India & Israel

Story hook

It is 5 July 2017, a Wednesday in Jerusalem. Narendra Modi steps off the IAF aircraft at Ben Gurion International Airport. Benjamin Netanyahu, breaking with diplomatic protocol, has come personally to receive him — and breaks protocol again by driving Modi himself to their meetings. The two leaders walk through the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial together, lay wreaths at the Mount Herzl military cemetery, and visit a special Israeli desalination + drip irrigation farm.

For the next three days, Modi does not visit Ramallah. He does not meet Mahmoud Abbas. He does not call for a Palestinian state. This silence is the most diplomatically loud act of the visit. It is the first ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Israel in the 25 years since formal diplomatic ties were established in 1992 — and Modi performs the visit as a "de-hyphenated" engagement, decoupled from the traditional India-Israel-Palestine triangle.

The deliverables match the choreography. $2 billion in defence deals — Heron drones, Spike missiles, Barak-8 air defence systems. A 5-year strategic partnership framework covering water, agriculture, defence, cyber, space, technology. Mutual visa-on- arrival for diplomatic passport holders. A joint $40 million Innovation Fund for industrial R&D.

For UPSC, this July 2017 visit was the most consequential moment in India-Israel relations since formal ties were established on 29 January 1992. Israel had been India's quiet strategic partner since the 1990s — supplying drones, missiles, radars, agricultural tech — but always discreetly. Modi's open embrace ended the secrecy. Today, Israel is India's 4th-largest defence supplier, with $2-3 billion annual deals, and the largest single supplier of military unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). India is one of the few countries to which Israel exports its most advanced weapons systems without serious technology restrictions.

Why this matters for UPSC

India-Israel relationship has six dimensions:

• Defence: 4th-largest defence supplier; Heron drones, Spike ATGMs, Barak-8, Harop loitering munitions.
• Agriculture: 30+ Centres of Excellence; drip irrigation; precision farming.
• Water: Desalination + reuse; India-Israel Water Cooperation Agreement.
• Cyber & innovation: $40 mn iCREATE; Israel-India Industrial R&D Foundation.
• Trade: ~$8 bn bilateral (2023-24); FTA negotiations.
• Strategic: I2U2 (with US + UAE); IMEC.

For UPSC: Prelims tests 1992 ties, Heron drones, I2U2; Mains GS-II asks on de-hyphenation, defence diversification, West Asia. Asked 2-3 times in last decade.