The US and India are each investing $1.5 million (£1.1m) per year for five years to expand their clean energy research efforts.

The private sectors in the two nations will match the government commitments, resulting in a combined $30 million (£22.8m) investment.

The funding for research on smart grids and energy storage is part of the US-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy which was launched in 2009.

Since the launch, the countries have agreed to expand the initiative which has three main areas of activity: Research (PACE-R), Deployment (PACE-D) and Access (PEACE).

US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said: “Smart grid and storage technology will transform how we produce and consume electricity, which has the potential to decrease carbon pollution by scaling up renewable energy deployment. Working collaboratively with India will accelerate solutions to drive down technology costs and improve grid resilience and reliability in both countries.”