Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday sounded hopeful of India successfully rolling out the new goods and services tax in 2016, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel said German companies operating in India should be treated the same way as Indian companies since it would benefit both sides. On Tuesday at the Indo-German Business Summit, India and Germany also inked five more MoUs to strengthen ties in areas such as telecommunications, solar power and defence, in addition to the 18 MoUs that were signed on Monday between the two countries.
The pacts signed included an agreement between Tata Power and Rohde & Schwarz to manufacture "software defined secure radio communications systems" for military usage and other agreements between Siemens and the Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City. During her visit to Bangalore, Merkel also encouraged Indian investors to consider investing in Germany, citing the country's business friendly regulations and abundant supply of skilled labour, among other things.
"Indian investors are certainly welcome in Germany. You as Indian companies would find excellent conditions on the ground," said Merkel addressing a packed auditorium of top executives from India's corporate sector, as well as German business delegates.
Merkel's call to boost trade ties between India and Germany comes a day after the two countries agreed to resume talks towards a free trade agreement between India and the European Union. Earlier on Tuesday, Merkel and Modi also visited German automotive engineering company Bosch's Bangalore operations.
On Tuesday, Modi stressed on the attractiveness of investments in Asia's third largest economy and said that the government was working hard to attract more foreign investments into the country, which had translated into more investor-friendly foreign direct investment (FDI) norms in sectors such as railways and defence.
Modi also emphasised the need to provide a boost to the country's technology and startup ecosystem, citing the government's ambitious plans on the Digital India and the Startup India initiatives.
"While in Bengaluru, I must say that it is the software of India that will move the hardware of the world..it makes strong business sense to be in India. It makes even greater business sense to Make in India," said Modi, addressing an audience that included the likes of Wipro's billionaire chairman Azim Premji, ICICI Bank managing director and chief executive Chanda Kocchar and Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla among others. "India is on the threshold of a big IT revolution," added Modi. "Ours is a country of the young and it is going to remain so for many more years. Talented young Indians... are now looking to take risks and become entrepreneurs." Modi also said that India and Germany had potential to boost ties further and collaborate more.
Modi also sounded optimistic about the GST, which is currently blocked in Parliament, being rolled out in 2016.
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