
Indian companies such as Sun Pharma, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Adani, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Forge and Infosys have operations in Israel.Corporate executives and industry groups who spoke to ET declined to be named citing the sensitivity of the geopolitical situation.A person close to TCS said the software services company has a small employee base in Israel and that it is monitoring the situation. “There are employees present in the country to oversee the local operations. However, these operations are nowhere close to the conflict regions and the employees are safe. The company is, however, monitoring updates closely,” the person said asking not to be named. TCS did not respond to queries on its headcount in Israel till press time.”It is tough to comment right now. The situation is still unfolding yet and we are also doing business with the Middle East. We are watching the situation closely,” said an official at another company, which has operations in the region.
Air India on Monday evacuated its crew members and two other employees from Tel Aviv. The airline has cancelled its Israel flights till October 14.
According to Indian government estimates, cumulative overseas direct investments from India to Israel during April 2000 to May 2023 was $383 million. In FY2022-23, Indian merchandise exports to Israel was $7.89 billion and Israeli exports to India was $2.13 billion. In addition, bilateral trade in services stands at $1.1 billion.
There are more than 300 investments from Israel in India mainly in the high-tech domain, agriculture and water. There is also a growing preference in India for Israeli companies in sectors such as renewable energy, water technologies, homeland security, and real estate in addition to traditional areas such as agriculture, and chemicals.
The impact of the conflict on India’s core sector companies would be limited to their business exposure to crude oil prices, said a top executive at one of India’s leading steelmakers. India doesn’t have significant trade with the countries involved in the conflict; neither are the countries a source of any crucial raw material, this executive said, requesting not to be named.
The executives say however that they would keenly watch the impact of the war on the Middle East as any contagion of the conflict could have far reaching ramifications for the global economy.
Sujjain Talwar, senior partner at law firm ELP, said India and Israel have a rich history of deep-seated ties, spanning economic, political, and military realms. “Their bilateral trade has surged to an impressive $10.77 billion in the fiscal year 2022-2023. However, the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict does present some immediate challenges for Indian exporters. Shipping goods to Israel could become more expensive due to heightened insurance premiums and shipping costs caused by the conflict,” he said.
Sun Pharma’s Israel subsidiary, Taro Pharmaceutical Industries, said in a regulatory filing that its business interruption insurance may not adequately compensate the company for losses that may occur. Meanwhile, Adani Port and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) on Monday said the company remains fully alert and is prepared with a business continuity plan that will enable it to respond effectively to any eventuality.