New Delhi, Nov. 5 -- Israel has emerged as India's second-closest partner after Russia in the eyes of young adults across the country's largest population belt, according to a new perception study released by the India Israel Centre. The survey of adults aged 21 to 40 in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand, a region home to more than a third of India's population, places Israel ahead of the United States, Japan and France on friendship and on standing by India in difficult times. It also ranks Israel second only to Russia as a country recognised for helping India.

The October 2026 study, the Centre's third youth perception survey this year, drew on 1,023 respondents both online and in person. Sixty-two per cen...