German firms eye India for future tech collaborations in manufacturing sector
The German companies are looking for local partners to help Indian businesses in advancing production in areas such as green energy, semiconductor, and pharmaceutical sectors, among others.
"India is an important market; it's a growing market and has a huge amount of talent, and we are looking for talent because we are developing new technologies. We are the experts in the production field, and we are developing from the first sketch until the start of production. What we are doing here is we have invited our potential customers to this place (India)," said Rainer Wittich, CEO of EDAG Production Solutions GmbH & Co. KG.
"Many customers are going more and more into this activity. They want to build up the production areas more in the field of new technologies like green energy, electrolysers, semiconductors, and medicine pharma, and there we can help with our expertise," Wittich added.
The Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, in association with the Indian arm of Germany-based EDAG Group, organised an event to explore business partnerships with emerging local companies and talent to facilitate manufacturing.
Talking to ANI during the event in New Delhi, Stefan Halusa, Director General at Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, said, "So we're talking about smart factories, we're talking about smart people, we're talking about smart product development, and all of that contributes to the smart industry and for that we are getting very good responses because it gives a glimpse of what the industry could be like in a couple of years."
Answering the question of increased interest of German companies in India, Halusa said three factors are attracting German companies towards India, and they are local markets and economic growth, scale and capabilities of the economy.
"The first (factor) is the local market. The Indian economy is growing and it will continue to grow over the next couple of years. So if you look at growth around the world, India is one of the first and most important countries to look at. The second is scale. You look at India for export as well, to invest here also for exporting your goods and services, and the third one is the capabilities," he added.
Halusa further added that India has become a hub for research and development (R&D), which is another major factor towards the greater interest of German companies.
"A lot of global capability centres are here, so it becomes a hub for research and development and engineering, and this combination is unique, and this is why German companies are looking for growth around the world. This is why they come to India," Halusa added.
Going further, Halusa asserted that the German companies are waiting for the ongoing India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to be concluded, as Germany currently does not have an FTA with India.
"Our companies, of course, tell us that they're waiting for the FTA to be concluded because that could really be a game changer for German and European companies. Because India has already concluded trade agreements with a whole number of countries but not with Europe. So there is a risk for us to fall behind, and this is why it's so important for the German and European industry that actually now comes to a conclusion," he added.
The trade between two countries has reached USD 26.10 billion, with Indian exports at USD 9.83 billion in 2023-24. Indian imports from Germany reached USD 16.27 in FY24. Germany is currently the 10th largest trading partner in exports for India in April-October 2024.
On the government front, leaders of both partner countries have underscored the crucial importance of a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, Investment Protection Agreement and an Agreement on Geographical Indications between the European Union and India. (ANI)
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