• Experts from India and Israel deliberated on widening the scope of the India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F) at its eighth governing body meeting.

• They also approved three joint research and development projects worth $5.5 million and suggested measures to create a broader collaborative ecosystem between the two countries.

• The discussions took place virtually in the presence of officials from the department of science and technology (DST), the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA), Global Innovation & Technology Alliance (GITA) and various industry partners.

• They approved three R&D projects with an overall budget of $5.5 million.

• The projects were ‘Centrally Monitored IoT Nanosensors for Molecular Diagnostics in Healthcare and Screening Applications’, ‘NoMoreMos - a mosquito control biological solution’ and ‘IoT-enabled satellite communication for real-time collection of agriculture and environment data across India’.

What is I4F?

• The India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F) is a cooperation platform between the department of science and technology (DST) and the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) to promote facilitate and support joint industrial R&D projects between companies from India and Israel, which would lead to successful commercialisation and benefit for both countries.

• The $40 million (over a five-year period) fund is one of the outcomes of the historic first-ever visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Israel in July 2017. 

• DST and IIA have jointly created the Fund with equal contribution from both sides.

• The objective of this programme is to respond to the global issues concerning science & technology, while developing technologies that can be commercialised and localised within two years through joint cooperation between India and Israel.

• In India, on behalf of DST, funding and other services will be provided through Global Innovation & Technology Alliance (GITA) and in Israel, funding and other services will be provided through Israel Innovation Authority.

The Fund invites applications in sectors focusing on the respective expertise, mutual interest and societal needs of both the countries such as:

• Agriculture

• Energy

• Healthcare

• Information & Communication Technologies (ICT)

• Water.

• One project titled Energy Efficiency in Agriculture Pumping with Smart Ground Water Management through Monitoring and Targeting Ground Water Aquifers has been completed under I4F.

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