New Delhi, Oct. 30: India and Germany will invest 10 million euros (Rs 56.8 crore) each to establish an Indo-German technology centre in New Delhi for industry-relevant research under a slew of agreements the two countries signed today.

The agreements will expand existing scientist-exchange programmes and launch joint research projects in futuristic manufacturing, energy technologies and health research, senior officials said today.

India and Germany will each spend an annual two million euros over the next five years on the technology centre to be set up in New Delhi.

“It will take science to industry,” said Yash Pal Kumar, a senior official in India’s department of science and technology.

Although its focus areas are yet to be identified, he said, it could work on anything from manufacturing to automobile technology and vaccine research.

India has also committed to cover 3 per cent “in kind” of a 2.7-billion euro project to build a new particle accelerator — a facility for exotic physics research — in Germany that is expected to be ready in about seven years.

“A consortium of Indian universities and research centres could produce components or subsystems — hardware or software — for this experimental facility,” Kumar said.

“We’ll have to bid for the specific subsystems that India would like to build. This will also enhance the capabilities of researchers in our own universities to participate in such international projects,” he added.

German officials have said they would like to see more Indian scientists in their research laboratories. One of the agreements signed by the two countries expands the exchange scheme to allow senior Indian scientists to visit Germany for short periods.

In talks that preceded the agreements today, German and Indian officials also discussed the possibility of setting up an India-Max Planck Centre in one of several institutions already collaborating with Germany’s prestigious Max Planck institutes.

Some research groups or individuals in India already have collaborative relationships with Max Planck institutes. The idea is to build on these, said science and technology secretary T. Ramasami.