Indien Newsletter March 2014

CONSULATE
GENERAL OF
INDIA,
FRANKFUR T
INDIEN NEWSLETTER
V O L U M E
HIGHLIGHTS:
-President Gauck on
a state visit to India
-The ‘Friends of India’
group launched
-Consul General undertakes a successful
visit to Saarland
-India Day Seminar
held during Ambiente
2014
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
Headline News
1
Spotlight on
India
2
India-Germany
Business News
3
News Round-up
4
1 ,
I S S U E
V I
M A R C H
2 0 1 4
President Joachim Gauck visits India
The President of the Federal Republic of Germany, H.E.
Mr. Joachim Gauck paid a state visit to India from 4–9
February, 2014. The Federal President held talks with
Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Opposition
leader Sushma Swaraj and others. Gauck reflected on
close links shared by the two countries, as also the common potential for the future. On 7 February, the Federal
President left for Bangalore where he attended a conference on vocational training which focused on issues of
training skilled workers for India’s labour market. . In
addition to metro cities, the Federal President also got a
glimpse of rural India. The President was accompanied
by a high-ranking 80-member delegation, including Gerd
Müller, the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation
and Development , among others. He was also accompanied by a delegation from German SMEs and larger companies.
Consulate launches ‘Friends of India’
'Friends of India Group’, an initiative of the Consulate
General of India Frankfurt, was launched on February 19,
2014 in Frankfurt. This effort, to bring various sociocultural organizations promoting Indian culture on a
common platform, aims at synergizing activities of the
different associations to create initiatives that have more
impact and visibility. It was attended by about 40 representatives of over 17 socio-cultural organizations. During
discussions that followed the launch, a strong need was
felt to coordinate the activities of the various associations. It was also decided that there should be better
communication channels among the associations and also
between the Consulate and the associations.
PAGE
2
Highlights of the Economic Report for
January , 2014
-The overall growth of GDP
at factor cost for 2013-14
is placed at 4.9 per cent as
compared to 4.5 per cent
for 2012-13
-Food grains (rice and
wheat) stocks held by FCI
and State agencies were
42.75 million tonnes
-Eight core infrastructure
industries registered a
growth of 2.1 per cent in
December 2013 as compared to 7.5 per cent in
December 2012
-Broad money (M3) for
2013-14 increased by 10.9
per cent as compared to
10.2 per cent during the
corresponding period of
the last year
-Exports increased by 3.8
per cent and Imports
decreased by 18.1 per cent
during January 2014 over
January 2013
-Foreign Currency Assets
stood at US$ 265.5 billion
at end-January 2014 as
compared to US$ 262.5
billion at end-January
2013
-The WPI inflation for all
commodities for January
2014 has declined to 5.05
per cent from 6.16 per
cent
-Gross tax revenue for the
financial year 2013-14
(April-December) was Rs.
743709 crore( $1.24 billion); recorded growth of
9.2 per cent over 2012-13
INDIEN
CG visits Saarland
Consul General Raveesh Kumar, accompanied by a
delegation of the ‘India Business Forum’, visited
Saarland on February 4-5, 2014. He met the Lord
Mayor of Saarbruecken, Charlotte Britz and had an
interactive session with Mr. Thomas Schuck, MD,
gwSaar, Economic Promotion, Saarland. He also had
meetings with the State Secretary of Saarland and
representatives of the Saarland Chamber of
Commerce. Besides, he also visited the University of
Saarland, the Max Planck Institute of IT and the
Villeroy and Boch AG, apart from interacting with
Indian students pursuing various courses at the
Saarland University.
Consul General with Lord Mayor of Saarbruecken, Ms. Charlotte Britz
Consul General with Indian students from the Saarland University
SPOTLIGHT ON INDIA
Chandi Prasad Bhatt Gets Gandhi Peace Prize
for 2013
The Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2013 has been
awarded to eminent Gandhian and environmentalist,
Shri Chandi Prasad Bhatt. The Jury for the Prize met
under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister, Dr.
Manmohan Singh on 18th February 2014 and decided upon his name. Shri Chandi Prasad Bhatt was
one of the pioneers of the Chipko movement for
which he was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award
in 1982. One of India’s first modern environmentalists, today he is known for his work on subaltern
social ecology.
Classifying Odia as a classical language
The Union Cabinet on 20.2.14 gave its approval for
classifying Odia as a classical language. The following benefits are available for languages which are
declared as classical languages: -i) Two major annual international awards for scholars of eminence
in the concerned language ii) A `Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Languages` can be set
up iii) The University Grants Commission can be
requested to create a certain number of professional
chairs for classical languages, for scholars of eminence in the concerned language. So far Sanskrit,
Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam have been
declared as classical languages.
NEWSLETTER
India building US$ 52M GIS-based public
safety response system
Under steps to improve public emergency response in India, the central government is setting
up an integrated location-based emergency response system for the communities. The system
looks to effectively and efficiently responding to
emergency calls by the public, and integrating
with other emergency services such as medical,
fire and disaster management. This project taps
into the ‘Nirbhaya Fund’ which was set up in 2013
to support initiatives towards ensuring the safety
of women.
WW-I centenary: MEA’s project to highlight India’s role
The New Delhi-based United Services Institute, in
collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs,
has undertaken a project to highlight the oftforgotten role of India in World War-I as part of
the global commemorations being organized to
mark the centenary of the war. Then under the
Crown, the British Indian Army had contributed a
number of divisions and independent brigades to
the European, Mediterranean and the Middle-East
theatres during the war. Of the 1.4 million Indian
soldiers who had served overseas, 75,000 lost
their lives during the War.
VOLUME
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ISSUE
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3
India-Germany Business News
Bosch to make fresh investment of $200 million
Bosch plans to invest $200 million in India this year towards building new
facilities, augmenting capacity at its Adugodi unit in Bangalore and in R&D.
India will become the fifth largest car manufacturer in the world by 2020,
and by 2060, it will be responsible for some 50% of global GDP together
with China. In 2012-13, the Bosch Group invested over $366 million in the
country. Bosch, a leading supplier of technology and services in automotive
and industrial technology, has the largest development centre in India
outside Germany. The Bosch Group operates in the country through six
companies and employs over 26,000 people.
Tech Mahindra signs agreement to acquire BASF Business Services Consult
Tech Mahindra GmbH, Düsseldorf, a wholly-owned German subsidiary of
Tech Mahindra Limited, India, a specialist provider of IT solutions and
services announced that it has signed an agreement with BASF Business
Services Holding GmbH to acquire its business with third party customers.
This includes the 100%-owned subsidiary BASF Business Services Consult
GmbH, based in Hamburg. Legal closing of the transaction is expected to
happen in the first quarter of FY 2015. All 60 employees of BASF Business
Services Consult GmbH will be transitioned to Tech Mahindra as part of this
transaction.
Volkswagen to set up $250 million plant in India
To boost sales in India, German auto maker Volkswagen is planning to
expand production capacity and introduce a slew of new models. A total of
$250 million is to be invested over the next five-six years. The resources
would partially be utilized to set up a diesel engine manufacturing unit.
The engine plant in India will help the carmaker reduce costs and expand
sales volumes by competing more aggressively with established players
such as Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai.
Consortium led by German SOLEA AG signs 5 MW solar PPA with
BESCOM
A consortium comprising SOLEA AG (Plattling, Germany) and PINPOINT
VENTURES HOLDING (Heidelberg, Germany) signed a Power Purchase Agree-
ment (PPA) for a 5 Megawatt solar photovoltaic (PV) project with
Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM). The Consortium
represented by PINPOINT’s Indian subsidiary Heidelberg Solar Pvt.
Ltd., Bangalore had won the 5 MW PV project in the 130 MW Tender
issued by Karnataka Renewable Energy Department Limited (KREDL)
during August 2013. BESCOM is responsible for providing electricity
to more than 20 million people in Bangalore and neighbouring districts.
Frankfurt School ties up with Avanse to offer student loans
Germany-based Frankfurt School of Finance and Management has
joined hands with education finance company Avanse Education
Loans. This association will help Indian students to pursue education
in the Frankfurt School by getting financial access to their choice of
courses. The company will provide 100 per cent funding for students.
Avanse will provide loans for various courses at the Frankfurt School.
TUV-Rhineland signs business transfer agreement with Kochi-based NIFE
German-based TUV Rheinland, a worldwide leader in testing, training,
inspection, consulting and certification, announced the expansion of
its 'Training and Consulting' division in India. It has signed a business transfer agreement with Kochi-based NIFE, a premier vocational
training institute. The new company, named TUV Rheinland NIFE
Academy Pvt Ltd, will provide industry-leading vocational training
courses that are highly valued across industries.
Wipro unit to make top-end German brand chairs in India
Bangalore-based Wipro's Lighting and Furniture Business announced
that it has inked a licensing agreement with Interstuhl to manufacture the German firm's popular 'Goal' range of chairs for the Indian
market. Interstuhl is one of the top chair manufacturers of Europe.
The company plans to make these chairs at its Chennai facility, which
has a capacity of 1,25,000 units per annum.
Indian participation at Trade Fairs held in February 2014
Spoga Horse (Spring) 2014 ; International Trade Fair for Equestrian Sports, 2 – 4 February 2014, Cologne
35 Indian Exhibitors participated in the Spoga Horse (Spring) 2014 Fair.
With this number, India ranked second among all the exhibitors participating in the fair. Officials of the Consulate interacted with some of the Indian
exhibitors.
Ambiente 2014, Inter-national Trade Fair for Consumer Goods,
07 – 11 February 2014, Frankfurt
Ambiente is the world's biggest consumer-goods fair. It brings together
three leading international trade fairs – Dining, Giving and Living – at the
same time and place. 430 Indian Exhibitors participated in the Ambiente
2014 fair. Smt. Zohra Chatterji,
Secretary Textiles, Ministry of
Textiles, visited Frankfurt in
connection with the trade fair
Ambiente and was accompanied
by Shri. S.S. Gupta, Development
Commissioner (Handicrafts),
Ministry of Textiles. On February 7, An India Day Seminar was organized by CGI Frankfurt in association with the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) & Messe Frankfurt under the title
“Handicrafts market worldwide – India as a sourcing destination”.
Know India Programme
The 28th & 29th Know India Programmes (KIPs) are
proposed to be organised by the MOIA in the months of
June and August-September 2014 respectively, for 40
participants to be selected from counties across the
world. Know India Programme (KIP) of the Ministry of
Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) is a three-week orientaCONSULATE GENERAL OF INDIA
FRIEDRICH-EBERT-ANLAGE 26, 60325, FRANKFURT AM MAIN, tion programme for Diaspora youth conducted with a
GERMANY
view to promote awareness about different facets of life
Telephone :+49 69 153 00 50
in India and the progress made by the country in variWebsite : www.cgifrankfurt.de
ous fields .
Further information can be accessed from the following
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News Round-up
AYUSH delegation visits
German Ayurvedic Academy
A delegation led by Shri Nilanjan Sanyal, Secretary, Department of AYUSH paid a visit to the
European Academy for Ayurveda
in Birstein (Hesse). The Academy,
founded in 1993 by Mark and Kerstin Rosenberg offers several courses in
Ayurveda.
Number of Indian visitors to Germany up
Higher education, business and leisure top the reasons for Indians visiting Germany. “There was a five per cent increase in the number of visitors to Germany in 2013. Between January and November 2013, India
sent 0.6 million visitors,” said Romit Theophilus, director, German National Tourist Office, India.
Marathi film Killa wins
Crystal Bear at Berlinale
Marathi-language film Killa
directed by Avinash Arun
won the Crystal Bear for the
Best Film awarded by the
Children’s Jury in Generation Kplus section at the 64th Berlin
International Film Festival, which was held from February 6 to
16, 2014 . The section caters to children and young audiences at
the festival. The Jury said in its citation, “This film convinced us
in all respects: with his good camera work and the great actors,
but also because of its incredibly beautiful nature images which
blend perfectly with the music. This film made us all want to
discover India.”
Photo-documentation of the Consul General’s visit to Saarland
With IBF Members at gwSaar
CG with Luitwin Gisbert von Boch-Galhau at Villeroy and Boch
CG being introduced to V&B products by Mr. Michel von Boch
CG with State Secretary Juergen Lennartz at the Staatskanzlei
Saarland IHK President Mr. Thomas Hempel addressing the delegation