Hyderabad: Delta Faucet Company, a leading American brand, today opened its first flagship store in Hyderabad, and outlined plans to set up about 20 stores in all by the year end.
Delta sells a wide range of products and solutions that directly fit into local requirements.
It has already finalised locations of 10 of these stores to be set up in next three months, with two stores coming up in Delhi during the week.
Named the Dream Kitchen’s store, it has been set up through their local franchisee. It houses an array of faucets, storing products for the bathroom and kitchen space.
Part of the $7.7-billion Masco Corporation, Delta is now in the process of establishing its presence in the country through a subsidiary. The store functions as an experience zone where people can visit and try them.
Hans-Juergen Kalmback, Vice-President International, Delta Faucet Company, said India has emerged as one of the fastest growing markets for the company .
The US company introduced its range of built-to-order kitchen cabinet products. These are designed and assembled in the US and shipped for fitment to the end customer.
The company sees hospitality, public utilities, high-end homes as its potential customers.
Success in my Habit
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Ford Chennai plant the first in the world to use eco-friendly 3-wet paint technology
Chennai: Car multinationals like Ford, Hyundai and Volkswagen are using cutting edge technology and practices to save power and water resources in their plants in India, where both are in serious short supply. Indeed, Ford Motor Company is expanding its 3-wet paint capacity by 50 % this year, adding the environmentally friendly paint process, which is already in use in its Maraimalainagar plant in the outskirts of Chennai, to four more plants on three continents. The actions will reduce CO2 emissions by an estimated 30% at those facilities.
Ford India's Chennai plant is the first Ford car plant in the world to use the 3-wet high-solids paint technology. The plant also does heat recovery by utilizing exhaust heat air to heat fresh air, and propane gas has been introduced as a fuel in its ovens instead of diesel, making for an environment-friendly paint process. According to Ford, the 3-wet high solids technology has resulted in VOC emission coming down by 23%, the best in the Ford Asia Pacific region. It has also reduced dock-to-dock time by 40% and CO2 emission by 21%. Water consumption has come down by 15000 KL/annum and the energy saved in the paint shop - 27.6 million kWh/annum - is enough to power almost 12,000 households in Chennai for a year, or to light up the entire Chennai street lights in night for almost 4 months.
Ford, which was the first automaker to implement the 3-wet high solids solvent borne technology in 2007, currently has eight plants in North America, Asia Pacific and Europe, equipped for using the process to paint vehicles. That will expand to 12 plants in 2013 and then to additional facilities worldwide over the next four years.
The 3-wet process derives its name because three layers of paint are applied one after the other before the prior coats have been cured. The process eliminates stand-alone primer application and a dedicated oven required in the conventional process that was used before. Advanced chemical composition of 3-wet paint materials allows for the three layers of paint -- primer, base coat, and clear coat - to be applied while each layer is still wet without baking in between. "The 3-wet paint process is significantly more advanced than conventional technologies in applying durable paints in a high-quality, environmentally sound and cost-efficient manner," said Bruce Hettle, director of manufacturing engineering.
Ford India's Chennai plant is the first Ford car plant in the world to use the 3-wet high-solids paint technology. The plant also does heat recovery by utilizing exhaust heat air to heat fresh air, and propane gas has been introduced as a fuel in its ovens instead of diesel, making for an environment-friendly paint process. According to Ford, the 3-wet high solids technology has resulted in VOC emission coming down by 23%, the best in the Ford Asia Pacific region. It has also reduced dock-to-dock time by 40% and CO2 emission by 21%. Water consumption has come down by 15000 KL/annum and the energy saved in the paint shop - 27.6 million kWh/annum - is enough to power almost 12,000 households in Chennai for a year, or to light up the entire Chennai street lights in night for almost 4 months.
Ford, which was the first automaker to implement the 3-wet high solids solvent borne technology in 2007, currently has eight plants in North America, Asia Pacific and Europe, equipped for using the process to paint vehicles. That will expand to 12 plants in 2013 and then to additional facilities worldwide over the next four years.
The 3-wet process derives its name because three layers of paint are applied one after the other before the prior coats have been cured. The process eliminates stand-alone primer application and a dedicated oven required in the conventional process that was used before. Advanced chemical composition of 3-wet paint materials allows for the three layers of paint -- primer, base coat, and clear coat - to be applied while each layer is still wet without baking in between. "The 3-wet paint process is significantly more advanced than conventional technologies in applying durable paints in a high-quality, environmentally sound and cost-efficient manner," said Bruce Hettle, director of manufacturing engineering.
IIM-A centre, Village Capital to support 16 start-ups
Ahmedabad: The IIM-A-based Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) and Village Capital on Tuesday announced the 16 ventures it has selected to participate in its “Technology for Impact Accelerator” programme for businesses creating social impact.
The accelerator programme focuses on for-profit, commercially scalable Indian start-ups that display a high level of social value in their tech-driven or tech-enabled offerings. The accelerator will focus on technology ventures operating in the mobile/ICT, health, agri-business, education, sustainability and livelihood solutions sectors.
With the first of three four-day sessions at the IIM-A campus beginning on April 11, the highly competitive application process saw 300 organisations applying for the programme, Akash Bansal, spokesman for CIIE, said. The accelerator will help optimise ventures through interactive working sessions with international-impact investors, entrepreneurs that have overcome the same challenges facing many in the cohort, and one-on-one access to high-quality professional services.
The cohort includes Kriyate Design Solutions, which is seeking to create an affordable smart phone for the visually impaired; MediAngels, which is creating the world’s first online hospital; Aakar Innovation, which is producing a biodegradable sanitary napkin product for women at the bottom of the pyramid, SuryOn, which has developed a mobile phone charger directly using sunlight, and Pappilon Software Solutions, which has developed HealthBooth, a five-minute check-in booth performing health checks for Rs 50.
Since 2009, CIIE has invested in more than 80 start-ups, with over 90 per cent survival rate, reached out to over 30,000 start-ups and budding entrepreneurs and has mentored 2,000-plus start-ups.
Village Capital, founded in 2009, provides opportunity to high-impact start-ups. To date, it has served over 250 entrepreneurs from 30 countries through 17 cohorts in the US, UK, Brazil and India, and recently expanded their reach to include China and Kenya. The Technology for Impact Accelerator with CIIE will be the first sector-focused programme for Village Capital in India.
The accelerator programme focuses on for-profit, commercially scalable Indian start-ups that display a high level of social value in their tech-driven or tech-enabled offerings. The accelerator will focus on technology ventures operating in the mobile/ICT, health, agri-business, education, sustainability and livelihood solutions sectors.
With the first of three four-day sessions at the IIM-A campus beginning on April 11, the highly competitive application process saw 300 organisations applying for the programme, Akash Bansal, spokesman for CIIE, said. The accelerator will help optimise ventures through interactive working sessions with international-impact investors, entrepreneurs that have overcome the same challenges facing many in the cohort, and one-on-one access to high-quality professional services.
The cohort includes Kriyate Design Solutions, which is seeking to create an affordable smart phone for the visually impaired; MediAngels, which is creating the world’s first online hospital; Aakar Innovation, which is producing a biodegradable sanitary napkin product for women at the bottom of the pyramid, SuryOn, which has developed a mobile phone charger directly using sunlight, and Pappilon Software Solutions, which has developed HealthBooth, a five-minute check-in booth performing health checks for Rs 50.
Since 2009, CIIE has invested in more than 80 start-ups, with over 90 per cent survival rate, reached out to over 30,000 start-ups and budding entrepreneurs and has mentored 2,000-plus start-ups.
Village Capital, founded in 2009, provides opportunity to high-impact start-ups. To date, it has served over 250 entrepreneurs from 30 countries through 17 cohorts in the US, UK, Brazil and India, and recently expanded their reach to include China and Kenya. The Technology for Impact Accelerator with CIIE will be the first sector-focused programme for Village Capital in India.
NRI deposits rise 37% on high domestic interest rates
Mumbai: Non-resident Indians (NRIs) are keeping faith with the returns their banks back home are giving them.
In the first eleven months of FY13, NRI deposits in the banking system rose 37 per cent (by $13.379 billion against $9.733 billion in the year-ago period).
The NRI deposit accretion was solely in the non-resident (external) rupee account or NRE account. In the reporting period, NRE deposits soared by a whopping 161 per cent at $15.271 billion ($5.854 billion in the year-ago period).
NRIs may be pouring money into the NRE deposits because they fetch handsome returns (for example, SBI is offering 8.75 per cent interest on NRE deposits of 1-10 years).
Another reason why NRIs may be parking money in NRE deposits is that they may be taking a view that the rupee will appreciate down the line, thereby enabling them to make gains at the time when the deposit matures, said a senior public sector bank official.
For example, if NRIs place NRE deposits now then the dollars they remit will fetch them Rs 54.50 a dollar. However, if the rupee appreciates to (say) 50 to the dollar at the time of maturity of the deposit (say two years down the line) then the depositor makes a gain of Rs 4.50 a dollar. Besides, the possible exchange rate gain, he earns interest on the deposit.
The other two components of NRI deposits — Foreign Currency (Non-Resident) or FCNR Account and Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) Rupee Account — have seen outflows.
NRO deposits saw an outflow of $1.732 billion (against an accretion of $3.926 billion). FCNR deposits declined $160 million (against a decline of $48 million).
In the first eleven months of FY13, NRI deposits in the banking system rose 37 per cent (by $13.379 billion against $9.733 billion in the year-ago period).
The NRI deposit accretion was solely in the non-resident (external) rupee account or NRE account. In the reporting period, NRE deposits soared by a whopping 161 per cent at $15.271 billion ($5.854 billion in the year-ago period).
NRIs may be pouring money into the NRE deposits because they fetch handsome returns (for example, SBI is offering 8.75 per cent interest on NRE deposits of 1-10 years).
Another reason why NRIs may be parking money in NRE deposits is that they may be taking a view that the rupee will appreciate down the line, thereby enabling them to make gains at the time when the deposit matures, said a senior public sector bank official.
For example, if NRIs place NRE deposits now then the dollars they remit will fetch them Rs 54.50 a dollar. However, if the rupee appreciates to (say) 50 to the dollar at the time of maturity of the deposit (say two years down the line) then the depositor makes a gain of Rs 4.50 a dollar. Besides, the possible exchange rate gain, he earns interest on the deposit.
The other two components of NRI deposits — Foreign Currency (Non-Resident) or FCNR Account and Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) Rupee Account — have seen outflows.
NRO deposits saw an outflow of $1.732 billion (against an accretion of $3.926 billion). FCNR deposits declined $160 million (against a decline of $48 million).
India, Germany to spend €3.5 m each on research, innovation
Berlin: India and Germany have committed to €3.5 million each over four years for working on joint research and innovation projects, Minister for Human Resource Development M.M. Pallam Raju said on Tuesday.
This will be one of the pacts that India and Germany will sign at the second India-Germany Intergovernmental Consultation which gets underway in Berlin on Wednesday.
“The areas (for collaboration) will be decided on what comes up. Besides, we will also sign a pact for strengthening collaboration on German language,” Pallam told newspersons on board the special Air India aircraft carrying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Berlin for the Intergovernmental Consultation.
The €3-5 million commitment will begin as soon as the pact is signedon Thursday, the Minister said.
On the need for signing an agreement for strengthening German language, the Minister pointed out that while there were 30,000 children in Kendriya Vidyalayas in India who are studying German where it is being offered as one of the languages, there were not enough teachers to teach the language .
“Now we are also trying to increase the number of teachers,” the Minister added.
The newly set up IIT in Mandi is also getting assistance from a consortium of German technical universities.
The two countries are also expected to sign a joint declaration of intent for German support of €1 billion for transmitting renewable energy across seven States in India including Rajasthan and Maharashtra.
This will be one of the pacts that India and Germany will sign at the second India-Germany Intergovernmental Consultation which gets underway in Berlin on Wednesday.
“The areas (for collaboration) will be decided on what comes up. Besides, we will also sign a pact for strengthening collaboration on German language,” Pallam told newspersons on board the special Air India aircraft carrying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Berlin for the Intergovernmental Consultation.
The €3-5 million commitment will begin as soon as the pact is signedon Thursday, the Minister said.
On the need for signing an agreement for strengthening German language, the Minister pointed out that while there were 30,000 children in Kendriya Vidyalayas in India who are studying German where it is being offered as one of the languages, there were not enough teachers to teach the language .
“Now we are also trying to increase the number of teachers,” the Minister added.
The newly set up IIT in Mandi is also getting assistance from a consortium of German technical universities.
The two countries are also expected to sign a joint declaration of intent for German support of €1 billion for transmitting renewable energy across seven States in India including Rajasthan and Maharashtra.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Manipal Group ties up with Durban University of Technology for cooperation in education & training
New Delhi: Manipal Group, with the assistance of FirstRand Bank, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Durban University of Technology in South Africa to foster collaboration between the two institutions in the areas of health sciences, teacher training, online education, business management, engineering, design architecture and the areas of testing and assessments, FirstRand said in a statement."We are happy to partner with the Durban University of Technology to expand its efforts in growing the education and skills base in South Africa. The parallels between the youth of India and South Africa are very strong. Both countries have vibrant and energetic youth hence it is imperative that this energy is harnessed and channeled in a positive manner so that it contributes to the economic and social well being of the country, Dr Vinod Bhat, pro vice chancellor, Manipal University, said in a statement.
Mahendren Moodley, CEO of FirstRand in India added: "FirstRand will continue to use its unique position as the only African banking group in India to identify partnerships that will benefit South Africa as a whole. We see many more opportunities for the Manipal group on the African continent."
Manipal Group is a client of FirstRand in both South Africa and India. According to Mahendren Moodley. The MoU, although small in scale, is an important catalyst for the Manipal Group to further expand its business into South Africa.
Yamaha opens fifth global R&D centre in India
New Delhi: Japanese two-wheeler major Yamaha Motor Company (YMC), which on Tuesday announced the establishment of Yamaha Motor Research & Development India (YMRI) at its Greater Noida facility, is looking at leveraging India as a procurement hub to source components for its two-wheeler operations globally. India would be the fourth regional procurement hub for Yamaha worldwide after China, Japan and the Asean.
Yuh Motoyama, senior general manager, engineering section (motorcycle business operations), said, “The research and development (R&D) unit is an integrated development centre, the second such for Yamaha globally. The vendor base in India is strong and cost-competitive and the potential to source parts from here for our operations globally is very promising.” YMC had inaugurated its first integrated development centre in Asean in Thailand last year.
Besides purchasing, YMRI would work closely with engineers at the Yamaha headquarters in Japan to develop low-cost models.
“YMRI is the fifth foreign R&D facility for Yamaha. Every centre has a mandate. While the unit in Taiwan concentrates on developing products in the 150-cc category, the centre in Italy focuses on developing two-wheelers for the European market. While platforms would continue to be made in Japan, YMRI will modify them to create low-cost products for the domestic market”, added Motoyama. The ‘root model’ can then be altered for exports to markets in Africa and Latin America.
Toshikazu Kobayashi, managing director, YMRI, said, “Our aim is to develop the lowest-cost model and parts in the world. Our aim is to develop a low-cost bike at around $ 500 for both the domestic as well as exports markets.”
He, however, declined to specify a timeline for launching the product in the Indian market. Yamaha’s move is a part of its strategy to expand its footprint in the mass commuter segment in the country.
Yamaha, at present, has marginal share in the low-cost commuter segment with the YBR110 and Crux which together sells around 4300 odd units every month. The segment accounts for over 65 per cent of motorcycle sales in India.
Additionally, to enhance its presence in the domestic two-wheeler industry India Yamaha Motor (IYM) will launch a new scooter every year till 2016. Hiroyuki Suzuki, chief executive officer and managing director, IYM said, “We intend to sell one million units by 2016 and grab 10 per cent of the domestic two-wheeler industry. In the scooter segment, we will launch one new product every year to attain market share of 20 per cent in the same period.”
In the current financial year the company is eyeing sales of 710,000 units, which is an increase of around 45 per cent over the 490,000 units sold last fiscal. While 500,000 units will be sold in the domestic market, the remaining numbers would come in from exports.
TCS to acquire French firm Alti for Rs 533 cr
New Delhi: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest IT services provider, today said it would acquire France-based Alti SA for euro 75 million (around Rs 533 crore) in an all-cash deal.
The impact of the announcement was evident on the company’s stock, which rose two per cent intra-day on BSE to Rs 1,512 a share, before closing at Rs 1,497 — up 1.1 per cent.
The acquisition, one of the largest for TCS in continental Europe and one of the first by a large Indian IT player in France, signifies how the firm wants to increase its presence in the region beyond the UK.
BNP Paribas was TCS’ sole advisor for the deal.
Alti SA is a privately-held company, owned by its management and two private equity funds — CM-CIC LBO Partners and IDI — which supported its growth from a revenue base of euro 64 million (around Rs 455 crore) in 2007 to euro 126 million (around Rs 895 crore) in 2012. The firm is considered among the five top system integrators of enterprise solutions in France. Its key customers include several top French corporations in banking, financial services, manufacturing, utilities and luxury sectors.
“This acquisition underlines our long-term, strategic commitment to France, which is the third-largest IT services market in Europe. The acquisition would help us serve our clients in France and across Europe more comprehensively, with an expanded set of services and solutions, bringing the best of TCS to French corporations,” said TCS CEO & MD N Chandrasekaran.
TCS has managed to acquire Alti for a discount to its revenue, reflecting the valuation pressure several European companies are facing. “Valuations of European firms, especially in France and Germany, are very attractive. And, the IT firms sitting on cash piles would make use of this opportunity. If you look at comparable multiples of these firms today, those are very low,” said an investment banker on the condition of anonymity.
The acquisition would give TCS a large presence in Europe — France, Belgium Switzerland and Algeria — with an employee base of 1,200.
India Inc's average IT budget to cross $12 mn
Mumbai: India is one of the fastest-growing IT services markets in the world, with three-quarters of large Indian enterprises planning to increase IT spending in 2013, with an average IT budget of $12.2 million, according to a survey by Gartner.
According to Gartner, Indian service providers have an opportunity to capitalise on planned increases in IT spending among Indian enterprises in 2013.
Between June and September of 2012, Gartner surveyed 1,523 large enterprises (those with more than 1,000 employees) to determine their IT spending plans. Within the survey, 153 respondents were in India.
“Indian companies' IT priorities in 2013 are the cloud (particularly infrastructure as a service [IaaS]), virtualisation, data center consolidation and IT modernisation,” said Arup Roy, research director at Gartner.
He further said: “Approximately 10% of spending in 2012 was allocated to external services; and 14% of this was on cloud related initiatives. Similar ratios are expected in 2013. There is a greater inclination towards private cloud contracts, more than in any other market this year.”
About 30% of large Indian companies said that control of IT budgets is shifting toward business units, including marketing, the CFO office and lines of business. As budget control shifts occur, when all budgets become IT budgets, service providers must take a multipronged approach and not target only CIOs.
In line with the trend observed in other countries, the biggest IT spending in India was in the communications industry, followed by banks and securities. As banks embark on their next phase of transformation into more competitive, customer-friendly institutions, key opportunities are likely to come up in the areas of core banking systems and upgrades/ integration with other peripheral systems. Near-term opportunities in the banking sector will be in the areas of collections, contact center services, business intelligence (BI), mobility and IT outsourcing (ITO).
Relatively poor spending in the vertical industries of insurance, government and utilities set India apart from other countries. Nevertheless, these markets are likely to offer strong opportunities for service providers. Some of the largest IT deals are starting to come from central and state government. Specifically, opportunities are emerging in state and central government bodies that relate mainly to efficiency, transparency and e-enabling projects for citizen-facing services, as well as workflow-related projects.
“In most organizations the IT department controls the budget, which is centralised, but some control is shifting. This is more or less in line with other emerging and mature markets“ said Roy.
India to boost its bilateral trade with Germany
New Delhi: Dr Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India, is keen on enhancing trade and investment ties with Germany, and said that as "we continue to take steps to boost domestic investments, attract foreign investors and spur the economy back to its long term potential of eight per cent growth."
Mr Singh is looking forward to Chancellor Angela Merkel's support for an early conclusion of a balanced India-EU broad based trade and investment agreement, the PM said in his closing statement before boarding the flight for Berlin for the second India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultation (IGC), where he is accompanied by Ministers of New and Renewable Energy, Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Commerce, Industry and Textiles, External Affairs, and Human Resource Development.
Germany is considered a key partner for India in areas like infrastructure, manufacturing, science and technology, higher education, vocational training and clean and renewable energy, according to Mr Singh.
Germany is India’s largest economic partner in Europe and one of the key global partners for trade, investment and technology. Indo-German bilateral trade had recorded an increase of 18.4 per cent and reached €18.37 billion in 2011. However, due to global economic slowdown, bilateral trade witnessed a dip of 5.5 per cent in 2012.
Mr Singh, on his visit to Germany plans to explain the German leadership the steps and the reform process that have been taken up by Indian Government in order to improve the investment climate and make India a favourable destination for investors.
“We will also discuss our shared interests in United Nations Security Council reforms and a broad range of global developments, including with respect to Afghanistan, West Asia and the Asia Pacific region,” he said in his closing statement.
"I will also propose that Europe keep it's door open to Indian investors and professionals," Mr Singh said adding that Germany plays a key role in the global economy and in particular in the stability and growth in the Euro zone which has an important bearing on the Indian economy. "At a time of persisting global economic weakness and uncertainty I look forward to discussing these issues with Chancellor Merkel."
Further, Mr Singh plans to meet President of Germany Joachim Gauck and participate in the closing ceremony of the ‘Days of India in Germany’, which was organised to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Germany.
The Prime Minister confirmed that India remains committed to a close, cooperative and mutually beneficial partnership with Germany.
The IGCs, first held in May 2011 in Delhi, provide a useful forum for discussions on the full spectrum of bilateral relationship and have helped advance Indo-German cooperation in a broad range of areas.
India is expecting a “strong political thrust” from Germany, a key member of the 27-nation European bloc for early inking of the India-EU pact, according to Ranjan Mathai, Foreign Secretary.
“We are of the view that early conclusion of India-EU agreement will open up new economic opportunities to both sides and certainly that applies to the way we approach our economic engagements with Germany.
“The negotiations have reached an advanced stage and in fact there will another round of negotiations on April 15 when it will be taken forward. We will certainly be discussing the matter with the German side. We expect a strong political thrust from Germany for an early conclusion of the agreement”, according to the Foreign Secretary.
Shivshankar Menon, National Security Advisor, who is also the part of the delegation, will address security-related issues and hold a strategic dialogue during the visit. On the Afghan situation, the Foreign Secretary said, “We have had interesting exchanges with Germany. As you know, Germany is a part of the ISAF and it has had a contingent in Mazar in the past. As the drawdown continues, Germany like the other countries would like to ensure that the future of Afghanistan is not marked by uncertainty and instability.”
India and Germany will also hold talks on the Group’s proposal on UN Security Council reforms, as the two countries are part of G-4 (Brazil, India, Germany and Japan). “And while considering the G4 proposal, we will, of course, be looking at the modalities in which it can be taken forward, which means also considering ways in which we can deal with those groups within the UN system who have a different view,” according to Mathai.
Mr Singh, the PM will be hosted for dinner by the German Chancellor and the next morning he will be accorded a Ceremonial Welcome at the German State Chancellery after which he will jointly chair the IGC with Merkel. In the evening, the Prime Minister will attend the wrapping up of “Days of India in Germany” cultural events.
As part of the celebrations, various events were held from May 2012 to March 2013, under the four themes — Connecting Minds, Connecting Capabilities, Connecting Ideas and Connecting Cultures.
Mr Singh is looking forward to Chancellor Angela Merkel's support for an early conclusion of a balanced India-EU broad based trade and investment agreement, the PM said in his closing statement before boarding the flight for Berlin for the second India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultation (IGC), where he is accompanied by Ministers of New and Renewable Energy, Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Commerce, Industry and Textiles, External Affairs, and Human Resource Development.
Germany is considered a key partner for India in areas like infrastructure, manufacturing, science and technology, higher education, vocational training and clean and renewable energy, according to Mr Singh.
Germany is India’s largest economic partner in Europe and one of the key global partners for trade, investment and technology. Indo-German bilateral trade had recorded an increase of 18.4 per cent and reached €18.37 billion in 2011. However, due to global economic slowdown, bilateral trade witnessed a dip of 5.5 per cent in 2012.
Mr Singh, on his visit to Germany plans to explain the German leadership the steps and the reform process that have been taken up by Indian Government in order to improve the investment climate and make India a favourable destination for investors.
“We will also discuss our shared interests in United Nations Security Council reforms and a broad range of global developments, including with respect to Afghanistan, West Asia and the Asia Pacific region,” he said in his closing statement.
"I will also propose that Europe keep it's door open to Indian investors and professionals," Mr Singh said adding that Germany plays a key role in the global economy and in particular in the stability and growth in the Euro zone which has an important bearing on the Indian economy. "At a time of persisting global economic weakness and uncertainty I look forward to discussing these issues with Chancellor Merkel."
Further, Mr Singh plans to meet President of Germany Joachim Gauck and participate in the closing ceremony of the ‘Days of India in Germany’, which was organised to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Germany.
The Prime Minister confirmed that India remains committed to a close, cooperative and mutually beneficial partnership with Germany.
The IGCs, first held in May 2011 in Delhi, provide a useful forum for discussions on the full spectrum of bilateral relationship and have helped advance Indo-German cooperation in a broad range of areas.
India is expecting a “strong political thrust” from Germany, a key member of the 27-nation European bloc for early inking of the India-EU pact, according to Ranjan Mathai, Foreign Secretary.
“We are of the view that early conclusion of India-EU agreement will open up new economic opportunities to both sides and certainly that applies to the way we approach our economic engagements with Germany.
“The negotiations have reached an advanced stage and in fact there will another round of negotiations on April 15 when it will be taken forward. We will certainly be discussing the matter with the German side. We expect a strong political thrust from Germany for an early conclusion of the agreement”, according to the Foreign Secretary.
Shivshankar Menon, National Security Advisor, who is also the part of the delegation, will address security-related issues and hold a strategic dialogue during the visit. On the Afghan situation, the Foreign Secretary said, “We have had interesting exchanges with Germany. As you know, Germany is a part of the ISAF and it has had a contingent in Mazar in the past. As the drawdown continues, Germany like the other countries would like to ensure that the future of Afghanistan is not marked by uncertainty and instability.”
India and Germany will also hold talks on the Group’s proposal on UN Security Council reforms, as the two countries are part of G-4 (Brazil, India, Germany and Japan). “And while considering the G4 proposal, we will, of course, be looking at the modalities in which it can be taken forward, which means also considering ways in which we can deal with those groups within the UN system who have a different view,” according to Mathai.
Mr Singh, the PM will be hosted for dinner by the German Chancellor and the next morning he will be accorded a Ceremonial Welcome at the German State Chancellery after which he will jointly chair the IGC with Merkel. In the evening, the Prime Minister will attend the wrapping up of “Days of India in Germany” cultural events.
As part of the celebrations, various events were held from May 2012 to March 2013, under the four themes — Connecting Minds, Connecting Capabilities, Connecting Ideas and Connecting Cultures.
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