Cabinet approves $4mn MoU on innovation fund with Israel

New Delhi, Aug 30 (IANS) The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a MoU between India and Israel on an R&D and technological innovation fund which will see both countries contribute $40,00,000 each annually for five years.

The cabinet meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Memorandum of Understanding on "India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F)" was concluded in July 2017.

"The Innovation Fund will be governed by a joint Board which will consist of four members from each country," the government said.

The MoU also envisages promotion of bilateral Industrial R&D (Research and Design) 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," the government said.

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 government also said that 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," the government said.

The MoU would also provide a comprehensive set of support tools to encourage joint projects that convert "know-how" into "show-how"," the government added.