In the eyes of the youth of the Hindi belt, Israel is India’s second best friend, who is number one?

In the eyes of the youth of India’s Hindi-speaking states, Israel is the country’s second best friend. Russia is number one in this matter. In a new survey, 62% of people consider Israel a good friend of India. At the same time, 57% believe that Israel supports India in difficult times. In both these respects Russia was at the forefront.

The survey was conducted by the India-Israel Center in New Delhi. The survey, conducted in October 2026, questioned 1,023 people between the ages of 21 and 40. People were spoken to online and in person in Hindi. The survey was conducted in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand. More than one third of the country’s population i.e. about 42 crore people live in these five states.

India benefits from Israel’s help

In the survey, 42% of people considered Israel as a country that helps India’s development. Israel ranks third in trust. 57% people expressed confidence in him. Russia and Japan were ahead of him in this matter. At the same time, the US, France, UAE and Singapore trailed Israel. The survey revealed that people who are aware of the cooperation between India and Israel trust Israel more. Among such people, 75% expressed trust in Israel. At the same time, among those who did not know about this cooperation, this figure was 43%.

Similarly, 83% of the informed people believed that cooperation with Israel in the field of defense and technology is beneficial for India. Of those who did not know about this, 46% thought so. A total of 63% said that Israel is ahead in terms of technology. In the May 2026 survey, this figure was 51%.

Cooperation in agriculture and defense is also considered important

61% of people surveyed believe that defense and technology cooperation with Israel is beneficial for India. 30% of them said it was very beneficial. At the same time, 60% considered cooperation with Israel in agriculture, water and business necessary. Among those with information about cooperation with Israel, the figure was 75%.

35 Centers of Excellence in Agriculture have been set up in India with the help of Israel. Four of them are in the Hindi belt. These are in Basti and Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh and Vaishali and Nalanda in Bihar. Here farmers are taught drip irrigation, water application of fertilizers and safe farming techniques.

50% people want the relationship between the two countries to be stronger

50% of people surveyed said that ties between India and Israel should be strengthened. 28% of people are in favor of maintaining existing relationships, while 13% want to reduce them. In a May 2026 survey, 41% were in favor of strengthening ties and 20% were in favor of reducing them.

Trade between the two countries was $3.93 billion in 2025-26. Last year it was 3.62 billion dollars. The two countries signed an investment agreement in September 2025. There were also two rounds of talks on a free trade agreement in 2026.

91% in Gorakhpur and 88% in Varanasi expressed trust in Israel. According to the report, cooperation between the two countries has increased due to agricultural cooperation in these cities and the employment of Indians in Israel. However, the report did not point out any single reason behind it. The report said that the more people know about India-Israel cooperation, the more positive their opinion is.