research organisations.
The calls focus on two distinct areas of global importance:
Topic ID: HORIZON-CL5-2027-01-D1-07
Opening date: 17 November 2026
Deadline: 4 March 2027, 17:00 CET
The call will support research aimed at improving scientific understanding, modelling and prediction of extreme climate events and their cascading impacts. Areas of interest include high-resolution modelling, climate attribution, multi-hazard prediction, early-warning systems, data integration, digital twins and artificial-intelligence-based tools.
Topic ID: HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-CLIMATE-04
Opening date: 20 April 2027
Deadline: 23 September 2027, 17:00 CET
This call will support multidisciplinary research on the Antarctic cryosphere and Southern Ocean. It seeks to improve understanding and projections of changes in ocean, ice and ecosystem systems, strengthen environmental monitoring and contribute evidence for conservation and climate policy.
Eligible Indian institutions will participate in Horizon Europe consortia as Associated Partners. They may contribute fully to the collaborative research programme and lead work packages, but cannot act as the formal European Commission project coordinator or receive direct EU funding.
Instead, successful Indian participants will be funded separately by the Ministry of Earth Sciences. MoES may provide Grant-in-Aid covering 100% of approved costs, subject to a maximum of ₹2 crore per project, irrespective of the number of Indian institutions involved. European consortium partners will receive funding separately under Horizon Europe.
The European side of the consortium must include at least three independent legal entities from three eligible EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries, with at least one entity established in an EU Member State. Nordic institutions in Denmark, Finland and Sweden can participate as organisations based in EU Member States, while institutions in Iceland and Norway can participate through their countries’ association with Horizon Europe.
The two calls offer strong potential for collaboration between Nordic and Indian universities and research organisations.
Nordic institutions bring significant expertise in climate science, polar and ocean research, environmental monitoring, modelling and research infrastructure. Indian institutions contribute complementary strengths in monsoon and extreme-weather systems, Himalayan and polar research, ocean science, climate impacts, data science and adaptation.
Although the calls open later in 2026 and 2027, international research consortia are generally formed well before application deadlines. Interested researchers and institutions are therefore encouraged to begin identifying partners, complementary expertise and potential areas of collaboration at an early stage.
The Nordic Centre in India is pleased to share this opportunity with its member universities and Indian partners as part of its work to support sustained and mutually valuable research cooperation between the Nordic region and India.
Full call document and eligibility guidance: https://www.moes.gov.in/static/uploads/2026/04/f1d652381229f1518be873434fecc74f.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Applicants should consult the complete official documentation before preparing or submitting a proposal.
