Patna: A high-level delegation of the industries department is in Israel to explore various sectors in which there could be cooperation between Bihar and the West Asian country.

It will also see the way start-ups are helped and aided there so that they could start functioning quickly.

The two-member delegation is being led by industries department principal secretary S. Siddharth, while the department director (technical) Ravindra Prasad is also with him. Both the officers will be in Israel till September 6. They will visit Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to attend meetings and see different industrial facilities.

"Israel has a large number of start-ups and they are doing well. Our aim is to see their functioning, the eco-system available for them and how the state supports them. We will also meet a few investors during our visit to explore possibilities for Bihar," Siddharth said.

The delegation's visit has been facilitated by the Union government under a scheme for industries departments of different states so that they could learn the best practices for different sectors and also explore possibilities of attracting investors. Some delegations were sent to the US and others were directed towards Israel.

Bihar came up with its own start-up policy last year with Rs 500 crore corpus to make the state a favoured destination for start-ups. Under policy a start-up means an entity, incorporated or registered in Bihar not prior to five years, and with an annual turnover not exceeding Rs 25 crore in any preceding financial year. It should be working towards innovation, development, deployment or commercialisation of new products, processes or services driven by technology or intellectual property.