'Every Lock Has A Key'

he tough-as-nails reaction is typical—and expected. Israeli companies in India shrugged away the Mumbai terror attack that targeted the Jewish centre in Nariman House. Says Israel’s deputy chief of mission in India Eli Belotsercovsky, "We don’t see any major impact and have not heard any concerns so far." In fact, Israeli companies Outlook spoke to stress that their India expansion plans are on course. There are also no cancellations from delegates of a water exhibition scheduled in Delhi next week. Says Michael Namatinia, Asia head of IT firm Vizrt India, "Israel is used to such disturbing events."

Since 2000, Israel Inc has been expanding rapidly in India, moving beyond the traditional diamonds and agriculture, to include defence equipment, electronics, software, real estate, telecom and pharma. There are about 50 medium-to-large Israeli companies in India, and double that number have representatives here. Though the commerce ministry pegs Israeli invest- ment in India at $25 million in the last decade, mission officials state it could be several fold more as many companies choose other countries to route investments. "There is keenness in Israel to offer support with latest security equipment to India," says V.K. Batra of Teva Regent Drugs, pointing to deepening Indo-Israeli strategic relations.

Of course, security is a concern. "We can put all the security in place but for every lock there’s a key. We try to find better locks," explains Yoram Shoshtari, MD of construction firm Azorim India. In fact, the economic situation is a greater worry for Israeli companies, particularly those in real estate.