German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Monday said there was no need for concern about the euro zone, largest importer of India's goods, despite a decline in value of the currency in recent weeks. He interacted with industry players to explore opportunities for German businesses in the Make in India programme.
The German side was particularly interested in solar panels, high-speed trains and collaborations with small and medium scale industries of India. The visiting German dignitary did not raise the contentious issues such as intellectual property rights, unlike other advanced nations. Schaeuble met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Before the meeting, he said his message to Modi would be "that there is no need to worry about the stability and future development of the European Union currency".
"Global concerns about the development of Europe are just a fraction of what they were in 2010," said the minister.
The Euro zone is the biggest trading partner of India, accounting for almost 16 per cent of India's exports.
As the zone struggles to revive due to latest problems in Greece, India's exports again contracted 3.77 per cent in December, 2014-15. This was the second time in the first nine months of the current financial year to witness decline in exports. The outbound shipment was down 5.04 per cent in October. However, it rose 7.22 per cent in November.
The euro hit a fresh 11-year low against the dollar on Friday at $1.1465, its weakest level since 2003. However, it was trading at $1.1601 on Monday, as investors eyed European Central Bank's move to revive the economy, slated for Thursday.
Meanwhile, industry representatives met Schäeuble and discussed ways of engaging Germany in Make in India programme, particularly in sectors such as manufacturing, infrastructure, energy and automobiles.
"We had this opportunity to meet the finance minister of Germany. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to share our thought on what is happening in India," CII President Ajay Shriram said after the meeting.
According to Shriram, manufacturing was the major focus of discussion, especially in view of Prime Minister Modi's Make in India campaign.
The two sides also discussed possibility of investment in smart cities and high-speed trains.
The two sides also discussed skilling, ease of doing business, labour reforms, automobile sector, German banks' interest in India and how this can be taken forward.
CII also suggested that German companies might consider manufacturing solar panels in India.
"One of the suggestions made was can German companies look at manufacturing in India of these solar panels and solar energy equipment because today we are getting a lot of it from China? So can we have another avenue which is going to be cheaper," asked CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee.
Meanwhile, the commerce and industry ministry has planned a media blitz for Make in India campaign at Hannover Fair in Germany in April.
Modi will jointly open the Hannover trade fair along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel when he travels to Germany.
India is the partner country at the Hannover Messe 2015, which is also the world's largest industrial trade fair.
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, under the ministry, has invited request for proposal for media and marketing agency for promotion and execution of Make in India campaign at the fair.
