H I GHL IGH TS :

-Visit of Indian

Electronics &

IT Minister

-Make in India Promo-

tion

-Indra Dhanush –

Sounds of Rainbow

2017

-6th Friends of India

meeting

-126th Birth Anniversary of

Dr.Babasaheb

Ambedkar

-India in Essen

C O N S U L A T E

G E N E R A L O F

I N D I A ,

F R A N K F U R T INDIEN NEWSLETTER V O L U M E I V , I S S U E V

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Foreword by CG

1

Hon’ble IT Minister

in Germany

Company visits

2

2

Indra Dhanush 2017

3

Outreach activities

4

Spotlight on India

5

India-Germany

Business News

6

News Roundup

7

Dear Friends,

I am happy to present the Indian Newsletter for the month of

April to you all. The highlight of the month was an evening of Indian

music and dance - ‘Indra Dhanush‘ performed by the artists of Kala

Sangam, a platform setup by the Consulate. It was heartening to see

the enthusiasm of the audience which was matched by excellent

performance by the artists. Next year, we will strive to do even better.

Hon`ble IT & Electronics Minister Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad

visited Duesseldorf to attent the G20 Ministerial meeting and had a

seperate interaction with the Indian diaspora residing in the region of

NRW. We invited India Business Forum members for the event and if

you would like to be invited for the future events, please register

yourself online with the IBF on our website (www.cgifrankfurt.de).

The other important meeting was of the `Friends of India`

which brings together all India focused community organisations on a

common platform. If your organisation is not part of this Group,

please send an email to cons.frankfurt@mea.gov.in for registration

and we will invite you for the next meeting.

Stay happy and get ready to welcome to summer!

Foreword

G20 Digital Ministers Meeting

Hon'ble Minister of Electronics & Information Technology,

Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, accompanied by a high level

delegation was on a visit to Germany to represent India at the

G20 Digital Ministers Meeting which took place in Düsseldorf,

Germany from 6-7 April 2017. On the sidelines of this

meeting, Hon'ble Minister held a number of bilateral meetings

with his counterparts from other G20 countries. During his

meetings and interactions, Hon'ble Minister highlighted the

various initiatives under the Digital India programme

launched by Government of India to transform India.

Forthcoming Events.

-19th June-Celebration of International Day of Yoga For more details: iyogaday@cgifrankfurt.de

-India week in Cologne 23rd June to 2ndJuly

P A G E 2

Hon'ble Minister with Indian Diaspora

During the visit ,Hon’ble Minister addressed the Indian Diaspora in Dusseldorf on 7th April. The event was

attended by prominent members of the Indian Diaspora, IT professionals, bankers, businessmen, members PSUs

based in Dusseldorf and others in NRW region. He spoke about the transformative initiatives of the Government of

India to make India a developed nation at the earliest and acquire global respect. The meeting was attended by

more than 50 people.

Hon'ble Min IT&Electronics meeting German Minister of Economics and Energy

Hon`ble Minister with Indian Diaspora in Dusseldorf

Company visits as part of Make in India promo-

tion

As part of the economic outreach activities of the Consu-

late and as well as to promote the MIIM initiative

launched by the Embassy, the Consul General visited

OHL Gutermuth Industrial Valves GmbH in Altenstadt,

Microbox GmbH, a company focusing on offering niche

technology solutions, based in Bad Nauheim, Gesell-

schaft für Gerätebau GmbH, located in Dortmund, Sei-

densticker, a renowned brand for formal apparel in Eu-

rope and DMG Mori AG, both based in Bielefeld. Strategies

regarding their business plans in India were discussed

during the visit.

CG with Mr. Wolfgang Röhrig, MD (R) at OHL

Gutermuth Industrial Valves GmbH,

Altenstadt

Team of Asha members, co-organiser Weltladen and Fair

Ein e.V., and the beautiful artists

'Indradhanush - Sounds of Rainbow 2017' On 29th April, the Consulate in cooperation with the City of Kelsterbach and KfK e.V. organised an event

'Indradhanush - Sounds of Rainbow 2017', under the banner of 'Kala Sangam', an initiative of the Consulate to

bring together the local artists proponents of Indian form of dance and music. The event showcased traditional and

modern Indian dance and musical forms viz. Odissi, Marathi folk, Punjabi, Bharatnatyam, Kathak, Manipuri,

Kuchipudi and Bollywood dances, Indian classical songs and music. The Mayor of the city Mr. Manfred Ockel

delivered the welcome remarks followed by the opening remarks of the Consul General. Over 600 people attended

the musical event.The event was supported by Incredible India Europe, State Bank of India Frankfurt, EVIM,

Ambulanter Pflegedienst Frankfurt, BasicWear International, Steuerberater Amende & Bartsch.

P A G E 3

CG with the Mayor of the city of Kelsterbach and the artists

CG lightening the Ceremonial lamp

Asha for Education- Frankfurt am Main

Asha for Education organized an Indian cultural and food

festival, in Frankfurt in cooperation with Weltladen

Bornheim and Fair-ein e.V with the support of the

Consulate on 1st April. The event consisted of a Kathak

dance performance by artist from 'Kala Sangam' and song

performance by students from the University of

Kaiserslautern. The event was aimed to showcase the

diverse Indian cuisine and culture. Team of Asha members, co-organiser Weltladen and Fair Ein e.V., and the beautiful artists

Mayor of the city delivering Welcome message

Audience attending Indra- Dhanush program

Friends of India group meeting 2017

The Friends of India meeting was held at the Consulate

premises on 13th April. It is a platform created by the

Consulate to bring together various socio-cultural

associations based within the jurisdiction of CGI,

Frankfurt. Four meetings of the group are held every

year. Enhancing bilateral economic engagement and

engaging with the younger members of Indian Diaspora

were the topics of discussion of the last meeting.

Celebration 126th Birth Anniversary of Dr.

Babasaheb Ambedkar

The Consulate celebrated the 126th Birth Anniversary of Dr.

Babasaheb Ambedkar on 14th April 2017. Representatives

from the Indian community organisations paid homage on

occasion of the 126th Birth Anniversary of Dr. Babasaheb

Ambedkar at the Consulate General of India Frankfurt.

Ugadi Festival organized by Telugu Velugu

Germany (TVG) e.V.

On 1st April, Telugu Velugu Germany (TVG) e.V. organized

its annual Ugadi Festival in Frankfurt with an ensemble of

dance and musical performances. Consul General addressed

the diaspora on the occasion and wished the gathered

audience a very happy new year. Over 300 people attended

the celebration.

India Day in Essen

An ‘India Day’ event was organized on 2nd April, in Essen

in cooperation with the DIG Essen and the City of Essen.

The programme consisted of a talk on 'India Germany

business relations' by Mr. Michael H.Wiemann, Director,

India Europe AI Procurement & Consultancy in Metals, a

presentation on ‘Incredible India’ was made by Dr. Siddiqi,

member of DIG Essen. The event also consisted of a panel

discussion on ‘Evolving perception of India in Germany

over the decades’. A session on ‘Yoga and Ayurveda’ was

conducted by Samaya Yoga.

P A G E 4

Outreach activities

Meeting in progress

Paying floral tribute

CG addressing the Telagu diaspora

Consul Soni Dahiya with the organisers of `India Day`

Spotlight on India P A G E 5

V O L U M E I V , I S S U E V

Indian railways awards 46 Megawatts of rooftop solar capacity

Indian Railways, the world’s fourth largest rail network, recently awarded

its largest rooftop solar power tender. Azure Power, a major independent

solar power developer, was awarded 46 megawatts of rooftop solar power

capacity. The projects have been awarded at an average tariff of Rs 4.63/

kWh (7.10¢/kWh) with a capital cost support of Rs 93 crore ($14 million).

This incentive will be paid once projects are commissioned. The 46

megawatts of capacity is divided across several regions. Northern Rail-

ways will have the largest share with 20 megawatts, followed by 10

megawatts each for Western and North-Central Railways, 3 megawatts for

North-Western Railways, and 3 megawatts for the Rail Coach Factory

division.

India will become world’s 3rd largest solar market this year

India is set to overtake Japan as the world’s third-largest solar power

market this year, a Taiwanese research firm has predicted. According to

EnergyTrend, the global solar PV demand is expected to remain stable at

74 gigawatts this year while India is expected to see sustained growth.

The research claims that growth in China’s solar PV demand is expected to

reduce slightly as the government has a lower capacity addition target

compared to the last year. Solar power in the world’s second largest

market — the United States of America — may fall out of favor given

the political scenario. Meanwhile, in Japan the government is expected to

continue to reduce feed-in tariffs, possibly leading to a dent in invest-

ments.

India's internet economy set to hit $250 billion by 2020

Mobile internet users in India are estimated to touch 650 million by 2020,

up from about 390 million now, says a new report. This growth, accord-

ing to report, will also result in the size of the country’s internet economy

doubling to $250 billion. Fueling the internet economy will be data

consumption, which by 2020 could potentially increase 10-14 times,

according to Boston Consulting Group and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE)

report .The number of internet users could grow as data consumption is

set to increase 10-14 times by 2020. The report notes that there has been

a four-fold rise in smart phones over the past few years. However, internet

usage in the country is low, compared to other nations, the report added.

Stand-up India: Key to developing entrepreneurs from under-

privileged sections of society is mentoring

Indian start-ups have captured global attention, attracted venture capital

and achieved notable success in recent years. Such an effort if replicated

at scale for underprivileged sections of society can have a catalytically

impact on job generation in the country. While new entrepreneurship

requires a supportive environment for finance and facilitative administra-

tive procedures, creating large-scale entrepreneurship across the country

additionally necessitates special measures for addressing capacity gaps

among prospective entrepreneurs. Mentorship and effective links with

financial institutions can play a key role in this endeavour.

India's box trade to grow double digits: Maersk

Maersk Line said that the growth of EXIM container trade of India in the

current year is likely to be in two digits.The export-import container trade

volume of India grew by 10% for the full year 2016, which was double of

2015, that too amid weak global trade.In 2017, the growth is likely to be in

two digits provided that India maintains its growth in markets like the

Middle East, Latin America and East Africa, enhancing its client portfolio

and diversifying the risks, said Maersk in its 2016 Annual India Trade

Report.Maersk Line believes, that with the right policy initiatives India can

continue to grow and improve its position in the global trade, delivering

double-digit growth in 2017.

Why India might become the biggest market in the world for

solar energy?

Solar energy is getting cheaper by the minute and expanding everywhere

in the world but a few places stand out more than others for an impending

solar boom. One of them is India. India’s economy is growing very fast. It’s

the second most populated country in the world but also a country where

hundreds of millions are in shortage of electricity. India’s leadership is also

extremely favorable of solar energy seeing it as key to sustaining the

country’s economic growth, removing rampant air pollution, and achieving

the country’s goal of drawing 40% of all its energy from renewables by

2030 (by that time, India should more than triple its energy demand to a

staggering 2,500 TWh).

Project cargo prospects brighten in India

Economic growth, infrastructure upgrades, energy-related projects, and

efforts to weed out trade barriers and customs red tape are combining to

make India a bright spot for breakbulk and heavy-lift shipments.“There is

heavy demand for construction equipment. Sectors such as roads, airports,

power, and seaports have become very attractive for both domestic and

foreign investors,” said Capt. Sandeep Anand, CEO of projects and engineer-

ing solutions at third-party logistics provider Allcargo.The Indian govern-

ment’s new flagship program, Make In India, aims to boost domestic

manufacturing via private participation, and is expected to bolster demand

for heavy construction.

India to add 6,000 MW wind power in FY18

Indian wind energy sector witnessed a record installation of 5,400 MW in

FY17, registering a 60 per cent growth as against 3,400 MW in FY16. With

this addition, the total installation of wind moved from 27 GW to 32

GW.There was huge investor interest in the sector and a critical role was

played by the State governments for this result. milestone of 5,400 MW.

India-Germany Business News P A G E 6

V O L U M E I V , I S S U E V

Bosch develops skilling programs to address India's manufac-

turing demands

Auto components major Bosch on Wednesday said skilling programs it

developed to address demands of India's manufacturing and service in-

dustry has reached a combined beneficiary strength of 11,000 over the

years. The program intended at the manufacturing industry comes from a

more long-term, 'hard-skills' development perspective, while for the

service industry it is more short-term, 'soft-skills' oriented, company

officials said. "We offer training programs at a scale that outweighs our

own professional-cum-industrial requirement. With a combined benefi-

ciary strength of over 11,000 across both programs, Bosch's skilling initi-

atives are well attuned to the needs of the industry," MD Bosch and Presi-

dent Bosch Group India Soumitra Bhattacharya told reporters here. He

said "Bosh is committed to skilling well before our honorable Prime Min-

ister started Skill India. We will continue doing it because we believe in

this company that- we have to give back to our nation. We do it not just

for us; we do it for society."

India eases rules to allow merger of Indian companies with

foreign firms

India will allow local companies to merge with overseas firms, easing

rules to help home-grown businesses restructure their expanding global

operations, and pave the deck for more listings of securities on capital

markets abroad. "Until now, only inbound mergers were permitted. With

outbound mergers now permissible, there would be a lot of opportunities

for Indian companies to acquire, restructure, or list on offshore exchanges

as well," said Mehul Shah, a partner at Khaitan .

India likely to overtake Germany to become world's fourth

largest economy in 2022: IMF

Although domestic and international economists turned wary of India's

growth prospects after the demonetization of high value currency notes in

November last year, most of them remain optimistic about the country's

economic growth momentum in the medium-to-long term. As India re-

mains a fastest-growing economy in the world today despite the global

vagaries, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) believes the country will

become the world's fourth largest economy in 2022. Over the next five

years time, India will topple Germany from the current fourth position,

while the international organization predicts UK will be pushed out of the

top five global economies. "Ranking countries and regions on their gross

domestic product for 2017 and 2022 based on IMF forecasts, India, grow-

ing at 9.9 percent a year in nominal terms, will surpass Germany by 2022

as the world's fourth largest economy, with the UK dropping out of the

top five after 2017," The Economic Times citing Bloomberg report said.

After Germany, India lands Oracle data center

First Dell, now Oracle. AWS’ cloud rival Oracle has stepped up its stance

against the competition by announcing the setup of a new data center in

India. The announcement comes as the company’s CEO Safra Catz carries out

a three-day visit to India. The company said in statement: “Over the coming

months, Oracle will be reviewing proposals from government and business

partners to provide customers with the capability to build and move work-

loads to an India-based cloud. "Capital expenditure for the project has not

been disclosed at this stage. "The new data center in India follows on from

another announcement earlier in the month when Oracle unveiled plans to

open three data centres in Germany.

PI Industries partners with Germany's BASF for crop protection

solutions

PI Industries, the Gurgaon-based agrochemicals company, and BASF, the

German chemicals company, have entered into a strategic partnership to

offer farmers in India a broader portfolio of crop protection solutions –

thereby expanding their long-term business relationship. As per the agree-

ment, PI Industries will market BASF’s innovative fungicide technologies

for rice, maize, fruits and vegetables as well as a new herbicide for maize.

Following this partnership model, both companies aim to enhance their

market participation in these important crops segments. “BASF and PI

Industries in India have been working as business partners in crop protec-

tion since the last two decades. We now aim to elevate our relationship to a

more strategic level, in order to bring Indian growers, the solutions they

need, when and where they need them, said Gustavo Palerosi Carneiro,

senior vice president, BASF Crop Protection Asia Pacific.

News Round-up

CONSULATE GENERAL OF INDIA

FRIEDRICH-EBERT-ANLAGE 26, 60325, FRANKFURT AM

MAIN, GERMANY

Telephone :+49 69 153 00 50

For suggestions and feedback, please send your e-mails to pic.frankfurt@mea.gov.in

Month of April in Pictures!

Children participating at Ugadi Friends of India meeting

CG with Mr. Jörg Hübner, CEO,Gesellschaft

für Gerätebau mbh at Dortmund

CG with Mr. Stephan Welp, CEO, Microbox , Ms. Susanne Gellert & Dr. Kasturi Dadhe at book2net in Bad Nauheim

CG Raveesh Kumar and Mr. Enrico Doni, Export Head, Seidensticker in Bielefeld

Consul General at DMG MORI, Bielefeld