India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund

• The Union Cabinet has approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Israel on "India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F)".

About I4F:

• India and Israel will make a contribution of four million US Dollars each for the Fund, both equivalent amounts, annually for five years. The Innovation Fund will be governed by a joint Board which will consist of four members from each country.
• The MoU envisages promotion of bilateral Industrial R&D and Innovation cooperation in the fields of science and technology by extending support to joint projects for innovative or technology-driven new or improved products, services or processes. Such projects will lead to affordable technological innovations in focus areas of mutual interest such as water, agriculture, energy and digital technologies.
• Institutional support in building up consortia including private industry, enterprises and R&D institutions from India and Israel will be enabled through these collaborative projects.
• The activities supported by the Joint Fund would increase the techno-economic collaboration between the two countries by investing in jointly developed technology projects and collaborations based on technological innovation.
• It would leverage the complementary strengths of Israel and India to encourage Israel-Indian joint projects that capitalize on both the national and global marketplace.
• It would provide a comprehensive set of support tools to encourage joint projects that convert "know-how" into "show-how".
• It is expected that this will foster and strengthen the eco-system of innovation and techno-entrepreneurship in India and will contribute directly to the Start-up India programme.

Analysis:

• Economic relations between India and Israel have flourished since the establishment of formal diplomatic ties in 1992.
• Bilateral trade at the time was worth $200 million and mainly consisted of diamonds. By 2016, that figure had skyrocketed to $4.16 billion, excluding defense expenditure.
• In 2016, India accounted for 3.3% of Israel's trade, with imports and exports including agriculture, textiles, machinery, and chemical and mineral products.
• Israel has in recent years become an important defense supplier for India. The two countries signed an air and missile defense deal worth almost $2 billion in April, in what Israel termed the "largest defense contract deal" in its history.
• There has been a focus on defense and counter-terrorism and it is important. This kind of cooperation enhances the confidence that countries have with each other.

By: Vishal