For any one to become highly successful, they should look for the best in class. This is the key message given by Mr. Bernhard Steinruecke, Director General of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC), while delivering his special address at the function organized by the Indo-German Training Centre (IGTC) in Chennai in connection with the Convocation of Batch 2013-15.
Mr. Bernhard, in his enlightening address to the 19 students who have passed out from the 18 months training course of IGTC, said that industries like automobiles, IT, banking and medical have established a ‘best in class’ in their respective field, and it should be remembered by the outgoing students when they think of their future. He also referred to the companies that have shone well, such as Hero, TVS, BMW, Suzuki and Hyundai in the automotive sector, TCS and Infosys in the IT sector, HSBC in the banking sector, and Apollo Hospital in the medical sector. He also referred to IndiGo Airlines as the ‘best in class’ example in the aviation industry.
While referring to the successful Indo-German relationship, Mr. Bernhard made a special mention of the Rourkela steel plant which was built with German technology and whose modernisation-cum-expansion was inaugurated on April 1 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an outlay of Rs. 12,000 crores.
He is proud of the fact that for the first time the Indian steel industry, with its expanding manufacturing capacity, has surpassed the US steel industry, and the country is thus only second to China in this sphere. Similar to the success in the steel industry, things are coming together both in hardware and software. Considering India’s potential, the German companies have invested billions of Euros. With a huge turnover they are highly successful because many of them have the right approach.
Mr. Bernhard also distributed the IGTC Certificates for the outgoing students.
Mr. M.V. Subbiah, Managing Trustee, AMM Foundation, (former Chairman, Murugappa Group & NSDC), in his inaugural address, congratulated the young students and appealed to them to be proud of being Indians always. Here he referred to the ancient temple of Brahdeeswara in Thanjavur, built over 1,000 years ago, as a testimony for India’s skill development. Even today the temple attracts a huge number of tourists from all over the world.
“Your idea to shape the world”
Mr. Achim Fabig, Consul General, Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany, Chennai, who was the guest of honour on the occasion, shared his pleasure to participate in the Convocation for the first time ever since he became Consul General last year. Interestingly, he was one of the students of IGTC, New Delhi, in 1994.
He said that almost 500 years ago, Germans started coming to India just for trading, and today Germany has become one of the strongest trading partners of India from the EU. The Indo-German relationship is expected to become much stronger with Prime Minister Modi’s current visit to Germany and the German Chancellor’s proposed visit to India in October.
In conclusion, Mr. Achim Fabig told the students: “We will depend upon your idea to shape the world”.
Earlier, Mr. Ranjit Pratap, Chairman – Southern Region Council (SRC), IGCC, and Managing Director, Rialto Enterprises Pvt. Ltd., welcoming the gathering, spoke about the growing relationship between India and Germany and their contribution to the world economy.
Mr. S. Raj, Regional Director, IGCC, and Director, IGTC, proposed a vote of thanks.