Modi urges innovators to make most of Israeli tech
STRONG PITCH PM, Netanyahu make Gujarat trip, exchange praises
AHMEDABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday pitched for greater cooperation with Israel to boost innovation in India. He said this while visiting the city with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, on a day-long visit.
Dedicating the icreate Centre at Deo Dholera village in Ahmedabad to the country, Modi urged innovators to make the most of Israeli technology to emerge triumphant in the fields of water conservation, agriculture and cyber-security. “The entire world is influenced by the technology and creativity of Israel. Israel has proven... that it is the people’s resolve, not the size of a nation, that takes it forward,” he said.
icreate (short for International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology) is an autonomous institution on the outskirts of Ahmedabad that aims to identify and nurture budding entrepreneurs. It is one of the organisations that facilitate the Centre’s India-israel Innovation Bridge initiative by hosting startups from both the countries.
The Prime Minister said he decided to link icreate with Israel upon its launch a few years ago. “I wanted this institution and our youth to benefit from Israel’s experience as well as their start-up environment,” he added.
The BJP government at the Centre was working towards making the “entire system in our country” innovation-friendly, Modi said. “This will enable the formation of ideas from intent, innovations from ideas, and a new India from innovations.”
Stressing on the importance of innovation for country’s development, Modi said a joint venture worth $40 million was set up during his visit to Israel last year.
“The initiative will help talented people from both India and Israel do new things in the field of technological innovation. The relationship between the two countries will write a new chap- WINNERS: Amvicube: Created by Karnataka duo Vikram Sreeama and Somalpuram Amarnath, the electrically operated, Wifi-enabled equipment that checks the quality of paddy without the traditional de-husking method
RUNNERS-UP: WINNERS: RUNNERS-UP: ter in human history,” he added.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Modi’s leadership was “changing India”. “He is revolutionising India. He is catapulting it into the future as one of the world’s great powers. He is doing it trough the power of innovation,” he said. “The world knows about ipads and ipods, but now it needs to know about icreate.”
Netanyahu also touched upon past ties between Israel and WINNERS: RUNNERS-UP: Vanita Prasad, founder,
whose Granulated Sludge project dealt with low energy solution for waste water’s treatment, purification Modi’s home state in his address. “This isn’t the first time Israel and Gujarat have come together. In 2001, following the terrible earthquake in Gujarat, Israel sent field hospitals to help. Our ties go back even further. Some of the Indian soldiers who sacrificed their lives to liberate the city of Haifi over 100 years ago were Gujaratis. Thank you, Gujarat!”
The Israeli premier concluded his speech by shouting: “Jai Hind! Jai Bharat! Jai Israel!”