Academic Year 2015-2016 Uniform Order Form For Senior: Fill & Download for Free

Well it is a myth that unbelievers own science and are smarter.Th truth is Israel is leader in all the field science, due that God is with them.Watch this:Science and technology in Israel is one of the country's most developed sectors. Israel spent 4.2% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on civil research and development in 2013, one of the highest ratios in the world.[1][2] Israel ranks fifth among the most innovative countries in the Bloomberg Innovation Index.[3][4] It ranks thirteenth in the world for scientific output as measured by the number of scientific publications per million citizens.[5] In 2014, Israel's share of scientific articles published worldwide (0.9%) was much higher than its share of the global population (0.1%).[6][2] It also has one of the highest per capita rates of filed patents.[7]Israel counts 140 scientists and technicians per 10,000 employees, one of the highest ratios in the world. In comparison, there are 85 per 10,000 in the United States and 83 per 10,000 in Japan.[8] In 2012, Israel counted 8,337 full-time equivalent researchers per million inhabitants.[2] This compares with 3,984 in the USA, 6,533 in the Republic of South Korea and 5,195 in Japan. Israel's high technology industry has benefited from both the country's highly educated and technologically skilled workforce coupled with the strong presence of foreign high-tech firms and sophisticated research centres.[9][2]Israel is home to major players in the high-tech industry and has one of the world's most technologically literate populations.[10] In 1998, Tel Aviv was named by Newsweek as one of the ten most technologically influential cities in the world.[11] Since 2000, Israel has been a member of EUREKA, the pan-European research and development funding and coordination organization, and held the rotating chairmanship of the organization for 2010–2011.[12][13] In 2010, American journalist David Kaufman wrote that the high tech area of Yokneam, Israel, has the "world's largest concentration of aesthetics-technology companies".[14] Google Chairman Eric Schmidt has complimented the country during a visit there, saying that “Israel has the most important high-tech center in the world after the US.”[15]ContentsHistory EditJewish settlement in Mandate Palestine was ideologically motivated. Return to the homeland was perceived as contingent on a return to the soil. To establish the rural villages that formed the core of Zionist ideology and produce self-supporting Jewish farmers, agronomic experiments were conducted.[16] The foundations of agricultural research in Israel were laid by the teachers and graduates of the Mikveh Yisrael School, the country's first agricultural school, established by the Alliance Israelite Universelle in 1870.[17] On a field trip to Mount Hermon in 1906, the agronomist Aaron Aaronsohn discovered Triticum dicoccoides, or emmer wheat, believed to be the "mother of all wheat."[18] In 1909, he founded an agricultural research station in Atlit where he built up an extensive library and collected geological and botanical samples.[19] The Agricultural Station, founded in Rehovot in 1921, engaged in soil research and other aspects of farming in the country's difficult climatic conditions.[20] This station, which became the Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), is now Israel’s major institution of agricultural research and development.Albert Einstein at the Technion; c. 1925In 1912, the first cornerstone of the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology was laid at a festive ceremony in Haifa, which was then occupied by the Ottoman Empire. The Technion would become a unique university worldwide in its claim to precede and create a nation. As Jews were often barred from technical education in Europe,[21] the Technion claims to have brought the skills needed to build a modern state.[22]Established before World War I, the Hebrew Health Station in Jerusalem, founded by Nathan Straus engaged in medical and public health research, operating departments for public hygiene, eye diseases and bacteriology.[23] The station manufactured vaccines against typhus and cholera, and developed methods of pest control to eliminate field mice. The Pasteur Institute affiliated with the station developed a rabies vaccine.[23] Departments for microbiology, biochemistry, bacteriology, and hygiene were opened at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, founded on Mount Scopus in 1925. In 1936, Jewish workers in the center of the country donated two-days' pay toward the establishment of the "Hospital of Judea and Sharon," later renamed Beilinson Hospital. In 1938, Beilinson established the country's first blood bank.[24] The Rothschild-Hadassah University Hospital on Mount Scopus opened in 1939 and was the first teaching hospital and medical center in the country. Since renamed the Hadassah Medical Center, it has become a leader in medical research.[25]WEIZAC, the first modern computer in the Middle EastIndustrial research began at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, was also initiated at the Daniel Sieff Research Center (later the Weizmann Institute of Science), established in 1934 in Rehovot. The Dead Sea Laboratories opened in the 1930s. The first modern electronic computer in Israel and the Middle East, and one of the first large-scale, stored-program, electronic computers in the world, called WEIZAC, was built at the Weizmann Institute during 1954–1955, based on the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) architecture developed by John von Neumann.[26] WEIZAC has been recognized by the IEEE as a milestone in the history of electrical engineering and computing.[27] IBM Israel, registered on June 8, 1950, was the country's first high-tech firm. The company, located on Allenby Street in Tel Aviv, assembled and repaired punch card machines, sorting machines and tabulators. In 1956, a local plant was opened to produce punch cards, and a year later, the first service center opened, offering computerized data processing services.[28]Scientific and technological research in Israel was boosted by the appointment of a chief scientist for the Industry and Trade Ministry at the recommendation of a committee headed by Ephraim Katzir, later president of Israel.[29] The Israeli government provided grants that covered 50–80 percent of the outlay for new start-ups, with no conditions, no shareholding and no participation in management.[29] In the early 1980s, Control Data Corporation, a partner in Elron Electronic Industries, formed the country's first venture capital firm.[29]Origin of Israeli high-tech industry EditIsrael’s high-tech industries are a spin-off of the rapid[clarification needed] development of computer science and technology in the 1980s in such places as Silicon Valley and Massachusetts Route 128 in the USA, which ushered in the current high-tech era. Up until that point, Israel’s economy had been essentially based on agriculture, mining and secondary sectors such as diamond polishing and manufacturing in textiles, fertilizers and plastics.The key factor which enabled high-tech industries based on information and communication technologies to take root and flourish in Israel was the heavy[clarification needed] investment by the defence and aerospace industries, which spawned new technologies and know-how. Israel devoted 17.1% of its GDP to military expenditure in 1988. Even though this share had dropped to 5.8% of GDP by 2016, Israel military spending remains among the highest in the world. For the purposes of comparison, the United States devoted 5.7% of its GDP to military expenditure in 1988 and 3.3% in 2016.[30] This heavy investment in defence and aerospace formed the basis for Israel’s high-tech industries in medical devices, electronics, telecommunications, computer software and hardware.The massive[clarification needed] Russian immigration of the 1990s reinforced this phenomenon, doubling the number of engineers and scientists in Israel overnight. Between 1989 and 2006, about 979 000 Russian Jews and their relatives migrated to Israel, which had a population of just 4.5 million in 1989.[2]Today, Israel has the world’s most research-intensive business sector; in 2013, it alone performed 3.49% of GDP. Competitive grants and tax incentives are the two main policy instruments supporting business research and development. Thanks to government incentives and the availability of highly trained human capital, Israel has become an attractive location for the research centres of leading multinationals. The country’s national innovation ecosystem relies on both foreign multinationals and large corporate investors in research and development, as well as on start-ups. According to the Israel Venture Capital Database, 264 foreign research centres are currently active in Israel. Many of these centres are owned by large multinational firms that have acquired Israeli companies, technology and know-how and transformed them through mergers and acquisitions into their own local research facilities. The activity of some research centres even spans more than three decades, such as those of Intel, Applied Materials, Motorola and IBM.[2]In 2011, foreign research centres employed 33,700 workers through local subsidiaries, two-thirds of whom (23,700) worked in research and development. The same year, these research centres spent a total of NIS 14.17 billion on research and development across the full spectrum of industry, up from 17% over the previous year.[2]Higher education policy EditSixth Higher Education Plan EditIsrael’s higher education system is regulated by the Council for Higher Education and its Planning and Budgeting Committee. The Israeli higher education system operates under a multi-year plan agreed upon by the Planning and Budgeting Committee (PBC) and the Ministry of Finance. Each plan determines policy objectives and, accordingly, the budgets to be allocated in order to achieve these objectives.[2]The annual government allocation to universities totalled about US$1 750 million in 2015, providing 50–75% of their operating budgets. Much of the remainder of their operating budget (15–20%) comes from annual student tuition fees, which are uniform at about US$2 750 per year. The Sixth Higher Education Plan (2011–2016) makes provision for a 30% rise in the Council for Higher Education’s budget. The Sixth Plan changes the budgeting model of the PBC by placing greater emphasis on excellence in research, along with quantitative measures for the number of students. Under this model, 75% of the committee’s budget (NIS 7 billion over six years) is being allocated to institutions offering higher education. The Sixth Higher Education Plan launched the Israeli Centres of Research Excellence (I-CORE) programme in October 2011. This reflects a renewed interest in funding academic research and constitutes a strong indication of a reversal in government policy.[2]Israeli Centres of Research Excellence EditThe Israeli Centres of Research Excellence (I-CORE) programme, which dates from 2011, envisions the establishment of cross-institutional clusters of top researchers in specific fields and returning young Israeli scientists from abroad, with each centre being endowed with state-of-the-art research infrastructure. The Sixth Higher Education Plan invests NIS 300 million over six years in upgrading and renovating academic infrastructure and research facilities.[2]I-CORE is run jointly by the Council for Higher Education’s Planning and Budgeting Committee and the Israel Science Foundation. By 2015, 16 centres had been established in two waves across a wide spectrum of research areas: six specialize in life sciences and medicine, five in the exact sciences and engineering, three in social sciences and law and two in humanities. Each centre of excellence has been selected via a peer review process conducted by the Israel Science Foundation. By May 2014, around 60 young researchers had been absorbed into these centres, many of whom had previously worked abroad.[2]The research topics of each centre are selected through a broad bottom-up process consisting of consultations with the Israeli academic community, in order to ensure that they reflect the genuine priorities and scientific interests of Israeli researchers.[2]I-CORE is funded by the Council for Higher Education, the host institutions and strategic business partners, with a total budget of NIS 1.35 billion (US$365 million). The original goal was to set up 30 centres of research excellence in Israel by 2016. However, the establishment of the remaining 14 centres has provisionally been shelved, for lack of sufficient external capital.[2]In 2013–2014, the Planning and Budgeting Committee’s budget for the entire I-CORE programme amounted to NIS 87.9 million, equivalent to about 1% of the total for higher education that year. This budget appears to be insufficient to create the critical mass of researchers in various academic fields and thus falls short of the programme’s objective. The level of government support for the centres of excellence has grown each year since 2011 as new centres have been established and is expected to reach NIS 93.6 million by 2015–2016 before dropping to 33.7 million in 2017–2018. According to the funding model, government support should represent one-third ofall funding, another third being funded by the participating universities and the remaining third by donors or investors.[2]University recruitment targets EditIn the 2012–2013 academic year, there were 4,066 faculty members. The targets fixed by the Planning and Budgeting Committee for faculty recruitment are ambitious: universities are to recruit another 1 600 senior faculty within the six-year period – about half of whom will occupy new positions and half will replace faculty expected to retire. This will constitute a net increase of more than 15% in university faculty. In colleges, another 400 new positions are to be created, entailing a 25% net increase. The new faculty will be hired via the institutions’ regular recruitment channels, some in specific research areas, through the Israeli Centers of Research Excellence program.[2]The increase in faculty numbers will also reduce the student-to-faculty ratio, the target being to achieve a ratio of 21.5 university students to every faculty member, compared to 24.3 at present, and 35 students for every faculty member in colleges, compared to 38 at present. This increase in the number of faculty positions, alongside the upgrading of research and teaching infrastructure and the increase in competitive research funds, should help Israel to staunch brain drain by enabling the best Israeli researchers at home and abroad to conduct their academic work in Israel, if they so wish, at institutions offering the highest academic standards.[2]The new budgeting scheme described above is mainly concerned with the human and research infrastructure in universities. Most of the physical development (e.g. buildings) and scientific infrastructure (e.g. laboratories and expensive equipment) of universities comes from philanthropic donations, primarily from the American Jewish community (CHE, 2014). This latter source of funding has greatly compensated for the lack of sufficient government funding for universities up until now but it is expected to diminish significantly in the years to come. Unless the government invests more in research infrastructure, Israel’s universities will be ill-equipped and insufficiently funded to meet the challenges of the 21st century.[2]Expanding access to higher education EditIsrael has offered virtually universal access to its universities and academic colleges since the wave of Jewish immigration from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s prompted the establishment of numerous tertiary institutions to absorb the additional demand. However, the Arab and ultra-orthodox minorities still attend university in insufficient numbers. The Sixth Higher Education Plan places emphasis on encouraging minority groups to enroll in higher education. Two years after the Mahar program was implemented in late 2012 for the ultra-orthodox population, student enrollment had grown by 1400. Twelve new programs for ultra-orthodox students have since been established, three of them on university campuses. Meanwhile, the Pluralism and Equal Opportunity in Higher Education program addresses the barriers to integration of the Arab minority in the higher education system. Its scope ranges from providing secondary-school guidance through preparation for academic studies to offering students comprehensive support in their first year of study, a stage normally characterized by a high drop-out rate. The program renews the Ma’of fund supporting outstanding young Arab faculty members. Since the introduction of this program in 1995, the Ma’of fund has opened tenure track opportunities for nearly 100 Arab lecturers, who act as role models for younger Arab students embarking on their own academic careers.[2]Science, technology and innovation policy EditPolicy framework EditAlthough Israel does not have an ‘umbrella type’ policy for science, technology and innovation optimizing priorities and allocating resources, it does implement, de facto, an undeclared set of best practices combining bottom-up and top-down processes via government offices, such as those of the Chief Scientist or the Minister of Science, Technology and Space, as well as ad hoc organizations like the Telem forum. The procedure for selecting research projects for the Israeli centers for research excellence is one example of this bottom-up process.[2]Israel has no specific legislation regulating the transfer of knowledge from the academic sector to the general public and industry. Nevertheless, the Israeli government influences policy formulation by universities and technology transfer by providing incentives and subsidies through programmes such as Magnet and Magneton, as well as through regulation. There were attempts in 2004 and 2005 to introduce bills encouraging the transfer of knowledge and technology for the public benefit but, as these attempts failed, each university has since defined its own policy.[2]The Israeli economy is driven by industries based on electronics, computers and communication technologies, the result of over 50 years of investment in the country’s defence infrastructure. Israeli defence industries have traditionally focused on electronics, avionics and related systems. The development of these systems has given Israeli high-tech industries a qualitative edge in civilian spin-offs in the software, communications and Internet sectors. However, the next waves of high technologies are expected to emanate from other disciplines, including molecular biology, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, nanotechnology, material sciences and chemistry, in intimate synergy with information and communication technologies. These disciplines are rooted in the basic research laboratories of universities rather than the defence industries. This poses a dilemma. In the absence of a national policy for universities, let alone for the higher education system as a whole, it is not clear how these institutions will manage to supply the knowledge, skills and human resources needed for these new science-based industries.[2]Evaluation of science policy instruments EditThe country’s various policy instruments are evaluated by the Council for Higher Education, the National Council for Research and Development, the Office of the Chief Scientist, the Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the Ministry of Finance. In recent years, the Magnet administration in the Office of the Chief Scientist has initiated several evaluations of its own policy instruments, most of which have been carried out by independent research institutions. One such evaluation was carried out in 2010 by the Samuel Neaman Institute; it concerned the Nofar programme within the Magnet directorate. Nofar tries to bridge basic and applied research, before the commercial potential of a project has caught the eye of industry. The main recommendation was for Nofar to extend programme funding to emerging technological domains beyond biotechnology and nanotechnology. The Office of the Chief Scientist accepted this recommendation and, consequently, decided to fund projects in the fields of medical devices, water and energy technology and multidisciplinary research.[2]An additional evaluation was carried out in 2008 by Applied Economics, an economic and management research-based consultancy, on the contribution of the high-tech sector to economic productivity in Israel. It found that the output per worker in companies that received support from the Office of the Chief Scientist was 19% higher than in ‘twin’ companies that had not received this support. The same year, a committee headed by Israel Makov examined the Office of the Chief Scientist’s support for research and development in large companies. The committee found economic justification for providing incentives for these companies.[2]Research funding programmes EditThe Israeli Science Foundation is the main source of research funding in Israel and receives administrative support from the Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The foundation provides competitive grants in three areas: exact sciences and technology; life sciences and medicine; and humanities and social sciences. Complementary funding is provided by binational foundations, such as the USA–Israel Binational Science Foundation (est. 1972) and the German–Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development (est. 1986).[2]The Ministry of Science, Technology and Space funds thematic research centres and is responsible for international scientific co-operation. The Ministry’s National Infrastructure Programme aims to create a critical mass of knowledge in national priority fields and to nurture the younger generation of scientists. Investment in the programme mainly takes the form of research grants, scholarships and knowledge centres. Over 80% of the ministry’s budget is channelled towards research in academic institutions and research institutes, as well as towards revamping scientific infrastructure by upgrading existing research facilities and establishing new ones. In 2012, the ministry resolved to invest NIS 120 million over three years in four designated priority areas for research: brain science; supercomputing and cybersecurity; oceanography; and alternative transportation fuels. An expert panel headed by the Chief Scientist in the Ministry of Science, Technology and Space chose these four broad disciplines in the belief that they would be likely to exert the greatest practical impact on Israeli life in the near future.[2]The main ongoing programmes managed by the Office of the Chief Scientist within the Ministry of the Economy are: the Research and Development Fund; Magnet Tracks (est. 1994; Tnufa (est. 2001) and the Incubator Programme (est.1991). Between 2010 and 2014, the Office of the Chief Scientist initiated several new programmes:[2]Grand Challenges Israel (since 2014): an Israeli contribution to the Grand Challenges in Global Health programme, which is dedicated to tackling global health and food security challenges in developing countries; Grand Challenges Israel is offering grants of up to NIS 500 000 at the proof of concept/feasibility study stage.Research and development in the field of space technology (2012): encourages research to find technological solutions in various fields.Technological Entrepreneurship Incubators (2014): encourages entrepreneurial technology and supports start-up technology companies.Magnet – Kamin programme (2014) provides direct support for applied research in academia that has potential for commercial application.Cyber – Kidma programme (2014): promotes Israel’s cybersecurity industry.Cleantech – Renewable Energy Technology Centre (2012): supports research through projects involving private–public partnerships in the field of renewable energy.Life Sciences Fund (2010): finances the projects of Israeli companies, with emphasis on biopharmaceuticals, established together with the Ministry of Finance and the private sector.Biotechnology – Tzatam programme (2011): provides equipment to support research and development in life sciences. The Chief Scientist supports industrial organizations and the PBC provides research institutions with assistance.Investment in high-tech industries (2011): encourages financial institutions to invest in knowledge-based industries, through a collaboration between the Office of the Chief Scientist and the Ministry of Finance.Another source of public research funding is the Forum for National Research and Development Infrastructure (Telem). This voluntary partnership involves the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of the Economy and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Space, the Planning and Budgeting Committee and the Ministry of Finance. Telem projects focus on establishing infrastructure for research and development in areas that are of common interest to most Telem partners. These projects are financed by the Telem members’ own resources.[2]Trends in research funding EditIn 2014, Israel topped the world for research intensity, reflecting the importance of research and innovation for the economy. Since 2008, however, Israel’s research intensity has weakened somewhat (4.21% of GDP in 2013), even as this ratio has experienced impressive growth in the Republic of Korea (4.15% in 2014), Denmark (3.06% in 2013) and Germany (2.94% in 2013). The OECD average was 2.40% of GDP in 2014. Business expenditure on research and development (BERD) continues to account for ~84% of GERD, or 3.49% of GDP.[2]The share of higher education in gross domestic expenditure on research and development (GERD) has decreased since 2003 from 0.69% of GDP to 0.59% of GDP (2013). Despite this drop, Israel ranks 8th among OECD countries for this indicator. The lion’s share of GERD (45.6%) in Israel is financed by foreign companies, reflecting the large scale of activity by foreign multinational companies and research centres in the country.[2]The share of foreign funding in university-performed research is also quite significant (21.8%). By the end of 2014, Israel had received €875.6 million from the European Union’s (EU’s) Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2007–2013), 70% of which had gone to universities. Its successor, Horizon 2020 (2014–2020), has been endowed with nearly €80 billion in funding, making it the EU’s most ambitious research and innovation programme ever. As of February 2015, Israel had received €119.8 million from the Horizon 2020 programme.[2]In 2013, more than half (51.5%) of government spending was allocated to university research and an additional 29.9% to the development of industrial technologies. Research expenditure on health and the environment has doubled in absolute terms in the past decade but still accounts for less than 1% of total government GERD. Israel is unique among OECD countries in its distribution of government support by objective. Israel ranks at the bottom in government support of research in health care, environmental quality and infrastructure development.[2]There has been insufficient government funding for universities in recent years. University research in Israel is largely grounded in basic research, even though it also engages in applied research and partnerships with industry. Basic research in Israel only accounted for 13% of research expenditure in 2013, compared to 16% in 2006. There has since been an increase in General University Funds and those destined for non-oriented research.[2]Trends in human resources EditIn 2012, there were 77 282 full-time equivalent researchers in Israel, 82% of whom had acquired an academic education, 10% of whom were practical engineers and technicians and 8% of whom held other qualifications. Eight out of ten (83.8%) were employed in the business sector, 1.1% in the government sector, 14.4% in the higher education sector and 0.7% in non-profit institutions.[2]In 2011, 28% of senior academic staff were women, up by 5% over the previous decade (from 25% in 2005). Although the representation of women has increased, it remains very low in engineering (14%), physical sciences (11%), mathematics and computer sciences (10%) relative to education (52%) and paramedical occupations (63%).[2]There is a visible ageing of scientists and engineers in some fields. For instance, about three-quarters of researchers in the physical sciences are over the age of 50 and the proportion is even higher for practical engineers and technicians. The shortage of professional staff will be a major handicap for the national innovation system in the coming years, as the growing demand for engineers and technical professionals begins to outpace supply. [2]During the 2012/2013 academic year, 34% of bachelor's degrees were obtained in fields related to science and engineering in Israel. This compares well with the proportion in the Republic of Korea (40%) and most Western countries (about 30% on average). The proportion of Israeli graduates in scientific disciplines and engineering was slightly lower at the master’s level (27%) but dominated at PhD level (56%).[2]Recent statistics support the assertion that Israel may be living on the ‘fruits of the past’, that is to say, on the heavy investment made in primary, secondary and tertiary education during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Between 2007 and 2013, the number of graduates in physical sciences, biological sciences and agriculture dropped, even though the total number of university graduates progressed by 19% (to 39 654). Recent data reveal that Israeli educational achievements in the core curricular subjects of mathematics and science are low in comparison to other OECD countries, as revealed by the exam results of Israeli 15-year olds in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment. Public spending on primary education has also fallen below the OECD average. The public education budget accounted for 6.9% of GDP in 2002 but only 5.6% in 2011. The share of this budget going to tertiary education has remained stable at 16–18% but, as a share of GDP, has passed under the bar of 1%. There is concern at the deteriorating quality of teachers at all levels of education and the lack of stringent demands on students to strive for excellence.[2]Research universities EditFurther information: List of Israeli universities and colleges, Education in Israel, and List of multinationals with research and development centres in IsraelIsrael has seven research universities: Bar-Ilan University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the University of Haifa, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot. Other scientific research institutions include the Volcani Institute of Agricultural Research in Beit Dagan, the Israel Institute for Biological Research and the Soreq Nuclear Research Center. The Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center at Sde Boker is an alternative energy research institute established in 1987 by the Ministry of National Infrastructures to study alternative and clean energy technologies.Israeli universities are ranked among the top 50 academic institutions in the world in the following scientific disciplines: in chemistry (Technion);[31] in computer science (Weizmann Institute of Science, Technion, Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University);[32] in mathematics and natural sciences (Hebrew University, Technion)[33] and in engineering (Technion).[34]In 2009, Mor Tzaban, an Israeli high school student from Netivot, won first prize in the First Step to Nobel Prize in Physics competition. In 2012, Yuval Katzenelson of Kiryat Gat won first prize with a paper entitled "Kinetic energy of inert gas in a regenerative system of activated carbon." The Israeli delegation won 14 more prizes in the competition: 9 Israelis students won second prize, one won third prize and one won fourth prize.[35]Scientific output EditThe number of Israeli publications stagnated between 2005 and 2014, according to Thomson Reuters' Web of Science (Science Citation Index Expanded). Consequently, the number of Israeli publications per million inhabitants also declined: between 2008 and 2013, it dropped from 1 488 to 1 431; this trend reflects a relative constancy in scholarly output in the face of relatively high population growth (1.1% in 2014) for a developed country and near-zero growth in the number of full-time equivalent researchers in universities. Between 2005 and 2014, Israeli scientific output was particularly high in life sciences. Israeli universities do particularly well in computer science but publications in this field tend to appear mostly in conference proceedings, which are not included in the Web of Science.[2]Israeli publications have a high citation rate and a high share of papers count among the 10 percent most-cited. The share of papers with foreign co-authors is almost twice the OECD average, which is typical of small countries with a developed scientific and technological ecosystem. A team of 50 Israeli scientists work full-time at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, which operates the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. Israel was granted observer status in 1991 before becoming a fully fledged member in 2014. An Israeli delegation headed by President Shimon Peres visited the particle accelerator in 2011.[36]Israeli scientists collaborate mostly with Western countries such as the European Union and the United States but there has been strong growth in recent years in collaboration with East Asian countries such as China, Japan, and South Korea as well as India and Singapore.[2]Technology transfer EditHistory EditResearch conducted at Israeli universities and institutes is shared with the private sector through technology transfer (TT) units.[37] Israel's first university TT unit, Yeda, was established by the Weizmann Institute of Science in the 1950s.[38] Research in such fields as arid and semi-arid zone agricultural engineering was transferred to kibbutzim and private farmers on a gratis basis and agricultural knowledge was shared with developing countries.[39]In 1964, Yissum, the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was founded.[40]Since the 1990s, the traditional dual mission of universities of teaching and research has broadened to include a third mission: engagement with society and industry. This evolution has been a corollary of the rise of the electronics industry and information technology services, along with a surge in the number of research personnel following the wave of immigration from the former Soviet Union.[2]Israel has no specific legislation regulating the transfer of knowledge from the academic sector to the general public and industry. There were attempts in 2004 and 2005 to introduce bills encouraging the transfer of knowledge and technology for the public benefit but, as these attempts failed, each university has since defined its own policy.[2]University-industry collaboration EditAll Israeli research universities have technology transfer offices. Recent research conducted by the Samuel Neaman Institute has revealed that, between 2004 and 2013, the universities’ share of patent applications constituted 10–12% of the total inventive activity of Israeli applicants. This is one of the highest shares in the world and is largely due to the intensive activity of the universities’ technology transfer offices. The Weizmann Institute’s technology transfer office, Yeda, has been ranked the third-most profitable in the world. Through exemplary university–industry collaboration, the Weizmann Institute of Science and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries have discovered and developed the Copaxone drug for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Copaxone is Teva’s biggest-selling drug, with US$1.68 billion in sales in the first half of 2011. Since the drug’s approval by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1996, it is estimated that the Weizmann Institute of Science has earned nearly US$2 billion in royalties from the commercialization of its intellectual property.[2]International technology transfer EditIn 2007, the United Nations General Assembly's Economic and Financial Committee adopted an Israeli-sponsored draft resolution on agricultural technology transfer to developing countries. The resolution called on developed countries to make their knowledge and know-how accessible to the developing world as part of the UN campaign to eradicate hunger and dire poverty by 2015. The initiative is an outgrowth of Israel's many years of contributing its know-how to developing nations, especially Africa, in the spheres of agriculture, fighting desertification, rural development, irrigation, medical development, computers and the empowerment of women.[41]Venture capital EditAs new technology companies require money and seed capital to grow and thrive, Israel's science and technology sector is backed by a strong venture capital industry. Between 2004 and 2013, the Israeli venture capital industry played a fundamental role in funding the development of Israel’s high-tech sector. In 2013, Israeli companies had raised more venture capital as a share of GDP than companies in any other country as it attracted US$2 346 million alone during that year. Today, Israel is considered one of the biggest venture capital centers in the world outside the United States of America. Several factors have contributed to this growth. These include tax exemptions on Israeli venture capital, funds established in conjunction with large international banks and financial companies and the involvement of major organizations desirous to capitalize on the strengths of Israeli high-tech companies. These organizations include some of the world’s largest multinational technology companies, including Apple, Cisco, Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, Siemens and Samsung. In recent years, the share of venture capital invested in the growth stages of enterprises has flourished at the expense of early stage investments.[2]Intellectual property rights EditIntellectual property rights in Israel protect copyright and performers’ rights, trademarks, geographical indicators, patents, industrial designs, topographies of integrated circuits, plant breeds and undisclosed business secrets. Both contemporary Israeli legislation and case law are influenced by laws and practices in modern countries, particularly Anglo-American law, the emerging body of EU law and proposals by international organizations.[2]Israel has made a concerted effort to improve the economy’s ability to benefit from an enhanced system of intellectual property rights. This includes increasing the resources of the Israel Patent Office, upgrading enforcement activities and implementing programmes to bring ideas funded by government research to the market. Between 2002 and 2012, foreigners accounted for nearly 80% of the patent applications filed with the Israel Patent Office. A sizeable[clarification needed] share of foreign applicants seeking protection from the Israel Patent Office are pharmaceutical companies such as F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Janssen, Novartis, Merck, Bayer-Schering, Sanofi-Aventis and Pfizer, which happen to be the main business competitors of Israel’s own Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.[2]Israel ranks tenth in the world for the number of patent applications filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) by country of residence of the first-named inventor. Israeli inventors file far more applications with USPTO (5 436 in 2011) than with the European Patent Office (EPO). Moreover, the number of Israeli filings with EPO dropped from 1400 to 1063 between 2006 and 2011. This preference for USPTO is largely because foreign research centres implanted in Israel are primarily owned by US firms such as IBM, Intel, Sandisk, Microsoft, Applied Materials, Qualcomm, Motorola, Google or Hewlett–Packard. The inventions of these companies are attributed to Israel as the inventor of the patent but not as the owner (applicant or assignee). The loss of intellectual property into the hands of multinationals occurs mainly through the recruitment of the best Israeli talent by the local research centres of multinational firms. Although the Israeli economy benefits from the activity of the multinationals’ subsidiaries through job creation and other means, the advantages are relatively small compared to the potential economic gains that might have been achieved, had this intellectual property been utilized to support and foster the expansion of mature Israeli companies of a considerable size.[2]Applied science and engineering EditEnergy EditSolar power EditFurther information: Solar power in IsraelThe world's largest solar parabolic dish at the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center[42]As of 2014, Israel leads the 2014 Global Cleantech Innovation Index.[43] The country's lack of conventional energy sources has spurred extensive research and development of alternative energy sources and Israel has developed innovative technologies in the solar energy field.[44] Israel has become the world's largest per capita user of solar water heaters in the home. A new, high-efficiency receiver to collect concentrated sunlight has been developed, which will enhance the use of solar energy in industry as well.[45]In a 2009 report by the CleanTech Group, Israel ranked number 5 clean tech country in the world.[46] The Arrow Ecology company has developed the ArrowBio process a patented system which takes trash directly from collection trucks and separates organic and inorganic materials through gravitational settling, screening, and hydro-mechanical shredding. The system is capable of sorting huge volumes of solid waste, salvaging recyclables, and turning the rest into biogas and rich agricultural compost. The system is used in California, Australia, Greece, Mexico, the United Kingdom and in Israel. For example, an ArrowBio plant that has been operational at the Hiriya landfill site since December 2003 serves the Tel Aviv area, and processes up to 150 tons of garbage a day.[47]In 2010, Technion – the Israel Institute of Technology – established the Grand Technion Energy Program (GTEP). This multidisciplinary task-force brings together Technion's top researchers in energy science and technology from over nine different faculties. GTEP's 4-point strategy targets research and development of alternative fuels; renewable energy sources; energy storage and conversion; and energy conservation. GTEP is presently the only center in Israel offering graduate studies in energy science and technology to bring the energy skills and know-how to address the energy challenges of the future.Natural gas EditSince 1999, large reserves of natural gas have been discovered off Israel’s coast. This fossil fuel has become the primary fuel for electricity generation in Israel and is gradually replacing oil and coal. In 2010, 37% of electricity in Israel was generated from natural gas, leading to savings of US$1.4 billion for the economy. In 2015, this rate is expected to surpass 55%.[2]In addition, the usage of natural gas in industry – both as a source of energy and as a raw material – is rapidly expanding, alongside the requisite infrastructure. This is giving companies a competitive advantage by reducing their energy costs and lowering national emissions. Since early 2013, almost the entire natural gas consumption of Israel has been supplied by the Tamar field, an Israeli–American private partnership. The estimated reserves amount to about 1 000 BCM, securing Israel’s energy needs for many decades to come and making Israel a potentially major regional exporter of natural gas. In 2014, initial export agreements were signed with the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Egypt; there are also plans to export natural gas to Turkey and the EU via Greece.[2]In 2011, the government asked the Academy of Sciences and Humanities to convene a panel of experts to consider the full range of implications of the most recent discoveries of natural gas. The panel recommended encouraging research into fossil fuels, training engineers and focusing research efforts on the impact of gas production on the Mediterranean Sea’s ecosystem. The Mediterranean Sea Research Centre of Israel was established in 2012 with an initial budget of NIS 70 million; new study programmes have since been launched at the centre to train engineers and other professionals for the oil and gas industry. Meanwhile, the Office of the Chief Scientist, among others, plans to use Israel’s fledgling natural gas industry as a stepping stone to building capacity in advanced technology and opening up opportunities for Israeli innovation targeting the global oil and gas markets.[2]Space science and technology EditFurther information: Israel Space AgencyOfek-7 satellite launch through Shavit vehicleDuring the 1970s and 1980s Israel began developing the infrastructure needed for research and development in space exploration and related sciences. In November 1982, the Minister of Science and Technology, Yuval Ne'eman, established the Israel Space Agency (ISA), to coordinate and supervise a national space program as well as to conduct space, planetary, and aviation research. Because of geographical constraints, as well as safety considerations, the Israeli space program focuses on very small satellites loaded with payloads of a high degree of sophistication, and cooperation with other national space agencies.[48] The Technion Asher Space Research Institute plays a central role in educating the aerospace engineers of the next generation.[49] In 2009 Israel was ranked 2nd among 20 top countries in space sciences by Thomson Reuters agency.[50]Israel launched its first satellite, Ofeq-1, from the locally built Shavit launch vehicle on September 19, 1988, and has made important[clarification needed] contributions in a number of areas in space research, including laser communication, research into embryo development and osteoporosis in space, pollution monitoring, and mapping geology, soil and vegetation in semi-arid environments.[51]Key projects include the TAUVEX telescope, the Tel Aviv University Ultra Violet Experiment, a UV telescope for astronomical observations which was developed in the 1990s to be accommodated on an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) geo-synchronous satellite GSAT-4, for joint operation and use by Indian and Israeli scientists; the VENUS microsatellite, developed in collaboration with the French space agency, CNES, which will use an Israeli-developed space camera, electric space engine and algorithms; and MEIDEX (Mediterranean – Israel Dust Experiment), in collaboration with NASA.[52]Ilan Ramon was Israel's first astronaut. Ramon was the space shuttle payload specialist on board the fatal STS-107 mission of Space Shuttle Columbia, in which he and the six other crew members were killed in a re-entry accident over the southern United States. Ramon had been selected as a payload specialist in 1997 and trained at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, from 1998 until 2003.[53] Among other experiments, Ramon was responsible for the MEIDEX project in which he was required to take pictures of atmospheric aerosol (dust) in the Mediterranean area using a multispectral camera designed to provide scientific information about atmospheric aerosols and the influence of global changes on the climate, and data for the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) and Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments. Researchers from Tel Aviv University (TAU) were responsible for the scientific aspect of the experiment. The TAU team also worked with a US company, Orbital Sciences Corporation, to construct and test special flight instruments for the project.[54]Aerospace engineering EditFurther information: Israel Aerospace IndustriesGulfstream G280 transcontinental business jet was designed and is currently produced for Gulfstream Aerospace by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI)Aerospace engineering related to the country's defense needs has generated technological development with consequent civilian spin-offs. The Arava short take-off and landing (STOL) plane manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries was the first aircraft to be produced in Israel, in the late 1960s, for both military and civilian uses.[55] This was followed by the production of the Westwind business jet[56] from 1965 to 1987, and later variants, the Astra[57] and the Gulfstream G100, which are still in active service.Israel is among the few countries capable of launching satellites into orbit and locally designed and manufactured satellites have been produced and launched by Israel Aerospace Industries(IAI), Israel's largest military engineering company, in cooperation with the Israel Space Agency. The AMOS-1 geostationary satellite began operations in 1996 as Israel's first commercial communications satellite. It was built primarily for direct-to-home television broadcasting, TV distribution and VSAT services. AMOS-2 was launched in December 2003 and a further series of AMOS communications satellites (AMOS 2 – 5i) are operated or in development by the Spacecom Satellite Communications company, headquartered in Ramat-Gan, Israel. Spacecom provides satellite telecommuncations services to countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.[58] Another satellite, the Gurwin-II TechSAT, designed and manufactured by the Technion, was launched in July 1998 to provide communications, remote sensing and research services. EROS, launched in 2000, is a non-geostationary orbit satellite for commercial photography and surveillance services.[59]Israel also develops, manufactures, and exports a large number of related aerospace products, including rockets and satellites, display systems, aeronautical computers, instrumentation systems, drones and flight simulators. Israel's second largest defense company is Elbit Systems, which makes electro-optical systems for air, sea and ground forces; drones; control and monitoring systems; communications systems and more.[60] The Technion - Israel Institute of Technology is home to the Asher Space Research Institute, which is unique in Israel as a university-based center of space research. At ASRI, Israeli students designed, built and launched their own satellite: Gurwin TechSat.[61]Agricultural engineering EditMain article: Agricultural research in IsraelAnaerobic digesters at Hiriya waste facilityIsrael’s agricultural sector is characterized by an intensive system of production stemming from the need to overcome the scarcity in natural resource, particularly water and arable land, in a country where more than half of its area is desert. The growth in agricultural production is based on close cooperation of scientists, farmers and agriculture-related industries and has resulted in the development of advanced agricultural technology, water-conserving irrigation methods, anaerobic digestion, greenhouse technology, desert agriculture and salinity research.[62] Israeli companies also supply irrigation, water conservation and greenhouse technologies and know-how to other countries.[63][64][65]The modern technology of drip irrigation was invented in Israel by Simcha Blass and his son Yeshayahu. Instead of releasing water through tiny holes, blocked easily by tiny particles, water was released through larger and longer passageways by using velocity to slow water inside a plastic emitter. The first experimental system of this type was established in 1959 when Blass partnered with Kibbutz Hatzerim to create an irrigation company called Netafim. Together they developed and patented the first practical surface drip irrigation emitter.[66] This method was very successful and had spread to Australia, North America and South America by the late 1960s.Israeli farmers rely heavily on greenhouse technology to ensure a constant, year-round supply of high quality produce, while overcoming the obstacles posed by adverse climatic conditions, and water and land shortages. Technologies include computerized greenhouse climate control, greenhouse shading, irrigation, fertigation, greenhouse water recycling and biological control of plant disease and insects, allow farmers to control most production parameters. As a result, Israeli farmers successfully grow 3 million roses per hectare in season and an average of 300 tons of tomatoes per hectare, four times the amount harvested in open fields.[67]Computer engineering EditTechnion - Israel Institute of Technology (faculty of Computer Science) buildingIsraeli companies excel in computer software and hardware development, particularly computer security technologies, semiconductors and communications. Israeli firms include Check Point, a leading firewall firm; Amdocs, which makes business and operations support systems for telecoms; Comverse, a voice-mail company; and Mercury Interactive, which measures software performance.[68] A high concentration of high-tech industries in the coastal plain of Israel has led to the nickname Silicon Wadi (lit: "Silicon Valley").[69] Both Israeli and international companies are based there. Intel[70] and Microsoft[71] built their first overseas research and development centers in Israel, and other high-tech multi-national corporations, such as IBM, Cisco Systems, and Motorola, have opened facilities in the country. Intel developed its dual-core Core Duo processor at its Israel Development Center in Haifa.[72] More than 3,850 start-ups have been established in Israel, making it second only to the US in this sector[73] and has the largest number of NASDAQ-listed companies outside North America.[74]Optics, electro-optics, and lasers are significant fields and Israel produces fiber-optics, electro-optic inspection systems for printed circuit boards, thermal imaging night-vision systems, and electro-optics-based robotic manufacturing systems.[75] Research into robotics first began in the late 1970s, has resulted in the production of robots designed to perform a wide variety of computer aided manufacturing tasks, including diamond polishing, welding, packing, and building. Research is also conducted in the application of artificial intelligence to robots.[75]Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science and Technion – Israel Institute of Technology are ranked among the top 20 academic institutions in the world in computer science.[32] An Israeli, CEO and president of M-Systems, Dov Moran, invented the first flash drive in 1998.[76]Cybersecurity EditIn November 2010, the Israeli prime minister entrusted a task force with responsibility for formulating national plans to place Israel among the top five countries in the world for cybersecurity. On 7 August 2011, the government approved the establishment of the National Cyber Bureau to promote the Israeli cyberdefence industry. The bureau is based in the Prime Minister’s Office. The National Cyber Bureau allocated NIS 180 million (circa US$50 million) over 2012–2014 to encourage cyber research and dual military–civilian R&D; the funding is also being used to develop human capital, including through the creation of cybersecurity centres at Israeli universities that are funded jointly by the National Cyber Bureau and the universities themselves.[2]In January 2014, the prime minister launched CyberSpark, Israel’s cyber innovation park, as part of plans to turn Israel into a global cyber hub. Located in the city of Beer-Sheva to foster economic development in southern Israel, CyberSpark is a geographical cluster of leading cyber companies, multinational corporations and universities, involving Ben Gurion University of the Negev, technology defence units, specialized educational platforms and the national Cyber Event Readiness Team.[2]About half of the firms in CyberSpark are Israeli, mostly small to medium-sized. Multinational companies operating in CyberSpark include EMC2, IBM, Lockheed Martin and Deutsche Telekom. PayPal recently acquired the Israeli start-up CyActive and has since announced plans to set up its second Israeli research centre in CyberSpark, with a focus on cybersecurity. This acquisition is just one of the many Israeli cybersecurity start-ups acquired by multinational companies in the past few years. Major acquisitions of Israeli start-ups in 2014 include Intellinx, purchased by Bottomline Technologies, and Cyvera, purchased by Palo Alto Networks.[2]The National Cyber Bureau has estimated that the number of Israeli cyberdefence companies had doubled in the past five years to about 300 by 2014. Israeli companies account for an estimated 10% of global sales, which currently total an estimated US$60 billion. Total research spending on cyberdefence in Israel quadrupled between 2010 and 2014 from US$50 million to US$200 million, bringing Israel’s spending to about 15% of global research spending on cyberdefence in 2014. Cybersecurity technologies are exported by Israel in accordance with the Wassenaar Arrangement, a multilateral agreement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies.[2]Hydraulic engineering EditSee also: Water supply and sanitation in IsraelSince rain falls only in the winter, and largely in the northern part of the country, irrigation and water engineering is vital to the country's economic survival and growth. Large-scale projects to direct water from rivers and reservoirs in the north, to make optimal use of groundwater, and to reclaim flood overflow and sewage have been undertaken. The largest such project was a national water distribution system called the National Carrier, completed in 1964, flowing from the country's biggest freshwater lake, the Sea of Galilee, to the northern Negev desert, through huge channels, pipes and tunnels.[77] The Ashkelon seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant was the largest in the world at the time it was built.[78] The project was developed as a BOT (build-operate-transfer) by a consortium of three international companies: Veolia water, IDE Technologies and Elran.[79]Water-saving technologies EditAccording to water experts, pipe leakage is one of the major problems confronting the global water supply today. For Israel, which is two-thirds desert, water-saving technologies are of critical importance. The International Water Association has cited Israel as one of the leaders in innovative methods to reduce "non-revenue water," i.e., water lost in the system before reaching the customer.[80]Military engineering EditFurther information: Rafael Advanced Defense SystemsIAI Harop, Israel, is the world's largest exporter of drones.Rejection of requests for weapons and technologies, arms sanctions and massive rearmament of the Arab countries prodded Israel into the development of a broad-based indigenous arms industry.[81] The Israel Defense Forces relies heavily on local military technology and high-tech weapons systems designed and manufactured in Israel. Israeli-developed military equipment includes small arms, anti-tank rockets and missiles, boats and submarines, tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, unmanned surface vehicles, aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), air-defense systems, weapon stations and radar. An impetus for the development of the industry was the embargo on arms sales to Israel during the Six-Day War which prompted Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), founded as a maintenance facility in 1953, to begin developing and assembling its own aircraft, including the Kfir, the Arava and the Nesher.[82]Israeli soldier with Spike (missile)Notable technology includes the Uzi submachine gun, introduced in 1954,[83] the country's main battle tank, the Merkava, and the jointly designed Israeli and U.S. Arrow missile, one of the world's only operational, advanced anti-ballistic missile systems.[84] The Iron Dome mobile air defense system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is designed to intercept short-range rockets and artillery shells. The system was created as a defensive countermeasure to the rocket threat against Israel's civilian population on its northern and southern borders, and was declared operational and initially deployed in the first quarter of 2011.[85] It is designed to intercept very short-range threats up to 70 kilometers in all-weather situations.[86] On April 7, 2011, the system successfully intercepted a Grad rocket launched from Gaza, marking the first time in history a short-range rocket was ever intercepted.[87]Israel has also developed a network of reconnaissance satellites.[88] The Ofeq (lit. Horizon) series (Ofeq 1 – Ofeq 7) were launched between 1988 and 2007.[89] The satellites were carried by Shavit rockets launched from Palmachim Airbase. Both the satellites and the launchers were designed and manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), with Elbit Systems' El-Op division supplying the optical payload.Israel also has the first all-around operational active defense system for tanks named Trophy, successfully intercepting anti tank missiles fired at Merkava tanks.[citation needed]Life sciences EditGiven endoscopic capsuleIsrael has an advanced[clarification needed] infrastructure of medical and paramedical research and bioengineering capabilities. Biotechnology, biomedical, and clinical research account for over half of the country's scientific publications, and the industrial sector has used this extensive knowledge to develop pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and treatment therapies.[90]Biotechnology EditIsrael has over 900 biotechnology and life sciences companies in operation throughout the country with nearly 50 to 60 formed each year. Many multinational corporations such as J&J, Perrigo, GE Healthcare and Phillips Medical have all established branches in Israel.[9]Genetics and cancer research EditIsraeli scientists have developed methods for producing a human growth hormone and interferon, a group of proteins effective against viral infections. Copaxone, a medicine effective in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, was developed in Israel from basic research to industrial production. Genetic engineering has resulted in a wide range of diagnostic kits based on monoclonal antibodies, with other microbiological products.[90]Advanced stem cell research takes place in Israel. The first steps in the development of stem cell studies occurred in Israel, with research in this field dating back to studies of bone marrow stem cells in the early 1960s. By 2006, Israeli scientists were leaders on a per capita basis in the number of articles published in scientific journals related to stem cell research.[91] In 2011, Israeli scientist Inbar Friedrich Ben-Nun led a team which produced the first stem cells from endangered species, a breakthrough that could save animals in danger of extinction.[92] In 2012, Israel was one of the world leaders in stem cell research, with the largest number of articles, patents and research studies per capita.[93]Solomon Wasser, a professor from Haifa University, has found that Cyathus striatus is effective in treating pancreatic cancer based on early animal trials.[94]Biomedical engineering EditSophisticated medical equipment for both diagnostic and treatment purposes has been developed and marketed worldwide, such as computer tomography (CT) scanners, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems, ultrasound scanners, nuclear medical cameras, and surgical lasers. Other innovations include a controlled-release liquid polymer to prevent accumulation of tooth plaque, a device to reduce both benign and malignant swellings of the prostate gland, the use of botulin to correct eye squint, and a miniature camera encased in a swallowable capsule used to diagnose gastrointestinal disease,[90] developed by Given Imaging.[95]In 2009, scientists from several European countries and Israel developed a robotic prosthetic hand, called SmartHand, which functions like a real one, allowing patients to write with it, type on a keyboard, play piano and perform other fine movements. The prosthesis has sensors which enable the patient to sense real feeling in its fingertips.[96] A new MRI system for identifying and diagnosing tumors developed at the Weizmann Institute has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is already being used in diagnosing breast and testicular cancer. The new system will replace invasive procedures and eliminate waiting time for the results.[97]Pharmaceutical sciences EditTeva Pharmaceutical Industries, headquartered in Petah Tikva, Israel, is the largest generic drug manufacturer in the world and one of the 20 largest pharmaceutical companies worldwide.[98] It specializes in generic drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients and has developed proprietary pharmaceuticals such as Copaxone and Laquinimod for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, and Rasagiline for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.[99]Weizmann Institute of Science particle acceleratorNobel Prize laureates EditFor a more comprehensive list, see List of Israeli Nobel laureates.Six Israelis have won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. In 2004, biologists Avram Hershko and Aaron Ciechanover of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology were two of the three winners of the prize, for the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation.[100] In 2009, Ada Yonath was a co-winner of the prize for her studies of the structure and function of the ribosome. She is the first Israeli woman to win a Nobel Prize.[101] Michael Levitt and Arieh Warshel received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2013 for the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems.[102]Additionally, 1958 Medicine laureate Joshua Lederberg was born to Israeli Jewish parents, and 2004 Physics laureate David Gross grew up partly in Israel, where he obtained his undergraduate degree. In the social sciences, the Nobel Prize for Economics was awarded to Daniel Kahneman in 2002, and to Robert Aumann of the Hebrew University in 2005.Science and technology in Israel - Wikipedia

Slavery takes many forms. Our current slavery system is prison. We keep black men locked up, and we find a reason when there isn’t one. Racism is a sick thing—Take a look at what we do.Southern Poverty Law tells this story:Mississippi’s Broken Education Promise – A TimelineMay 23, 2017The promise of an education in Mississippi’s constitution is among the weakest in the nation.It hasn’t always been this way. When the state was readmitted to the Union after the Civil War, its constitution included a strong education clause that guaranteed a “uniform system of free public schools” for all children – regardless of race. Under the terms of readmission, that promise could not be diminished.Mississippi, however, has violated the provision by amending its education clause four times and providing inferior educational opportunities to its black students.The changes began at the start of the Jim Crow era as part of the broader white supremacist movement to dismantle the rights of former slaves and their descendants.As a result of the amendments, generations of Mississippi’s children – both black and white – have been short-changed. Today, the state’s public schools are poorly funded and anything but “uniform.”As was expressly intended by the first change in 1890, the harm has fallen most heavily on African-American children. All of the state’s “F”-rated school districts are majority-black. Conversely, the vast majority of “A”-rated schools are at least 70 percent white. Last year, the Mississippi Department of Education reported a 29 percent achievement gap between black and white students.The SPLC filed a federal lawsuit in May 2017 accusing the state of repeatedly violating the education promise enshrined in its post-Civil War constitution and in the 1870 congressional act that allowed it to rejoin the Union. The following timeline chronicles the history that has led to this moment.1800sDecember 10, 1817 – The state of Mississippi is admitted to the Union. Its economy is powered by slave labor, and cotton is king.1860 – There are 436,631 slaves in Mississippi – comprising about 55 percent of its population.January 9, 1861 – Following the election of Abraham Lincoln, Mississippi becomes the second state to secede from the Union. Its Declaration of the Immediate Causes which Induce and Justify the Secession of the State of Mississippi from the Federal Union states:Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery – the greatest material interest of the world. Its labor supplies the product which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth. These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical regions, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun. These products have become necessities of the world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization. That blow has been long aimed at the institution, and was at the point of reaching its consummation. There was no choice left us but submission to the mandates of abolition, or a dissolution of the Union, whose principles had been subverted to work out our ruin.February 4, 1861 – Mississippi and six other states form the Confederate States of America.February 18, 1861 – Jefferson Davis, a slave owner who operates a cotton plantation in Mississippi, is inaugurated as the president of the Confederacy.AP Images/Winslow Homer1861 to 1865 – American Civil War – Eighty thousand Mississippians fight to maintain slavery. Casualties are heavy.July 4, 1863 – The Army of Mississippi surrenders following the pivotal siege of Vicksburg.May 4, 1865 – The remnants of the Confederate army in the Western Theater surrender.May 9, 1865 – President Andrew Johnson declares that armed resistance and insurrection against the United States is “virtually at an end.”May 10, 1865 – Jefferson Davis is captured.1865 – Mississippi becomes the first state to enact Black Codes that restrict the rights and status of African Americans after the Civil War. Other former Confederate states soon follow.University of PittsburghMarch 2, 1867 – The Military Reconstruction Act divides the South into districts under federal military command. Former Confederate states wishing to end Reconstruction and rejoin the Union must ratify the 14thAmendment, hold a constitutional convention and adopt a constitution consistent with the U.S. Constitution. State constitutions must be approved by Congress.January 1868 – One hundred delegates, including 17 African Americans, gather for a constitutional convention, leading it to become known as the “Black and Tan Convention.” It is the first time that African Americans participate in the political process in Mississippi. The new constitution includes a strong clause requiring the state to provide an education for all children, regardless of race:As the stability of a republican form of government depends mainly upon the intelligence and virtue of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature to encourage, by all suitable means, the promotion of intellectual, scientific, moral, and agricultural improvements, by establishing a uniform system of free public schools, by taxation, or otherwise, for all children between the ages of five and twenty-one years, and shall, as soon as practicable, establish schools of higher grade.April 10, 1869 – Congress approves the new Mississippi Constitution.January 17, 1870 – Mississippi ratifies the 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.Feb. 23, 1870 – Mississippi is readmitted to the Union. Congress returns Mississippi to full statehood by passing the “Readmission Act.” In an attempt to protect the rights of freed slaves, the Act provides that “the [1869] state constitution may not be amended or changed to deprive any U.S. citizen, or class of citizens, the school rights and privileges secured under the constitution, or to deny the right to vote to any eligible U.S. citizen or class of citizens.” It also bars Mississippi from enacting any law to deprive any citizen of the right to hold office based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude, or any other qualifications for office not required of all other citizens.Getty Images/MPI1869 to 1875 – Empowered by the protections of the Readmission Act, African Americans register to vote and leverage their new political status to craft more favorable public policy to help them achieve equity in terms of community services, the courts, police protection, and freedom of expression and movement. By 1875, one-third of the Mississippi Senate and 59 members of the House of Representatives are African-American. Black men also serve as superintendent of education, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and speaker of the House. African Americans play a leading role in pushing for the development of a uniform system of public schools, which serves as an incubator for a new generation of black men and women equipped with the rights to vote, negotiate labor agreements, own land and participate in the political process.1875 – Upset by the gains of former slaves, white supremacists launch a campaign of violence, fraud and intimidation during the 1875 election. It is part of the so-called “Redemption” movement that sweeps the South and eventually leads to the adoption of Jim Crow laws that reinstitute racial segregation across the region. Goaded by local newspapers and political leaders, young white men form armed militias to intimidate black voters. A congressional report later describes it as an attempt to “inaugurate an era of terror” to prevent African Americans from “the free exercise of the right to vote.” White Democrats easily gain control of both houses of the Legislature. By 1890, only four African Americans still serve in the Legislature. Whites also regain control of other political offices. A new, white education superintendent declares that the creation of public schools was “an unmitigated outrage upon the rights and liberties of the white people of the state.” Lawmakers drastically reduce taxes and state expenditures in all areas, including public education.1878 – Though school segregation is already a fact of life in Mississippi, lawmakers write it into state law by requiring “that the schools in each county shall be so arranged as to offer ample free school facilities to all educable youths in that county but white and colored children shall not be taught in the same school-house, but in separate school-houses.”WikipediaAugust 1890 – A constitutional convention meets to further disenfranchise the state’s black residents. Judge S.S. Calhoon, the convention president, proclaims, “We came here to exclude the negro. Nothing short of this will answer.” Throughout the convention, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger reports the sentiment is shared by nearly the entire delegation. W.S. Eskridge, a Tallahatchie County delegate, declares: “The white people of the state want to feel and know that they are protected not only against the probability but the possibility of negro rule and negro domination. … The remedy is in our hands, we can if we will afford a safe, certain and permanent white supremacy in our state.” A decade later, future Gov. James Vardaman describes the intent in the most honest terms: “There is no use to equivocate or lie about the matter. Mississippi’s constitutional convention of 1890 was held for no other purpose than to eliminate the nigger from politics; not the ‘ignorant and vicious,’ as some of those apologists would have you believe, but the nigger. … Let the world know it just as it is.”Nov. 1, 1890 – Mississippi adopts new a constitution that greatly diminishes the political power of African Americans by restricting their voting rights. It also creates racially segregated schools and a new school funding mechanism that allows wealthy, white school districts to levy taxes for education revenue far in excess of the taxes generated in poor, largely African-American districts.1899 – The state school superintendent says, “It will be readily admitted by every white man in Mississippi that our public school system is designed primarily for the welfare of the white children of the state, and incidentally, for the negro children.”1900s1934 – Mississippi violates the Readmission Act by raising the minimum age for public school from 5 to 6. The Depression-era measure, according to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, “was urged by school officials as a means of saving the state many thousands of dollars.”Getty Images/Smith Collection/Gado1944 to 1954 – A decade before the U.S. Supreme Court declares segregated schools unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education, white Mississippians begin to recognize that ensuring black schools are equal to white schools may be the best way to fend off lawsuits that could end segregation. A 1952 state report, however, finds vast disparities between black and white schools; a Delta district, for example, spends $464.49 per white student but only $13.71 per black student.May 17, 1954 – The U.S. Supreme Court declares segregated schools unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education. The unanimous decision finds that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”1960 – The Mississippi Legislature declares the Brown decision unconstitutional and enacts a statute allowing school boards to close schools and transfer students out of districts in order to maintain “public peace, order or tranquility.”1960 – Mississippi violates the Readmission Act again by amending its constitution to further dilute the education clause. To avoid desegregation mandates flowing from Brown v. Board of Education, the state amends its constitution to make free public schools a discretionary function of the Legislature. The modified clause states:The Legislature may, in its discretion, provide for the maintenance and establishment of free public schools for all children between the ages of six and twenty-one years, by taxation or otherwise, and with such grades, as the legislature may prescribe.1987 – Mississippi amends its education clause again in violation of the Readmission Act. The revision, presented as an attempt to remedy what has been described as the “historical embarrassment” of the 1960 measure, also strikes language establishing a minimum and maximum age for school attendance and other provisions – further eviscerating the original education clause. The clause still stands in this form today:The Legislature shall, by general law, provide for the establishment, maintenance and support of free public schools upon such conditions and limitations as the Legislature may prescribe.Aug. 22, 1997 – Lawmakers pass the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) to fund education. Designed to address low student achievement and inequality between school districts, MAEP establishes a school funding formula that calculates the amount of money purportedly needed each year to provide an adequate education. Each district is required to provide a portion of the base cost, leaving the state to cover the rest.2000s2005 – Racial disparities persist in the classroom. In 1992, 63 percent of white fourth-graders scored at least a basic level in reading, compared to only 25 percent of black fourth-graders. By 2005, the gap closes by only 2 percentage points.2010s2014 – Mississippi voters gather nearly 200,000 signatures to place Initiative 42 on the 2015 ballot. Almost 20 years after the passage of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, it has been fully funded only twice, leaving schools in poor districts to suffer. Initiative 42 is a proposed constitutional amendment requiring the Legislature to fully fund the program. Opponents warn that it would open the state up to lawsuits. In a speech to the Tishomingo County Midway Republican Rally shortly before the vote, state Rep. Bubba Carpenter, who is white, puts the argument in explicitly racial terms: “If 42 passes in its form, a judge in Hinds County, Mississippi, predominantly black – it’s going to be a black judge – they’re going to tell us where the state education money goes.”Nov. 3, 2015 – Initiative 42 fails. Certified vote totals show 51.6 percent of voters cast a ballot not to amend the state constitution, killing the initiative.October 2016 – State data shows that Mississippi’s failing school districts are overwhelmingly black. The Mississippi Departmentof Education’s school district evaluation shows that 13 of the state’s 19 “F”-rated districts are more than 95 percent black. The remaining six range from 80.5 percent to 91 percent black. The state’s top five highest performing school districts are predominantly white.November 2016 – The state reports a vast racial achievement gap. Data from the Mississippi Department of Education show a 28.6 percent achievement gap between black and white students in English language arts and a 27.8 percent gap in math.2017 – Mississippi’s schools are among the least effective in the country and continue to fail children because of the erosion of the education clause. The most vulnerable children are deprived of the same educational opportunities available to others. Despite the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, public schools have been underfunded by nearly $2 billion over the previous nine years. The five states that rank highest in academic achievement spend a total of between $14,150 and $17,300 per student. Mississippi spends just $9,394. The state’s black students continue to face a racial achievement gap.AP Images/Rogelio V. SoliMay 23, 2017 – The SPLC files a federal lawsuit accusing Mississippi of breaking the education guarantee contained in its first constitution. The complaint describes how four amendments to the 1868 education clause have diminished the education rights of Mississippi citizens in violation of the Readmission Act that allowed the state to rejoin the Union.FacebookTwitterThe Southern Poverty Law Center400 Washington AvenueMontgomery, AL 36104The Civil Rights Memorial CenterLearn MoreAbout UsOur History Senior Program Staff Careers Privacy & Terms Contact UsState OfficesAlabama Florida Louisiana MississippiSupport UsFriends of the Center Planned Giving Employer Matching Gifts of Stock and Securities Other Ways of Giving Donor Resources StoreResourcesNews Case Docket Extremist Files Hatewatch Intelligence Report Publications Law Enforcement Selma: The Bridge to the Ballot

In interviews, Modi has described visiting Hindu ashrams founded by Swami Vivekananda: the Belur Math near Kolkata, followed by the Advaita Ashrama in Almora and the Ramakrishna Mission in Rajkot. Modi remained only a short time at each, since he lacked the required college education.Vivekananda has been described as a large influence in Modi's life.In the early summer of 1968, Modi reached the Belur Math but was turned away, after which Modi wandered through Calcutta, West Bengal and Assam, stopping in Siliguri and Guwahati.Modi then went to the Ramakrishna Ashram in Almora, where he was again rejected, before travelling back to Gujarat via Delhi and Rajasthan in 1968–69.Sometime in late 1969 or early 1970, Modi returned to Vadnagar for a brief visit before leaving again for Ahmedabad.There, Modi lived with his uncle, working in the latter's canteen at the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation.In Ahmedabad, Modi renewed his acquaintance with Inamdar, who was based at the Hedgewar Bhavan (RSS headquarters) in the city.After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he stopped working for his uncle and became a full-time pracharak (campaigner) for the RSS,working under Inamdar.Shortly before the war, Modi took part in a non-violent protest against the Indian government in New Delhi, for which he was arrested; this has been cited as a reason for Inamdar electing to mentor him.Many years later Modi would co-author a biography of Inamdar, published in 2001.In 1978 Modi received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from School of Open Learning at University of Delhi, graduating with a third class.Five years later, in 1983, he received a Master of Arts degree in political science from Gujarat University, as an external distance learning student.Early political careerIn June 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India which lasted until 1977. During this period, known as "The Emergency", many of her political opponents were jailed and opposition groups were banned.Modi was appointed general secretary of the "Gujarat Lok Sangharsh Samiti", an RSS committee coordinating opposition to the Emergency in Gujarat. Shortly afterwards, the RSS was banned.Modi was forced to go underground in Gujarat and frequently travelled in disguise to avoid arrest. He became involved in printing pamphlets opposing the government, sending them to Delhi and organising demonstrations.Modi was also involved with creating a network of safe houses for individuals wanted by the government, and in raising funds for political refugees and activists.During this period, Modi wrote a book in Gujarati, Sangharsh Ma Gujarat (In The Struggles of Gujarat), describing events during the Emergency.Among the people he met in this role was trade unionist and socialist activist George Fernandes, as well as several other national political figures.In his travels during the Emergency, Modi was often forced to move in disguise, once dressing as a monk, and once as a Sikh.Modi became an RSS sambhag pracharak (regional organiser) in 1978, overseeing RSS activities in the areas of Surat and Vadodara, and in 1979 he went to work for the RSS in Delhi, where he was put to work researching and writing the RSS's version of the history of the Emergency.He returned to Gujarat a short while later, and was assigned by the RSS to the BJP in 1985.In 1987 Modi helped organise the BJP's campaign in the Ahmedabad municipal election, which the BJP won comfortably; Modi's planning has been described as the reason for that result by biographers.After L. K. Advani became president of the BJP in 1986, the RSS decided to place its members in important positions within the BJP; Modi's work during the Ahmedabad election led to his selection for this role, and Modi was elected organising secretary of the BJP's Gujarat unit later in 1987.Modi rose within the party and was named a member of the BJP's National Election Committee in 1990, helping organise L. K. Advani's 1990 Ram Rath Yatra in 1990 and Murli Manohar Joshi's 1991–92 Ekta Yatra (Journey for Unity).However, he took a brief break from politics in 1992, instead establishing a school in Ahmedabad; friction with Shankersingh Vaghela, a BJP MP from Gujarat at the time, also played a part in this decision.Modi returned to electoral politics in 1994, partly at the insistence of Advani, and as party secretary, Modi's electoral strategy was considered central to the BJP victory in the 1995 state assembly elections.In November of that year Modi was elected BJP national secretary and transferred to New Delhi, where he assumed responsibility for party activities in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.The following year, Shankersinh Vaghela, a prominent BJP leader from Gujarat, defected to the Indian National Congress (Congress, INC) after losing his parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha elections.Modi, on the selection committee for the 1998 Assembly elections in Gujarat, favoured supporters of BJP leader Keshubhai Patel over those supporting Vaghela to end factional division in the party. His strategy was credited as key to the BJP winning an overall majority in the 1998 elections,and Modi was promoted to BJP general secretary (organisation) in May of that year.Chief Minister of GujaratTaking officeIn 2001, Keshubhai Patel's health was failing and the BJP lost a few state assembly seats in by-elections. Allegations of abuse of power, corruption and poor administration were made, and Patel's standing had been damaged by his administration's handling of the earthquake in Bhuj in 2001.The BJP national leadership sought a new candidate for the chief ministership, and Modi, who had expressed misgivings about Patel's administration, was chosen as a replacement.Although BJP leader L. K. Advani did not want to ostracise Patel and was concerned about Modi's lack of experience in government, Modi declined an offer to be Patel's deputy chief minister, telling Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he was "going to be fully responsible for Gujarat or not at all". On 3 October 2001 he replaced Patel as Chief Minister of Gujarat, with the responsibility of preparing the BJP for the December 2002 elections.Modi was sworn in as Chief Minister on 7 October 2001,and entered the Gujarat state legislature on 24 February 2002 by winning a by-election to the Rajkot – II constituency, defeating Ashwin Mehta of the INC by 14,728 votes.2002 Gujarat riotsMain article: 2002 Gujarat riotsOn 27 February 2002, a train with several hundred passengers burned near Godhra, killing approximately 60 people.The train carried a large number of Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya after a religious ceremony at the site of the demolished Babri Masjid.In making a public statement after the incident, Modi said that the attack had been terror attack planned by local Muslims.The next day, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a bandh across the state.Riots began during the bandh, and anti-Muslim violence spread through Gujarat.The government's decision to move the bodies of the train victims from Godhra to Ahmedabad further inflamed the violence.The state government stated later that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed.Independent sources put the death toll at over 2000.Approximately 150,000 people were driven to refugee camps.Numerous women and children were among the victims; the violence included mass rapes and mutilations of women.The government of Gujarat itself is generally considered by scholars to have been complicit in the riots,and has otherwise received heavy criticism for its handling of the situation.Several scholars have described the violence as a pogrom, while others have called it an example of state terrorism.Summarising academic views on the subject, Martha Nussbaum said: "There is by now a broad consensus that the Gujarat violence was a form of ethnic cleansing, that in many ways it was premeditated, and that it was carried out with the complicity of the state government and officers of the law."The Modi government imposed a curfew in 26 major cities, issued shoot-at-sight orders and called for the army to patrol the streets, but was unable to prevent the violence from escalating.The president of the state unit of the BJP expressed support for the bandh, despite such actions being illegal at the time.State officials later prevented riot victims from leaving the refugee camps, and the camps were often unable to meet the needs of those living there.Muslim victims of the riots were subject to further discrimination when the state government announced that compensation for Muslim victims would be half of that offered to Hindus, although this decision was later reversed after the issue was taken to court.During the riots, police officers often did not intervene in situations where they were able.In 2012 Maya Kodnani, a minister in Modi's government from 2007 to 2009, was convicted by a lower court for participation in the Naroda Patiya massacre during the 2002 riots.Although Modi's government had announced that it would seek the death penalty for Kodnani on appeal, it reversed its decision in 2013.On 21 April 2018, the Gujarat High Courtacquitted Kodnani while noting that there were several shortfalls in the investigation.Modi's personal involvement in the 2002 events has continued to be debated. During the riots, Modi said that "What is happening is a chain of action and reaction."Later in 2002, Modi said the way in which he had handled the media was his only regret regarding the episode.Modi has not offered an apology for the riots and has stated that he should be rather punished and not forgiven if he is guilty.In March 2008, the Supreme Court reopened several cases related to the 2002 riots, including that of the Gulbarg Society massacre, and established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the issue.In response to a petition from Zakia Jafri (widow of Ehsan Jafri, who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre), in April 2009 the court also asked the SIT to investigate the issue of Modi's complicity in the killings.The SIT questioned Modi in March 2010; in May, it presented to the court a report finding no evidence against him.In July 2011, the court-appointed amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran submitted his final report to the court. Contrary to the SIT's position, he said that Modi could be prosecuted based on the available evidence.The Supreme Court gave the matter to the magistrate's court. The SIT examined Ramachandran's report, and in March 2012 submitted its final report, asking for the case to be closed. Zakia Jaffri filed a protest petition in response. In December 2013 the magistrate's court rejected the protest petition, accepting the SIT's finding that there was no evidence against the chief minister.2002 electionIn the aftermath of the violence there were widespread calls for Modi to resign as chief minister from within and outside the state, including from leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Telugu Desam Party (allies in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance coalition), and opposition parties stalled Parliament over the issue.Modi submitted his resignation at the April 2002 BJP national executive meeting in Goa, but it was not accepted.His cabinet had an emergency meeting on 19 July 2002, after which it offered its resignation to the Gujarat Governor S. S. Bhandari, and the state assembly was dissolved.Despite opposition from the election commissioner, who said that a number of voters were still displaced, Modi succeeded in advancing the election to December 2002.In the elections, the BJP won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly.Although Modi later denied it, he made significant use of anti-Muslim rhetoric during his campaign,and the BJP profited from religious polarisation among the voters.He won the Maninagar constituency, receiving 1,13,589 of 1,54,981 votes and defeating INC candidate Yatin Oza by 75,333 votes.On 22 December 2002, Bhandari swore Modi in for a second term.Modi framed the criticism of his government for human rights violations as an attack upon Gujarati pride, a strategy which led to the BJP winning two-thirds of the seats in the state assembly.Second termDuring Modi's second term the rhetoric of the government shifted from Hindutva to Gujarat's economic development.Modi curtailed the influence of Sangh Parivar organisations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad(VHP),entrenched in the state after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry,and dropped Gordhan Zadafia (an ally of former Sangh co-worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia) from his cabinet. When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration Modi ordered their eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagar deepened the rift with the VHP.Sangh organisations were no longer consulted or informed in advance about Modi's administrative decisions.Nonetheless, Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. Modi wrote a foreword to a textbook by Dinanath Batra released in 2014, which stated that ancient India possessed technologies including test-tube babies.Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (who asked Modi for tolerance in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and supported his resignation as chief minister)distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. After the elections Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots.Questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims were also raised by many Western nations during his tenure as chief minister. Modi was barred from entering the United States by the State Department, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on International Religious Freedom formed under the aegis of the International Religious Freedom Act, the only person denied a US visa under this law.The UK and the European Union refused to admit him because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UKand the EUlifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election as prime minister he was invited to Washington.During the run-up to the 2007 assembly elections and the 2009 general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism.In July 2006, Modi criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh " for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings.In 2007 Modi authored Karmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, Modi argued that scavenging was a "spiritual experience" for Valmiks, a sub-caste of Dalits.However, this book was not circulated that time because of the election code of conduct.After the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss the security of Gujarat's 1,600-kilometre (990 mi)-long coastline, resulting in government authorisation of 30 high-speed surveillance boats.In July 2007 Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post,and the BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election.Modi meets his mother after winning the 2014 electionsDuring the campaign, Modi focused on the corruption scandals under the previous INC government, and played on his image as a politician who had created a high rate of GDP growth in Gujarat.Modi projected himself as a person who could bring about "development," without focus on any specific policies.His message found support among young Indians and among middle-class citizens.The BJP under Modi was able to downplay concerns about the protection of religious minorities and Modi's commitment to secularism, areas in which he had previously received criticism.Prior to the election Modi's image in the media had centered around his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, but during the campaign the BJP was able to shift this to a focus on Modi's neoliberal ideology and the Gujarat model of development, although Hindutva remained a significant part of its campaign.In states such as Uttar Pradesh in which the BJP performed well, it drew exceptionally high support from upper-caste Hindus, although the 10 percent of Muslim votes won was more than it had won before. It performed particularly well in parts of the country that had recently experienced violence between Hindus and Muslims.The magnitude of the BJP's victory led many commentators to say that the election constituted a political realignment away from progressive parties and towards the right-wing.Modi himself was a candidate for the Lok Sabha in two constituencies: Varanasi and Vadodara.Prime MinisterModi with the Chief Minister of Nagaland, T. R. Zeliang, and Naga people in Northeast India, December 2014Governance and other initiativesModi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014. He became the first Prime Minister born after India's independence from the British Empire.His first year as prime minister saw significant centralisation of power relative to previous administrations.Modi's efforts at centralisation have been linked to an increase in the number of senior administration officials resigning their positions.Initially lacking a majority in the Rajya Sabha, or upper house of Indian Parliament, Modi passed a number of ordinances to enact his policies, leading to further centralisation of power.The government also passed a bill increasing the control that it had over the appointment of judges, and reducing that of the judiciary.In December 2014 Modi abolished the Planning Commission, replacing it with the National Institution for Transforming India, or NITI Aayog.The planning commission had received heavy criticism in previous years for creating inefficiency in the government, and of not filling its role of improving social welfare: however, since the economic liberalisation of the 1990s, it had been the major government body responsible for measures related to social justice.The Modi government launched investigations by the Intelligence Bureau against numerous civil society organizations and foreign non-governmental organizations in the first year of the administration. The investigations, on the grounds that these organizations were slowing economic growth, was criticized as a witchhunt. International humanitarian aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres was among the groups that were put under pressure.Other organisations affected included the Sierra Club and Avaaz.Cases of sedition were filed against individuals criticising the government.Modi repealed 1,200 obsolete laws in first three years as prime minister; a total of 1,301 such laws had been repealed by previous governments over a span of 64 years.He started a monthly radio programme titled "Mann Ki Baat" on 3 October 2014.Modi also launched the Digital India programme, with the goal of ensuring that government services are available electronically, building infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet access to rural areas, boosting manufacturing of electronic goods in the country, and promoting digital literacy.Economic policyModi with other BRICS leaders in 2016. Left to right: Temer, Modi, Xi, Putin and Zuma.The economic policies of Modi's government focused on privatisation and liberalisation of the economy, based on a neoliberal framework.Modi liberalised India's foreign direct investment policies, allowing more foreign investment in several industries, including in defence and the railways.Other proposed reforms included making it harder for workers to form unions and easier for employers to hire and fire them;some of these proposals were dropped after protests.The reforms drew strong opposition from unions: on 2 September 2015, eleven of the country's largest unions went on strike, including one affiliated with the BJP.The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a constituent of the Sangh Parivar, stated that the underlying motivation of labour reforms favored corporations over labourers.The funds dedicated to poverty reduction programmes and social welfare measures were greatly decreased by the Modi administration.The money spent on social programmes declined from 14.6% of GDP during the Congress government to 12.6% during Modi's first year in office.Spending on health and family welfare declined by 15%, and on primary and secondary education by 16%.The budgetary allocation for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, or the "education for all" programme, declined by 22%.The government also lowered corporate taxes, abolished the wealth tax, increased sales taxes, and reduced customs duties on gold, and jewelry.Modi at the launch of the Make in India programmeIn September 2014, Modi introduced the Make in India initiative to encourage foreign companies to manufacture products in India, with the goal of turning the country into a global manufacturing hub.On 9 November 2016, the government demonetised ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes, with the stated intention of curbing corruption, black money, the use of counterfeit currency, and terrorism.Over the first four years of Modi's premiership, India's GDP grew at an average rate of 7.23%, higher than the rate of 6.39% under the previous government.[216]The level of income inequality increased,while an internal government report said that in 2017, unemployment had increased to its highest level in 45 years. The loss of jobs was attributed to the 2016 demonetization, and to the effects of the Goods and Services Tax.Health and sanitationSee also: Swachh Bharat AbhiyanIn his first year as prime minister, Modi reduced the amount of money spent by the central government on healthcare.The Modi government launched New Health Policy (NHP) in January 2015. The policy did not increase the government's spending on healthcare, instead emphasizing the role of private healthcare organisations. This represented a shift away from the policy of the previous Congress government, which had supported programmes to assist public health goals, including reducing child and maternal mortality rates.The National Health Mission, which included public health programmes targeted at these indices received nearly 20%less funds in 2015 than in the previous year. 15 national health programmes, including those aimed at controlling tobacco use and supporting healthcare for the elderly, were merged with the National Health Mission. In its budget for the second year after it took office, the Modi government reduced healthcare spending by 15%.The healthcare budget for the following year rose by 19%. The budget was viewed positively by private insurance providers. Public health experts criticised its emphasis on the role of private healthcare providers, and suggested that it represented a shift away from public health facilities.The healthcare budget rose by 11.5% in 2018; the change included an allocation of 2000 crore for a government-funded health insurance program, and a decrease in the budget of the National Health Mission.The government introduced stricter packaging laws for tobacco which requires 85% of the packet size to be covered by pictorial warnings.An article in the medical journal Lancet stated that the country "might have taken a few steps back in public health" under Modi.In 2018 Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, a government health insurance scheme intended to insure 500 million people. 1 lakh people had signed up by October 2018.Modi emphasised his government's efforts at sanitation as a means of ensuring good health.On 2 October 2014, Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan ("Clean India") campaign. The stated goals of the campaign included eliminating open defecationand manual scavenging within five years.As part of the programme, the Indian government began constructing millions of toilets in rural areas and encouraging people to use them.The government also announced plans to build new sewage treatment plants.The administration plans to construct 60 million toilets by 2019. The construction projects have faced allegations of corruption, and have faced severe difficulty in getting people to use the toilets constructed for them.In 2018, the World Health Organization stated that at least 180,000 diarrhoeal deaths were averted in rural India after the launch of the sanitation effort.HindutvaFurther information: HindutvaModi pays obeisance at Tirumala Temple in Andhra PradeshDuring the 2014 election campaign, the BJP sought to identify itself with political leaders known to have opposed Hindu nationalism, including B. R. Ambedkar, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Ram Manohar Lohia.A proposal for the controversial Uniform Civil Code was a part of the BJP's election manifesto.These activities included a Hindu religious conversion programme, a campaign against the alleged Islamic practice of "Love Jihad", and attempts to celebrate Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, by members of the right wing Hindu Mahasabha.Between 2015 and 2018, Human Rights Watch estimated that 44 people, most of them Muslim, were killed by vigilantes; the killings were described by commentators as related to attempts by BJP state governments to ban the slaughter of cows.Foreign policyFurther information: Foreign policy of Narendra Modi and List of prime ministerial trips made by Narendra ModiModi and US President Donald Trump giving a joint statement.Foreign policy played a relatively small role in Modi's election campaign, and did not feature prominently in the BJP's election manifesto.Modi invited all the other leaders of SAARC countries to his swearing in ceremony as prime minister.He was the first Indian prime minister to do so.Modi meeting Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi in New Delhi in January 2018Modi's foreign policy, similarly to that of the preceding INC government, focused on improving economic ties, security, and regional relations.Modi continued Manmohan Singh's policy of "multi-alignment."The Modi administration tried to attract foreign investment in the Indian economy from several sources, especially in East Asia, with the use of slogans such as "Make in India" and "Digital India".The government also tried to improve relations with Islamic nations in the Middle East, such as Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Israel.During the first few months after the election, Modi made trips to a number of different countries to further the goals of his policy, and attended the BRICS, ASEAN, and G20 summits.One of Modi's first visits as prime minister was to Nepal, during which he promised a billion USD in aid.Modi also made several overtures to the United States, including multiple visits to that country.While this was described as an unexpected development, due to the US having previously denied Modi a travel visa over his role during the 2002 Gujarat riots, it was also expected to strengthen diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries.In 2015, the Indian parliament ratified a land exchange deal with Bangladesh about the India–Bangladesh enclaves, which had been initiated by the government of Manmohan Singh.Modi's administration gave renewed attention to India's "Look East Policy", instituted in 1991. The policy was renamed the "Act East Policy", and involved directing Indian foreign policy towards East Asia and Southeast Asia.The government signed agreements to improve land connectivity with Myanmar, through the state of Manipur. This represented a break with India's historic engagement with Myanmar, which prioritised border security over trade.Defence policyThe President of Israel Reuven Rivlin and Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces Gadi Eizenkotwith Modi.India's nominal military spending increased steadily under Modi.The military budget declined over Modi's tenure both as a fraction of GDP and when adjusted for inflation.A substantial portion of the military budget was devoted to personnel costs, leading commentators to write that the budget was constraining Indian military modernization.The BJP election manifesto had also promised to deal with illegal immigration into India in the Northeast, as well as to be more firm in its handling of insurgent groups. The Modi government issued a notification allowing Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh to legalise their residency in India. The government described the measure as being taken for humanitarian reasons but it drew criticism from several Assamese organisations.The Modi administration negotiated a peace agreement with the largest faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCM), which was announced in August 2015. The Naga insurgency in northeast India had begun in the 1950s.The NSCM and the government had agreed to a ceasefire in 1997, but a peace accord had not previously been signed.In 2015 the government abrogated a 15-year ceasefire with the Khaplang faction of the NSCM (NSCM-K). The NSCM-K responded with a series of attacks, which killed 18 people.The Modi government carried out a raid across the border with Myanmar as a result, and labelled the NSCM-K a terrorist organisation.Modi promised to be "tough on Pakistan" during his election campaign, and repeatedly stated that Pakistan was an exporter of terrorism.On 29 September 2016, the Indian Army stated that it had conducted a surgical strike on terror launchpads in Azad Kashmir. The Indian media claimed that up to 50 terrorists and Pakistani soldiers had been killed in the strike.Pakistan initially denied that any strikes had taken place.Subsequent reports suggested that Indian claim about the scope of the strike and the number of casualties had been exaggerated, although cross-border strikes had been carried out.In February 2019 India carried out airstrikes in Pakistan against a supposed terrorist camp. Further military skirmishes followed, including cross-border shelling and the loss of an Indian aircraft.Approval ratingsModi interacting with the school children after delivering his address on Independence Day in New Delhi, 15 August 2017As a Prime Minister, Modi has received consistently high approval ratings; at the end of his first year in office, he received an overall approval rating of 87% in a Pew Research poll, with 68% of people rating him "very favorably" and 93% approving of his government.His approval rating remained largely consistent at around 74% through his second year in office, according to a nationwide poll conducted by instaVaani.At the end of his second year in office, an updated Pew Research poll showed Modi continued to receive high overall approval ratings of 81%, with 57% of those polled rating him "very favorably."At the end of his third year in office, a further Pew Research poll showed Modi with an overall approval rating of 88%, his highest yet, with 69% of people polled rating him "very favorably."In 2014, 2015 and 2017, he was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World.He was also declared winner of the Time magazine reader's poll for Person of the Year in 2014 and 2016.Forbes Magazine ranked him the 15th-Most-Powerful Person in the World in 2014 and the 9th-Most-Powerful Person in the World in 2015, 2016 and 2018.In 2015, Modi was ranked the 13th-Most-Influential Person in the World by Bloomberg Markets Magazine.Modi was ranked fifth on Fortune Magazine's first annual list of the "World's Greatest Leaders" in 2015.In 2017, Gallup International Association (GIA) conducted a poll and ranked Modi as third top leader of the world.In 2016, a wax statue of Modi was unveiled at Madame Tussaud Wax Museum in London.In 2015 he was named one of Time's "30 Most Influential People on the Internet" as the second-most-followed politician on Twitter and Facebook.In 2018 he was the third most followed head of the state on Twitter,and the most followed world leader on Facebook and Instagram.In October 2018, Modi received UN's highest environmental award, the 'Champions of the Earth', for policy leadership by “pioneering work in championing” the International Solar Alliance and “new areas of levels of cooperation on environmental action”.He was conferred the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize in recognition of his dedication to improving international cooperation, raising global economic growth, accelerating the Human Development of the people of India by fostering economic growth and furthering the development of democracy through anti-corruption and social integration efforts. He is the first Indian to win the award.In January 2019, PM Narendra Modi, a biographic film starring Vivek Oberoi as Modi, was announced.State honoursOrder of Abdulaziz Al SaudSaudi Arabia3 April 2016Member Special Class, The highest civilian honour of Saudi ArabiaState Order of Ghazi Amir Amanullah KhanAfghanistan4 June 2016The highest civilian honour of AfghanistanGrand Collar of the State of PalestinePalestine10 February 2018The highest honour granted to foreigners by PalestineOrder of ZayedUnited Arab Emirates4 April 2019The highest civilian honour of the United Arab EmiratesOrder of St. AndrewRussia12 April 2019The highest civilian honour of RussiaMaximum Modi, minimum opportunityNo leader could have achieved what Modi hasThis month, Narendra Modi completes three years as India’s prime minister. It is a long enough period for anyone to get a sense of his leadership style. What is clear by now is that Mr Modi is completely different from his predecessor, Manmohan Singh, and indeed almost all his predecessors.Indira Gandhi, who served as prime minister for almost 15 years in two different stints, is perhaps the only one whose operational style is a little closer to that of Mr Modi. Both were strong leaders. Both had a connect with the ordinary people of India. And both understood power and authority -- and knew how to use them.Mr Modi, however, is different in many ways. Here are five key aspects of Mr Modi’s leadership style. Some of these may be similar to those of Indira Gandhi, but they acquire a new dimension and colour under Mr Modi.One, Mr Modi’s command over the bureaucracy is total. He entered the Prime Minister’s Office as a complete outsider, but took very little time to understand how he needs to take charge of the bureaucracy. Disintermediation was his primary instrument to keep civil servants under control. In sharp contrast to his immediate predecessor, Mr Modi made sure that he had a role and the final say in deciding on the appointment of senior civil servants in all important ministries. Thus, many central ministers realised that their top bureaucrats also had a direct connect with the prime minister and the PMO.What is clear by now is that Mr Modi is completely different from his predecessor, Manmohan Singh, and indeed almost all his predecessors.In line with this strategy, Modi developed a relationship of accountability with top civil servants across the central ministries. Periodic meetings were held with top secretaries in different ministries where the prime minister would be directly briefed on the progress of policy actions decided upon by the government. Yes, the ministers concerned would often be there in such meetings, but every bureaucrat present there would know who the boss was and whose writ ran at the end of the day.Even when the issues to be decided pertained to the Budget, the architecture of the goods and services tax or demonetisation, the prime minister made sure that he had a direct involvement with the bureaucrats concerned and played a role in the formulation of policies or their execution. This was again completely different from the way Manmohan Singh ran the government for 10 years, when he would operate through the PMO officials, through the central ministers or through file notes.A different ModiExpecting de-escalation of tensions from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, if he is voted back to power, would be different though. Mr. Modi made a surprise visit to Lahore in December 2015 to wish his then-Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, on his birthday. Will he be inclined to do the same on Mr. Khan’s birthday this year? If Mr. Modi returns to power after this election campaign, which has been filled with invocations of Pulwama and Balakot, then it would be on the anti-Pakistan plank. In 2014, Mr. Modi wanted to be the leader who gave an opportunity to a recalcitrant neighbour. A re-elected Mr. Modi might not be in the need for such gestures. His ideological predilections will dissuade him as well. Besides, at the core of the Modi phenomenon has been his uncompromising persona. His appeal is to a core base that is of his own making and not necessarily that of the RSS-BJP combine. The base he appeals to believes in bravado and machismo.Modi has also reinforced his leadership quality by being a good communicator round the year, and not just during election times. He has an active Twitter account. Citizens are encouraged to go directly to his website. He has a monthly radio talk show Mann ki Baat(What Is on My Mind). He travels around the country and takes a lead role in every election campaign. People see him and hear him all the time. That is a lot different from previous prime ministers.