India and Israel today pledged to take up joint research programmes to the tune of USD 5 million per year to further strengthen ties in the education sector between the two countries.

This was decided at a meeting between the new HRD Minister Smriti Irani and Israel Ambassador to India Alon Ushpiz.

In the first round under the joint initiative, 66 research proposals have been received and evaluation by the experts from both the sides will start today and will be completed by June 2014.

Ushpiz said Israel offers 200 post doctoral fellowships of which about 80 percent are availed by Indian students.

According to an official statement, Irani appreciated Israel's move to launch another scholarship for 40 Bachelors programmes and 30 for Masters programmes there.

Usphiz also said that Israeli Nobel Laureate Ada E Yonath, who received the 2009 Nobel in Chemistry along with India's V Ramakrishnan, would be visiting India in March 2015.