Hannover Messe: it was all about “Make in India”

June 13, 2015 12:52 pm

Industry keen to join the new investor friendly India’s journey to become a global manufacturing hub
 India is going all out to woo foreign investors to bet on the country’s growth story. The efforts were continued at the Hannover Messe 2015, the world’s largest industrial trade fair. Being the official partner country, India has been able to galvanise its resurgent position as an investment and manufacturing hub in front of the global industry. Living up to the hope of “opening many more doors” as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s in his inaugural address, the event not only saw the ‘Make in India’ movement take a global dimension but also paved the path for several new investment avenues and stronger economic engagement with India.  With the ‘Make in India’ theme splashed all over, the Indian presence is pre-dominantly visible all over the ground and the city of Hannover. An environment of enthusiasm, promising exchange of ideas and investment in the new resurgent India prevailed at the India Pavilion that was crafted to portray the economic potential of the country’s most fertile sectors—biotechnology, renewable energy, space, IT and BPM, industrial corridors and smart cities, wellness, and the demographic dividend it aims to reap. A positive revivalist fervour prevailed as senior Indian government officials and business leaders reached out to representatives of German and European industries and technology institutions to ink MoUs aimed at scaling up the country’s manufacturing.
At a time when India and Germany are orchestrating a paradigm shift in their bilateral economic relations highlighted by increasingly diversified cooperation, a high-powered delegation from India visited Germany and participated in the Hannover Fair 2015; over 350 companies spread across 10 sectoral halls; 6 Government of India ministries/departments participating through 6 seminars; 14 state governments participating through 6 seminars; and over 120 top Indian CEOs. Well-known industry leaders and policymakers, along with apex national level industry organisations came together to forge new relationships for Indian companies to reach out to global business and technology leaders to seek technology collaborations, business tie-ups and enhance India’s capabilities in global trade.  In order to facilitate progressive dialogue between India and Germany, the Indo-German Business Summit served as a discussion forum for CEOs from both nations. Both Mr Modi and Dr Merkel addressed this summit that was attended by top Indian and German industry leaders such as Cyrus Mistry, Chairman, Tata Sons, Baba Kalyani, CMD, Bharat Forge Ltd and Joe Kaeser, President, Siemens.  These business leaders explored the possibilities of India’s economic interactions with Germany’s industrial prowess, while posting strong reasons to invest in India.   Reflecting on the India’s role this year at Hannover Messe, as the most significant international statement the Make in India program has made to date, PS Gangadhar, First Secretary, Economic and Commercial, Indian Embassy Berlin said, “India’s participation as the Partner Country in Hannover Messe 2015 has put India back on the minds of German and Global investors and business community. We have presented the strengths of Indian economy and opportunities therein at the Hannover Fair. We hope that our efforts will lead to increased business collaboration with German companies and European partners.”
Addressing the media, Dr. Jochen Köckler, Member of the Managing Board, Deutsche Messe AG said, “India has set new standards for what we can expect from a partner country and what you can do with the concept of partner country in Hannover Messe. We have had a lot of great partner countries, but it’s your strategy of Make in India with real content that has set the bar very high for future partner countries.”
—————-List of MoUs/agreements signed at Hannover Messe 2015—————-Government to Government• Letter of Intent on Indo German Solar Partnership • Joint declaration of intent on sustainable urban development • Letter of Intent on Indo-German skill development projectBusiness to Business• BHEL and Russian Joint Stock Company (INTMA) for upcoming projects in Rajasthan and Kazakhstan• Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Ltd (REIL) and Milkotronics Ltd, Bulgaria for manufacturing milk analysers • Instrumentation Limited and KE Kauer Engineering, Germany for production of control valves.• Vikram Solar with o Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE o Meyer Burger and Centrotherm for setting up solar academy in India and optimisation of module production technology. • Three  MoUs by Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) with o Num Controls, Switzerland for manufacturing of CNC controls, systems and driveso FT Machine Tools, Germany for collaborating on flow forming machines and o Enit GmbH, Germany for total engineering solutions.• Essel Group with o Wind and Sun Technology Group /FeCon GmbH to develop 12,500 MW of solar and 4,000 MW of wind energy projects in India. o Passavant Energy and Environment (PE&E) for water and waste water treatment projectso Schneider Electric to develop smart city projects in Indiao Fichtner GmbH & Co to provide comprehensive interdisciplinary range of engineering and consultancy services in areas of energy, water, sanitation, infrastructure, IT and consultancy on the implementationo Smart Grids-Platform Baden-Wuertemberg to act as facilitator in linking the energy networks for Essel group.Others• Declaration of interest for cooperation in the field of vocational education and training between Directorate General of Employment & Training, DGET, Ministry of Labour & Employment, Govt. of India and the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC).
——————————–Essel Group inks pact with 3 German firms
At Hannover Messe 2015, Essel Group has entered into technology transfer pacts with three German firms for smart cities and green energy projects in India.
A MoU for transfer of critical technology in wind and solar energy was signed by the company with FeCon GmbH, a subsidiary company of Wind and Sun Technology GmbH while a similar pact was also inked with Passavant Energy and Environment (PE&E) GmbH for mega-scale wastewater treatment projects in India.
As per the agreement, FeCon GmbH will assist Essel in developing and manufacturing  wind turbines in India along with power station and grid equipment for solar and wind energy to suit Indian conditions.
On the other hand, the MoU with PE&E will provide Essel with access to groundbreaking technologies and processes in municipal wastewater, sludge, water and industrial wastewater treatment. ———————————-
———————————Volkswagen showcases ‘Made in India’ Vento
German carmaker Volkswagen has showcased its ‘Made in India’ Volkswagen Vento at the Hannover Messe 2015.
Volkswagen Vento is a model specially designed car for the Indian market and built at the company’s plant in Pune.
“India is and will remain an important strategic growth market for the Volkswagen Group. We are convinced that Volkswagen will take on a key role in the Indian automobile market in the long term. We are driving localisation in India forward with our new engine assembly plant in Pune,” said Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, CEO of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft. ———————————-
————————————HARTING connects ————————————Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have visited the HARTING exhibition stand at the Hannover Messe 2015. They were informed about the latest HARTING solutions and products in the field of integrated industry and HARTING’s activities in India.
“India has enormous growth potential for the years ahead as an emerging nation. It is therefore becoming increasingly important to HARTING,” remarked Philip F. W. Harting, Senior Vice President Connectivity and Networks and President/Partner.
Prof. Dr. Johanna Wanka, Federal Minister of Education and Research, and Matthias Machnig, Secretary of State at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, also gained an insight on the first day of the trade fair into the innovative HARTING technologies on display at the stand of the Espelkamp-based, family-owned company.
Welspun signs 550-MW MoU with iPLONAt Hannover Messe 2015, Welspun Renewables and iPLON announced the signing of a 550-MW MoU. The Independent Power Producer (IPP) has chosen iPLON GmbH, a firm based in Schwaebisch Hall Germany, for supply, installation and commissioning of Solar PV power plant automation systems for its upcoming projects in India.
What they sayIndia is now a changed country” with a more “transparent, responsive and stable” regulatory framework.
–  Prime Minister Narendra Modi————————–Make in India is not about protectionism but about excelling in a globalised world… Research and development is shifting to Bengaluru and Hyderabad in India and alluded to almost 900 MNCs building their R&D centres in India.
– Amitabh Kant, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP)——————————I see a government that is laying the foundation for the long term and this is exceptionally important because we want growth that is sustainable.
–  Cyrus Mistry, Chairman, Tata Sons——————————-With the regulatory changes being made by State governments, in the next couple of years we will see women working side by side in the manufacturing and engineering.
–  Baba Kalyani, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Forge——————————-Disruptive technology, social media, mobility, cloud and Internet of Things etc. will be needed to build solution at a price point which makes sense in India.
– R Chandrashekhar, President, Nasscom——————————-India is moving in supersonic speed in implementation of many of the programmes and India is leap frogging when compared to Germany in areas of mobile payment, e-governance and in the scale of UID.
– Franz-Josef Schuermann, Country Head-Germany, Infosys——————————–India is now evolving and aiming at encouraging growth, ease of doing business, harnessing talent and rekindling the growth story. The world is looking at the new resurgent India with renewed faith and investors are keenly evaluating opportunities of economic engagement.
–  Erich Nesselhauf, Managing Director and CEO, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV)