On May 23, 2018, the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC) Founders’ Day Lecture was held at the Ballroom of the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, in Mumbai. A full house, with around 200 attendees, the event was graced by dignitaries and representatives from the German Embassy, German Consulate General, Indo-German companies, associations, academic institutions, as well as members of the IGCC.
The opening ceremony of the full-day event, focused on the theme ‘The Secrets of Germany’s Economic Success’, began with an introduction by Bernhard Steinrücke, Director General, IGCC and welcome address by Thomas Fuhrmann, President, IGCC.
Dr. Martin Ney, German Ambassador to India, then set the tone for the day, as he shared some interesting insights and enumerated the key factors that contribute to Germany’s success and uphold a rules-based international order and free and open markets.
- Germany’s political stability
- Strong skilling system driven by the German Dual System of Vocational Education and Training, as well as an excellent university system
- Mittelstand, which comprises of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, but forms the backbone of the German economy
- Germany’s federal structure which ensures that no individual state becomes a dominating powerhouse
In addition to these four factors, he also made it a point to note that Germany’s business promotion network abroad, of which the IGCC is the largest binational Chamber, also plays a significant role in economic growth and success.
After this broad overview of the theme, taking the discussion further and getting into details and nitty-gritties, four panel discussions were held; with illustrious and experienced panelists sharing thoughts, personal experiences and anecdotes, as they highlighted challenges and opportunities and areas for improvements, in their respective fields.
Kersi Hilloo, Managing Director, Fuchs Lubricants (India) Pvt. Ltd.; Dr. Anton Reinfelder, Managing Director, Groz-Beckert Asia Pvt. Ltd.; and Thomas Hegenberg, Managing Director (Banknote), Giesecke & Devrient India Pvt. Ltd.; discussed ‘How to be a Hidden Champion’ and the discussion was moderated by Bernhard Steinrücke, Director General, IGCC.
The second panel discussion, on ‘Vocational Training & Skilling for Success’, which had Sunil Mathur, M.D. & CEO, Siemens Ltd.; Dr. Abhay Firodia, Chairman, Force Motors Limited; and Raj Kumar, Director, Geedee Weiler Pvt. Ltd.; as panelists, was moderated by Radhieka R Mehta, Director, Indo-German Training Centre (IGTC).
Trade fairs, another leading factor behind Germany’s economic success was discussed in a panel discussion on the ‘German Trade Fair Scenario’, with panellists - Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman and Managing Director, Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd. and Ashwani Pande, Managing Director, Koelnmesse YA Tradefair Pvt. Ltd., moderated by Sonia Prashar, Deputy Director General, IGCC and Managing Director, NürnbergMesse India Pvt. Ltd.
To highlight how Germany’s R&D ecosystem is integral to its innovation and the resulting economic success, the fourth panel discussion was on the ‘German Research & Development Setup.’ The panelists, Dr. Matthias Kiesselbach, Director, German Research Foundation (DFG Office India); Dr. Roshan Paul, Director, Indo-German Science & Technology Centre; and Dr. Dietmar Hueglin, Director Innovation Campus Mumbai, Vice President Advanced Materials & Systems Research, BASF Chemicals India Pvt. Ltd.; were moderated by Anandi Iyer, Head of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, India Office.
After the thought-provoking panel discussions and a short break over coffee, it was time for the most anticipated part of the event; the Founders’ Day Lecture, delivered by none other than Bernhard Steinrücke, Director General, IGCC and World Speaker, DIHK (Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce). He spoke about his ’25 years with India.’ Amidst many smiles and memories, he took the audience through his journey that started out with him not wanting to come to India, but as destiny would have it, he ended up with him making a home in India. He shared highlights of his life and IGCC’s journey, right from 1991 to 2016, which also included a number of opportunities to welcome the German President and the German Chancellor, to India, as also to host and organize landmark events such as, the Asia Pacific Conference (APK), Indo-German Urban Mela, etc. To end the Founders’ Day Lecture, Mr. Steinrücke left the audience with some seemingly crazy but exciting future projections about India, as well as the Chamber!
List of Sponsors
- Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company Limited
- Audi India
- BASF India Limited
- BBRAUN Medical India Pvt. Ltd.
- Bharat Forge Limited
- BMW India Private Limited
- BSH Household Appliances
- BTG Legal Services
- Covestro (India) Private Limited
- Francis Klein & Co. Private Ltd.
- HDFC ERGO General Insurance
- Henkel Adhesive Technologies
- Herrenknecht India Pvt. Ltd.
- Schaeffler India
- KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH
- MAN Diesel & Turbo India
- Schunk Intec India Private Limited
- Schwing Stetter (INDIA) Private Limited
- Siemens Limited (RC-IN)
- Taj Hotels Palaces Resorts Safaris
- TUV Rheinland India Pvt. Ltd.
- Volkswagen India Private Limited
