'Huge scope for India-Israel ties for developing new tech'

NEW DELHI: Giving thumbs up to India's prospects as a manufacturing hub, CEO of an Israeli technology transfer company has said that both the countries have a lot in common that sets bright future in areas of scientific research and innovation.

Shlomo Nimrodi, CEO of Ramot, a technology transfer company of Tel Aviv University said, there is a huge scope for cooperation between India and Israel in developing new technology.

"We have a lot of things in common that sets bright future for both countries," Nimrodi told PTI.

He said, Ramot had signed an MoU with the Tata Industries in April last year to fund a Technology Innovation Momentum Fund that would generate technologies in the areas of consumer electronics, automotive, agriculture, clean tech, pharma, and healthcare among others.

He said the fund has USD 24 million in its corpus. As per the agreement, Tata Industries would have the right of first opportunity to negotiate a license agreement on technologies in certain areas, he said.

"Tata would have the right of first opportunity to negotiate a license agreement on technologies in certain areas," he said.

The Ramot CEO, who is in India to attend the India-Israel Forum, said that the fund has so far invested in six technologies and is in the process of investing in another six that includes developing wheat seeds that have "rust-resistant capacity".

"The role of tech transfer companies in most universities in the western world is to bridge the gap between the academia and the industry," he said, while stressing on the need for better interface between universities and companies.

He said that tech transfer technology companies in Israel have been more successful compared to their counterparts in Europe and USA.