If, as they say, there is no better evidence than provided through numbers, one need go no further than the Wire & Cable Show 2010 held in Mumbai from November 18 to 20 to see how the German influence on India is becoming stronger each day.

To begin with, the Confederation of Indian Industry's original initiative was taken over by the German firm Messe Dusseldorf that has a long history in the successful organisation of exhibitions across the world. Next, out of the total number of 281 exhibitors, there were 33 booths by German companies while India was represented with 109 booths. "The number of collaborations between German and Indian companies has definitely been on the rise mainly because of the willingness to share technology and India becoming a significant investment destination," says Dr Kurt Eder, CEO, Eder Engineering GmbH.

One of the most recent instances of such collaboration can be found in the Germany-based Blumenbecker group of companies signing a joint venture deal with Pune's Kat Automation, following which the company has been renamed Blumenbecker Kat Automation Private Limited. "The move is aimed at developing local business with customers in India and providing European customers doing business in India with pre and post-sales support. The new company is further evidence of Blumenbecker's ambition to gain a bigger foothold in the Asian market, where it joins the four companies that the group already has in China," says Dr Wolfgang Fink, Managing Director, Blumenbecker Group. The company will focus on automation technology, industrial services, and the sale of industrial products.

It is clear then that as the focus of economic growth shifts towards Asia, the cooperation between German and Indian industry and businesses is on a high. For example, the spotlight was on India at this year's 'Day of German Industry' of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) in Berlin. During his recent visit to India, Germany's Minister of Economics and Technology, Rainer Bruederle, also announced that the next Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business will be held at Delhi in 2012. The German Minister, who brought an 80-member high-power delegation of German industry representatives, emphasised the importance of economic cooperation, stating, "Despite the economic crisis, our bilateral trade volume shrank only by 2.3 per cent. That is what I call a robust, rich relationship. It's due to the fact that our economies complement each other in many ways."

This was also reflected in the statements of the India's Minister of Finance, Pranab Mukherjee, during the Indo-German Joint Commission on Industrial and Economic Cooperation (JEC) held in Delhi on September 23 this year. At the closing session, Mr Mukherjee said, "We have identified important areas of cooperation such as efficient power generation, urban development, tourism, and the infrastructure sector."

The 2012 Asia-Pacific Conference in Delhi will provide a climax to the 'Year of Germany in India 2011-2012', a year-long project organised jointly by the German Foreign Office, the Goethe Institute, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), and the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business.

According to a recently released report of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Indo-German trade can double to USD 30 billion by 2014. The report was released on the eve of a CII CEOs mission to Germany led by the president of CII, Hari Bhartia. This is not to say that the flow is one-way. Germany, as the biggest economy (20 per cent of GDP), and the largest market (17 per cent) of Europe, is a particularly attractive investment destination, especially for Indian business. In 2008 alone, Indian firms invested an estimated USD 1.8 billion in Germany. By 2008, Indian FDI stock in Germany had reached a total of USD 4 billion, which seems to have surpassed German FDI stock in India.

According to information available, up to now there are more than 800 joint ventures between Indian and German companies. Since April 2000, a total of USD 2,799 million has been invested by German firms into India. Despite the recession, German investors continued to show great interest in India during 2008-09, when they invested an all-time high amount of USD 629 million. Bruederle summed up the synergy between Indian and German businesses when he said, "Our economies also have obvious things in common. Both our countries not only have international success through large companies, but also a host of excellent small and medium-sized family-owned firms. The small and medium-sized companies are remarkable for their innovative abilities, their orientation to lasting long-term success, and their adaptability. Such common features make it easier for German and Indian firms to find partners."

Indo-German ties, which have traditionally been close and amicable, have been around for a long time. The 500th year of the establishment of Indo-German trade relations was celebrated in 2005. The first economic links between India and Germany date as far back as to the 16th century.

Between the 16th and the 18th centuries, a number of German companies were established with the express purpose of trading with Indian and other East Asian countries. In the 19th century it was a German company who built the first telegraph connection between Kolkata and London. Germany currently is India's fifth-largest trading partner. A Deutsche Bank report titled 'German FDI To India: Untapped Potential' states that Indian subsidiaries of German companies regularly outperform their German parents. No wonder then that German companies in India have constantly ramped up their operations. Mico, the flagship company of the Bosch group in India, has therefore announced major investments for the development of common rail diesel injection systems at its Nashik plant in Maharashtra. Siemens has been augmenting its manufacturing capacities and has set up a new transformer factory at Kalwa, near Mumbai. Daimler has set up a car assembly plant near Pune. These are just a few examples to how the two-way affair between India and Germany has only got stronger over the years.

The Bangalore airport too has a German connection. The holding company for the project, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), is a consortium of Germany's Siemens Projects Ventures, India's Larsen and Toubro Ltd, and Unique Zurich Airport. Yet another project in Bangalore is the Indo-German Biotechnology Cooperation. This is a partnership venture between the Karnataka Biotechnology Development Council (KDBC), the International Technology Network (INTEC), and the Frankfurt Biotechnology Innovation Center (FIZ).

Interestingly, a sixth part of all Indo-German trade originates out of Pune. There are 197 wholly German-owned companies in the city. There are another 200 Indo-German joint ventures and another 80 Indian firms in Pune that do business with Germany. One of the triggers for this impressive turnout has been the role played by the Pune branch of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC) which has 490 members, up from 278 in April 2008 when the office was opened here. The IGCC in all has 6,775 members worldwide, thus making it the biggest bilateral German chamber in the world. The number of German firms in India is around 1,300. In an interview with DNA, Zubin Kabraji, Regional Director, IGCC, said, "The German focus in Pune is virtually undiluted in the engineering sector and more specifically in automobile engineering." While the presence of the German firms in Pune has led to the employment of more than 13,500 people, 95 per cent of whom are Indian, the good news is that the trade potential is likely grow. "We expect the number of German firms to rise to 250 by the end of 2011. There are at least another 15 German firms waiting in the wings to set up base in Pune and are in the process of registering their companies, seeking land, hiring suitable personnel, and bringing in their technology," Mr Kabraji said.

With India emerging unscathed from the global economic crisis, the German investor's confidence has reached new heights. This has been the conclusion drawn from a representative survey conducted by the IGCC among over 100 German companies operating in India. "Many investors are optimistic that India can soon catch up with China in terms of significance for their global businesses. "Their confidence is based on the strong conviction that India will deliver sustained high economic growth over a long period of time," says Bernhard Steinruecke, IGCC Director General. "It is significant that German companies translate the opportunities presented by India's expanding markets into a sound financial performance," he adds. The survey substantiates the fact that almost one in two (46 per cent) companies expects revenues to get boosted by more than 20 per cent in the current financial year 2010-11. One in four (26 per cent) anticipates an increase between 10 and 20 per cent while 14 per cent foresee sales to rise by up to 10 per cent.

Moreover, the relationship is now progressing beyond business. Training and knowledge sharing are the new mantras. For years, German companies have been considered industrial leaders, admired globally for their technical expertise, precision, and perfection in planning and execution. One of the undisputed factors, credited for the success of the German industry, has been its world-renowned Dual Training System, wherein the theoretical classes are organised and certified by the chambers of commerce, which are autonomous bodies of the private sector, and practical training is imparted by the corporates themselves. "The IGCC has modelled the Dual Training System in India through our Indo-German Training Centre (IGTC) in Mumbai, Chennai, and Bangalore. The aim is to utilise the vast experience of the German companies and the worldwide network of the German chambers to bridge the gap for trained manpower in India and, in turn, to provide a boost to India's vast growth potential," Mr Steinruecke points out. The future therefore is bright.

In conclusion, one can quote Rainer Bruederle who recently said, "As strategic partners, we inevitably have a broad range of common issues on the economic policy front. One especially important topic is the safeguarding of our future energy supply, particularly by using renewable sources of energy. Also, the field of infrastructure will be most important because it is an area in which German firms can make valuable contributions to the ambitious Indian projects. As such, we still have a fair bit of work to do here if we are to attain the bilateral trade target of Euro 20 billion by 2012."