German companies inclined to invest in Indian high-tech market: Study

 The Dollar Business Bureau Industry body FICCI jointly with the Embassy of India in Berlin and the support of German Embassy in New Delhi organised a panel discussion on ‘Unleashing opportunities: Indo-German High Technology Manufacturing in the capital today. The discussion, held in the backdrop of a study by the Embassy of India in Berlin in partnership with EY, spoke about the need for Indo-German collaboration in high-tech manufacturing. The study, titled ‘Prospects for Indo-German collaboration in High-Technology Manufacturing’, identified high-technology sectors most suitable for Indo-German collaborations. The objective mainly is to develop investor-related sector information which can result in a platform facilitating trade and investments in these particular sectors. Anchored to the ‘Make in India’ initiative and other national programmes of the Government, the study identified the following sectors to the most appropriate in the Indo-German context – Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM), photonics, IT, automotive, civil aviation and airports, transportation infrastructure, water, renewable energy, heavy engineering, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, space and defence manufacturing. The Indo-German high tech partnership for manufacturing has the potential to significantly benefit both countries. While Germany has well established high technologies, its population is ageing which will not provide a sufficient young skilled workforce and academics in the long run. On the other hand, India has a vast, young and high quality manpower that Germany could benefit from. Hence together both countries have the complementary resources to overcome the challenges of the future. Some of the key findings of the report have been that German companies are favourably inclined to invest in the Indian high tech market, India is assumed to be the highest performing country among the BRIC markets, that there is high readiness in India for high tech products and that Indo-German collaboration in high tech manufacturing can become an important part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative. The report also highlighted that the recent Government initiatives in FDI, the ease of doing business and infrastructure can all significantly impact the business environment in high tech sectors. P S Gangadhar, Editor of the Report and First Secretary, (Economic & Commerce), Embassy of India, Berlin said that the study has identified various sub-sectors within the High-Technology area that hold the most potential for trade and investment in the coming years. Also speaking on the need for India to put its act together, Sidharth Birla, Immediate Past President, FICCI and Chairman, XPro India said, “As a strategy, there was a need to improve India’s share of hi-tech manufacturing and bring about R&D orientation to take a leap towards achieving a greater level of economic growth. Germany is a technology leader and complements India’s ambition in Hi-tech manufacturing. Hence, it was with this perspective that Indian Embassy in Berlin and EY identified opportunities and challenges in high-technology Indo-German collaboration, especially for dual use technologies where there are export controls.”      

May 21, 2015 | 7:52 pm IST.