The annual regional meeting of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC) themed ‘Make in India – Made by Germany’ was recently held in Chennai, with His Excellency, Dr. Martin Ney, German Ambassador to India, as the Chief Guest.
Welcoming the gathering, Mr. Ranjit Pratap, Chairman, Southern Regional Council of IGCC, said, the annual regional meeting marked 50 years of excellent growth of the Chennai wing of IGCC and the Chamber’s 60 years in India.
In his address, Mr. Bernhard Steinruecke, Director General of IGCC, said that while Chennai is the automobile hub for India, Germany is for the world. Almost 40 per cent of the auto components produced in India are from Chennai. They are being sent to the other cities for use in two-wheeler, three-wheeler, car and commercial vehicle production.
Chennai has to its credit a rich auto history dating back to the days when Ashok Leyland assembled the first AUSTIN passenger car and launched its commercial vehicle. Royal Enfield introduced its first two-wheeler, and TAFE – Ferguson brought out its first tractor in Chennai. As many as 150 of the total 198 companies doing auto components business in India are in Tamil Nadu. All of them are now on the fast track, he added.
Mr. Hubert Reiland, IGCC President, briefly outlined the Chamber’s activities spread over business coordination of German companies in India.
Mr. Achim Fabiq, Consul General of Germany in Chennai, referred to the growing business trends among German companies in the city with a sizeable share in the growth of Tamil Nadu.
Mr. C.V. Sankar, Additional Chief Secretary to the Industries Department of Tamil Nadu, referred to the success achieved by the Global Investors Meet organized by the State Government in September 2015 under the dynamic leadership of the Chief Minister, Ms. J. Jayalalithaa. The meet invited Rs. 2.42 lakh crores worth of investments in Tami Nadu. The Vision 2023 document, with reference to the new policies related to automobiles, bio-technology, new industrial and electronic policy and aerospace industry, was a remarkable achievement on the occasion.
In his inaugural address, Dr. Martin Ney, disclosed that a fast-track implementation system is being worked out to boost German investments in India. There are now 1,800 German companies doing business in different sectors in India. Since it involves several formalities to obtain licence to start business in India, he urged the Government to simplify the methods in order to attract more investments, particularly from overseas.
Dr. Martin Ney paid rich tributes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, and Finance and Industry Secretaries for their full involvement in the ‘Make in India’ campaign, and also appreciated the new policies being drafted for closer relations between India and Germany.
Referring to the delay in the passage of the GST Bill, he said an FTA decision on India and the European Union would further encourage foreign direct investments in India and also make Indian companies more competitive.
The Siemens’ decision of forming a consortium of companies for projects related to the ‘Smart City’ concept deserved special praise.
Mr. S. Raj, Regional Director, IGCC, Chennai, moderated the event in his own style, and thanked the sponsors and invitees for their contribution to the success of the annual event.