Think Tanks in the India - Israel collaboration

Mumbai, 30^th March 2017: Gateway House addressed an audience of Indian and Israeli academics at Mumbai University, at a one-day conference on the scope for India-Israel collaboration in innovation and entrepreneurship, media and communications, and the role of academia.

This conference will lead to the establishment of the Centre for India-Israel Studies at Mumbai University. The new Centre will be collaboration with Mumbai University and Tel Aviv University, Israel, in Mumbai. With Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi due to visit Israel in June-July this year, this collaboration assumes significance.

Speaking to the academics, Ms. Manjeet Kripalani, Executive Director of Gateway House, emphasised the role of think tanks within the academic sphere. Think tanks, she said, “are the end of the long chain of academic endeavors, where scholars … can reside permanently or come to take a break from teaching to delve deeper into their areas of specialization, and to engage with policy-makers in governments domestically and internationally.”

In addition, business must understand policy-making as business implements policy, she said. Like Israel and the US, where policy-making is imbued by the pragmatism of business and entrepreneurs who support think tanks - making them successful nations - Mumbai business too can do the same. “After all, it is business that implements policy, so having their input on workable policies is a winning combination,” Kripalani said.

“Israel has much to offer India in terms of innovation, technology, urban studies, environment, and India has the ability to scale up a small idea and technology and make it national and global,” Kripalani explained.

She concluded that the collaboration of Mumbai University with Tel Aviv University will bring welcome new ideas and new scholars to Mumbai and to Gateway House.