Crisis? Did anyone say crisis? No, no, Covid is well behind us now! And we happily embraced this new-found freedom and a world without social distancing and travel restrictions to welcome our members, friends and supporters in Germany to our German AGM – das Traditionelle Jahrestreffen – in Frankfurt on the 14th of June 2023.
Speaking of travel restrictions… maybe the time of crisis is not completely over yet. Truth be told, at least parts of the Indo-German reality of the past two years could be summed up with the tagline “From Covid crisis to visa crisis!” and unfortunately unlike Covid - the visa crisis is not over yet. This fact was openly acknowledged by two of our speakers – His Excellency Dr. Philip Ackermann and His Excellency Parvathaneni Harish – whom we were honoured to welcome as guests of honour.
For anyone juggling crises, times have certainly become more busy, not less, as H.E. Dr. Ackermann outlined visa problems and migration regulation are currently only one of four big to-do piles on his desk in New Delhi. But while there are certainly still problems to solve and crises to juggle, there is also enormous potential and a push for growth in India. So strong that it’s almost palpable: India is moving forward, and the rest of the world wants to join the ride! Heading the G20-Presidency and being a crucial partner on the changing geopolitical stage, 2023 truly is India’s year and the areas of cooperation are plenty and diverse – a fact which was also outlined by Ambassador P. Harish in his welcome speech on energy, fintech, infrastructure, migration and higher education. All areas which offer plenty of potential for fruitful cooperation between India and Germany. The recent relaunch of negotiations for an EU-India free trade agreement and last year’s launch of the EU-India Trade and Technology Council (TTC) is only the latest proof of a renewed and mutual interest in cooperation between the EU and the world’s biggest democracy.
Our host Dr. Florian Straßberger, Managing Director and Global Head, International Banks of DZ Bank pointed out that difficult topics need safe spaces and he assured us that the venue - while offering a wonderful view of the skyline of Frankfurt’s high-rises - was also a safe space where neither cricket nor WTO problems needed to be discussed. Instead, we were given ample opportunity to focus on the opportunities which were also outlined by IGCC-President and Chief Representative of DZ Bank, Anupam Chaturvedi, who could not help but wonder if H.E. Harish had stolen the notes to his speech as both agreed on India’s potential to catch up on data protection laws which the EU leads. Our President Mr. Chaturvedi highlighted that targeted Government reforms and initiatives aim to make India more attractive as a location for international companies. The fact that India is already the destination of choice for more than 2,000 German companies, indicates that India’s strategy is working, given the need for increased diversification of international production and supply chains. India’s popularity as a hub for production and supply is only bound to increase in the years to come.
Eric Menges, CEO of FrankfurtRheinMain GmbH, said he was well aware of the investment preferences of foreign investors and added that Brexit is one of many reasons why Germany is also increasingly becoming a popular investment destination for Indian companies who are looking to explore the European market. By now the Frankfurt region is home to more than 150 Indian companies from the IT, Biotech and Pharma sectors which clearly shows that the interest between Germany and India is mutual.
During their discussion on global economic trends Michael Holstein, Chief Economist of DZ Bank and Melanie Vogelbach, Managing Director, International Economic Policy at DIHK expressed their concern, that especially on the global stage the challenges currently outweigh good news by a clear margin. But it also became obvious that increasingly complex and interdependent geopolitical challenges require a clear and decisive move towards a balanced and cooperative multilateralism with India as a strong and essential partner. The business world has already understood this which was clearly shown in this year’s German-India Business Outlook – an annual survey conducted jointly by IGCC and KPMG, which was presented by Ergün Kis, Head of Country Practice India at KPMG and which shows that German companies are eager to tap into the steadily growing potential of India’s domestic market and are already intensifying their cooperation, investments and R&D activities in India (See the complete study here).
One of the reasons for the increasing interest of German companies in doing business with and investing in India is also the fact that India is increasingly – and rightly so - seen as a global hub for innovation. This development was at the heart of our second-panel discussion, moderated by IGCC’s Director General Stefan Halusa, where Sindhu Gangadharan, SVP & Managing Director of SAP Labs India; Bhuwan Agrawal, VP & Head Europe of Tata Consultancy Services; Shrenik M Khasgiwala, President & Head of ABG Innovation Fund of Aditya Birla Group; Martin Woerlein, Partner and Head Team India of Roedl & Partner and Jörg Strothmann of the German company IPETRONIK discussed India’s role as a hub for innovation and research. IPETRONIK is a medium-sized company with 250 employees, offering high-tech services to the international automobile industry. By now they have successfully established an Indian subsidiary and are planning for further expansion in India. This proves that even small SME companies can be successful in the competitive Indian market.
And yet, big firms and global players in India’s importance for R&D is now undeniable: Ms Gangadharan from SAP pointed out that 40% of SAP’s R&D activities are now taking place in India, the country which is home to more than 5 million software engineers. It looks as if the time when India was solely considered as a driver for economies of scale or a growing consumer market is over and India’s brain power is finally a decisive factor in the global business world – and not just in the form of being an export hub for skilled talent, but also as a driving force within India itself, or as Ms Gangadharan puts it “India for scale, India for growth, India for innovation!” Bhuwan Agrawal from TCS, the world’s biggest IT company employing 600,000 staff and 6,500 researchers worldwide seconds that view and adds that India’s innovation ecosystem, including 2,500 startups, provides an ideal ground for developing innovative solutions for established industries. The fact that TCS has on average filed one patent per day in 2022 illustrates the innovation power of Indian minds and firms. Agrawal goes even further and suggests that Germany might also benefit domestically from this innovative spirit by allowing TCS to digitize citizen services in Germany, saying it would be a “push for change that Germany really needs” – I think we can all agree on that.
Within India, the innovation landscape is steadily changing, and knowledge, new solutions and top-tier talent are increasingly found beyond the traditional innovation hubs such as Bangalore and especially India’s growing number of medium and small-sized cities are becoming part of the innovation landscape. To tap into this, companies need to focus on strategy not on location, engage with universities early on and go where the talent is – instead of waiting for the talent to come to them, as was traditionally the case. Or, as George Ettiyil, Senior Director – South Asia at Lufthansa Group and Vice President of IGCC summed it up perfectly in his closing remarks: “It’s the right time to be a German stakeholder in India – wake up!”
