Since 2000, Germany is the seventh largest foreign direct investor in India. Between 2000 and 2020, Germany has invested over USD 12.19 billion in India. In addition, Germany is India’s largest trading partner in the European Union and its sixth most important trading partner in the world. But there is space for more for both countries.
To understand how both countries can strengthen their economic ties, The Free Press Journal and NMIMS in association with Invest India are organising a session on Germany under the webinar series ‘Financing India’, on October 22.
The panellists for the session are (in alphabetical order) Avinash Bagdi, Head of Finance, Covestro (India); Dr. Jürgen Morhard, Consul General of Germany in Mumbai; Rajesh Nath, Managing Director, VDMA India; and Rahul Oza, Partner and Head, Rödl & Partner India. The session, which will be moderated by R N Bhaskar, consulting editor, Free Press Journal, will be preceded by a lecture which will start at 1.45 pm.
In 2019, German Chancellor Angela Merkel during her visit to India committed 1 billion euros over the next five years on environmentally-friendly urban mobility in India. This, once again, displays the focused investment plans Germany has in India.
Sectors which usually attract investments from Germany are transportation, electrical equipment, automobiles among others. And it is worth remembering that the rooftop solar concept was born in Germany. This sector alone promises to be a major employment and wealth generator for India.
But there are challenges that Germany faces in India – labour, taxes and stable government policies. This could be one among the many reasons why the amount of FDI from Germany to India during the fiscal year 2020 dropped compared to the previous fiscal year. According to Statista, the amount of FDI from Germany to India is estimated to be about USD 443 million, down from over USD 817 million in the previous fiscal year.
Despite the challenges, there are a lot of opportunities. India still has the potential for being both the market and manufacturing hub for this part of the world. Germany has the potential of helping India achieve this.
How do both countries work on strategies that could be mutually beneficial? That is something that the webinar will hope to delve into.
