H I G H L I G H T S :

-Third International Day

of Yoga Celebration on

River Main

-IGCC Annual Gathering

-Inauguration of 9th

Cologne India Week

-Make in India promo-

tion - Company Visits

C O N S U L A T E

G E N E R A L O F

I N D I A ,

F R A N K F U R T INDIEN NEWSLETTER V O L U M E I V , I S S U E V I I

I N S I D E T H I S

Farewell Message by

CG

1

Yoga on the Main 2

Yoga on the Main

Photos

3

Company visits 4

Annual General Meet:

Düsseldorf

5

9th Cologne India

Week 6

Spotlight on India 7

India - Germany

Business news

8

News Roundup

9

Dear friends

It is time to say goodbye to you all and to this city after four long years in

Frankfurt as the Consul General. It is emotional to uproot myself from a

place which has given so much. I however, go back satisfied, that we could

achieve a lot in these four years – in terms of our enhanced engagement with

the German businesses, Indian diaspora, Indian students and other sections

of the society. I could see the sentiment gradually changing regarding

engagement with India. We launched India Business Forum to bring all

professionals together. We set up Friends of India for the Indian community

organisations. We promoted ‘Kala Sangam’ as a vehicle for Indian artists to

perform in Germany. We brought the Indian students together. We

promoted Make in India and other initiatives of the Government.

I must admit that my family and I had a memorable time here, made new

friends, met interesting people and explored many beautiful places in

Germany. I thank each one of you for your support and encouragement

which helped me to contribute in my own small way towards a stronger

Indo-German relationship.

I do hope to see some of you in Delhi which is my next assignment. To

those, who would like to keep in touch, my personal email is

raveeshk@hotmail.com.

Raveesh Kumar Consul General of India, Frankfurt

Farewell Message

'Yoga on the Main' Consulate General Of India, Frankfurt celebrated the third International Day of Yoga on 19th

June, 2017, titled 'Yoga on the Main' a cruise on the river Main aboard, 'Nautilus', with the sup-

port of India Tourism and Tech Mahindra. The event comprised of 'Common Y oga Protocol'

conducted by European Yoga Institute, followed by Yoga session 'Inner Peace & Outer

Dynamicism' by Art of Living, Yoga for Love a guided meditation by Sadhguru by Isha

Foundation, 'Y oga for Work-life Balance' by Santulan Aum Hari. Meditation sessions

'Pranayama' was conducted by Patanjali Yogapeeth, 'Meditation for Harmony' by Brahma

Kumaris, and 'Outer Peace through Inner Peace' Yoga Therapy by Bhakti Marga. Later, a

performance by Sarod Maestro Pandit Vikash Maharaj and his troupe from Varanasi, enthralled

the audience. The event also included a quiz competition based on Yoga. Stalls were also set on

the ship by the Yoga institutes to make people aware about the benefits of Yoga. It also drew the

attention of a large number of spectators, including tourists on both sides of the river and on the

bridges across the river. The event was covered by Deutsche Welle, Germany's public interna-

tional broadcaster, on TV & Radio. The event concluded with chanting of the Shanti Mantras and

was attended by over 200 people.

Forthcoming Events

-15 th August :

Celebration of

Independence Day

P A G E 2

CG Raveesh Kumar, Mrs. Ranjana Raveesh, (L) Sponsor’s & Yoga

Partners

CG Raveesh Kumar, Mrs. Ranjana Raveesh, Mr. Ajit Pal Singh, India

Tourism, Mr. Kaushik Gupta, Country Head, TechMahindra Germany

'Yoga on the Main'

Team of Asha members, co-organiser Weltladen and Fair

Ein e.V., and the beautiful artists

Company visit to JUMO GmbH & Co.KG As part of the Consulate’s efforts to reach out to German

companies located in its jurisdiction, Shri. T.G Ramesh,Vice

Consul (E&C) and Marketing Executive visited the

Headquarters of JUMO GmbH & Co.KG in Fulda on 7 June

2017. JUMO is the global market leader in manufacturing

industrial temperature probes and is a high-tech supplier of

innovative products in the field of measurement, control &

automation technology and employs more than 2,100

employees worldwide. At the meeting, economic reforms in

India like GST & its benefits for Companies like JUMO

were also highlighted. As part of the visit JUMO`s plans for

expansion in India were also discussed.

P A G E 4

Visit by Microbox GmbH at Consulate On 12th June, CG met Mr. Stephan Welp,

MD, Microbox GmbH and Ms. Katharina

von Maltzan, Head, India Desk, Frankfurt

Chamber of Commerce & Industry at the

Consulate. CG had visited the Microbox

facility in April 2017. Microbox is keen to

expand its business in India. Currently the

company has a sales representative office in

Delhi and has been supplying their scanning

technology to libraries and regional district

courts in India. The Company has long term

interest in expanding its operations in the

Public & Private sectors in India.

India meets FrankfurtRheinMain`-Lets talk Business` On 8th June, the 21st event in the series of

India meets FrankfurtRheinMain 'Let’s talk

Business' was organized by FrankfurtRhein

Main GmbH in cooperation with the

Consulate, Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce

& Industry and Frankfurt City of Economic

Promotion Council.The theme was Labor

Laws in Germany with a special focus on

‘The most expensive traps in German labor

law’ and ‘New developments in German

labor lease’. Around 40 representatives from

Indian firms in Germany actively participated

in the event.

Vice Consul (E & C) with Mr. Peer Hohage

(Business Development Manager Export)

Outreach Activity : Visit to Eschborn On 16th June, the Consul General met the Mayor of Eschborn,

Mr. Mathias Geiger and Head, Economic Cooperation Council

Eschborn, Ms. Dong-Mi Park-Shin and discussed possible areas

of cooperation between the City of Eschborn and CGI Frankfurt.

The Indian community is fairly robust with around 400 members

of the diaspora residing in Eschborn and Niederhöchtstadt. CG

referred to the need for a school with Indian syllabus which

could cater to the growing Indian diaspora. In addition, it was

also decided that an Indo-German Day could be organised to

facilitate a better dialogue and engagement between the Indian

community, the City of Eschborn and the Consulate.

CG with Mayor of Eschborn

Mr. Mathias Geiger

Business Start-Up : AHOY A fledgling startup “Ahoy” which aims to help new

businesses, including startups, set up by five Indian

students in Germany visited the Consulate on 29th June

2017. In an interesting discussion, Team Ahoy gave an

overview of their interesting business model. “Ahoy” was

launched on 22nd June at EBS University in Oewstrich

Winkel. Germany provides a great environment for

startups and according to one report, Berlin is second

largest startup hub after London. Vice Consul (E & C) with young

entrepreneurs of AHOY

Old India Hands Reception Consul General attended the Old India Hands Reception on 20th June 2017 organised by the

Indo-German Chamber of Commerce on the eve of its Annual Gathering in Düsseldorf. Indian

Ambassador to Berlin, Smt. Mukta Dutta Tomar, German Ambassador to India Dr. Martin Ney,

Lord Mayor of Düsseldorf, Mr. Thomas Geisel were guests of honour. Around 80 to 100 Entre-

preneurs & Professionals involved in economic & business activities participated in the recep-

tion.

Consulate’s Support Activity : Cultural Programme The inauguration event of Frankfurt Sangeetha Sabha e.V, a non profit Carnatic music associa-

tion, combined with the 6th anniversary of Indian Music Academy took place on 11th June 2017.

The event was inaugurated by Ms. Soni Dahiya, Consul (PPIC) on behalf of the Consulate. On

this occasion vocal performances by students of Indian Music Academy and dance performances

by students of Indische Tanz Akademie and students of Nrithyathi School of Dance were held.

On 17th June 2017, Frankfurt Sangeetha Sabha e.V, organised its first Carnatic music concert in

Frankfurt with the support of the Consulate. The concert was part of the "Strings Attached Eu-

rope" tour where compositions were interwoven intricately with improvisations, and presented

through the rare combination of the Veena and Violin. Around 150 people attended the event.

Consul (PPIC) represented the Consulate at the event.

P A G E 5

Outreach activities

Annual Reception : Indo-German Chamber Of Commerce Consul General attended the Traditional annual reception of

the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce on 21st June 2017 in

Düsseldorf. Opening Remarks were made by Mr. Bernhard

Steinrücke, Director General, IGCC and Mr. C.S.Mathur, Vice

President, IGCC. Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal

Ministry of Economic and Energy, Mr. Dirk Wiese spoke

about the Economic policy relations with India which were in

the strategic interest of Germany. Ambassador Ms. Mukta Dut-

ta Tomar and Dr. Martin Ney also spoke extensively on the

progressive bilateral relations between India and Germany.

The IGCC has over 7000 members and is the largest foreign

Chamber of Trade in Germany. Over 350 guests attended the

reception.

Indian Ambassador Smt. Mukta Dutta

Tomar (center) IGCC Board

Ms. Soni Dahiya (Consul )

inaugurating the concert

‘Strings Attached Europe’

Dance and music participants at Frankfurt Sangeetha Sabha

9th Cologne India Week : Celebration of India Day

On 27th June, ‘India Day’ was organised by KoelnMesse, consultants Maier+Vidorno and

Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft in Cologne, as part of the 9th Cologne India Week series of

events. Head of Chancery and Consul, Shri. Subhash Chand presented the Opening Remarks at

the event. Speakers from Metro Cash & Carry, Liebherr and Jagenberg presented their best

practices in India. Panel discussions on e-commerce in India, investment potential in India and

innovation opportunities in India. Over 100 representatives from SMEs, consultants from India

and Germany participated in the day long proceedings.

9th Cologne India Week

The Era of Digitalisation

On 26th June 2017, the Consulate in cooperation with

the City of Cologne, Confederation of Indian Industries

(CII), Attorneys Osborne Clarke organised a business

meet on ‘The Era of Digitalisation: Opportunities for

Indo-German Collaboration’, as part of the 9th Cologne

-India Week. Shri T.G Ramesh (Vice Consul (E&C)

gave a prasentation on Social Impacts on

Digitalisation in India. Issues related to Digitalisation

and IT/Engineering/Startup and Social Aspects were

discussed by representatives from Germany and India.

The keynote speaker of the event was Padma Shri BVR

Mohan Reddy, Founder and Chairman, Cyient, and

former Chairman NASSCOM spoke about the role of

ICT in the transformation of India in the current Digital

Age. Over 60 participants from the Start-up and SME community from the Cologne region partic-

ipated in the event.

P A G E 6 Outreach activities:

Celebration of India Day

On 27th June, ‘India Day’ was organised by

KoelnMesse, consultants Maier+Vidorno and

Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft in Cologne,

as part of the 9th Cologne India Week series

of events. Head of Chancery and Consul, Shri

Subhash Chand presented the Opening Re-

marks at the event. Speakers from Metro

Cash & Carry, Liebherr and Jagenberg pre-

sented their best practices in India. Panel dis-

cussions on e-commerce in India, investment

potential in India and innovation opportunities in India. Over 100 representatives from SMEs,

consultants from India and Germany participated in the day long proceedings.

Consul Shri. Subhash Chand with the organisers of the India

Day

Inauguration Ceremony The 9th Cologne India week was inaugurated on 23rd

June by Mr. Andreas Wolter (Mayor of the city of the

Cologne), Ms. Ruth Heap (President of DIG Cologne )

and Consul (PPIC) from the Consulate. Several cultural

performances by the local artists were presented on the

occasion. The India week which was held from 23rd

June to 2nd July, included various cultural, social and

business events to promote and further strengthen the

Indo-German relationship. The Week was a

collaborative effort by the City of Cologne, DIG

Cologne, Osborne Clarke and CGI Frankfurt as the main

partners with several supporting partners. The

inauguration ceremony was attended by over 400

people.

Ms. Soni Dahiya Consul (PPIC) President of DIG

Cologne inaugurating 9th Cologne India Week

The Speakers and Organisers of the event ,`The

Era of Digitalisation`

Spotlight on India P A G E 7

V O L U M E I V , I S S U E V I I

India overtakes China as the most promising market for retail expansion China fell out of the No. 1 spot in a ranking of the most

promising markets for retail expansion.China's retail market is

maturing and GDP growth has lagged, but the country's size

and e-commerce opportunity remain strong, A.T. Kearney

said.India took the top spot, helped by its expanding economy,

booming consumption rates, urbanizing population and

growing middle class.As retailers struggle in the U.S., a new

report suggests India could be the next bright spot for the

industry.

India to grow at 7.2% in FY17-18, says World Bank A recent World Bank report predicted that Indian economy

will maintain a growth rate of 7.2 per cent in the current

financial year. This report came close on the heels of Q4 GDP

figures for 2016-17, which saw growth rate plunging to 6.1

per cent due to disruptive effect of demonetisation.In its

Global Economic Prospects, the World Bank estimates India

to see growth rates of 7.5 per cent in 2018-19 and 7.7 per cent

in 2019-20. According to this, India retains the title of fastest

growing economy, with China still lagging behind.

India’s new initiative in Africa: The Asia Africa growth corridor During the recent annual meeting of the Africa Development

Bank at Gandhinagar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi

announced the launch of India’s latest initiative in Africa, the

Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC), in partnership with

Japan. This initiative is the latest in a series of steps taken by

India including the Third India Africa Forum Summit and a

number of high level visits to 16 African countries over the

last two years, all aimed to boost ties with the continent.

United States and India : Prosperity Through Partnership President Donald J. Trump hosted Prime Minister Narendra

Modi of India at the White House on June 26 for an official

visit to Washington, D.C. In marking 70 years of diplomatic

relations between India and the United States, the leaders

resolved to expand and deepen the strategic partnership

between the countries and advance common objectives. Above

all, these objectives include combatting terrorist threats,

promoting stability across the Indo-Pacific region, increasing

free and fair trade, and strengthening energy linkages.

President Trump and Prime Minister Modi expressed

confidence that, together, the United States and India will

provide strong leadership to address global challenges and

build prosperity for their citizens in the decades to

come.Democratic Stalwarts in the Indo-Pacific Region.

NASA launches world's smallest satellite built by Indian students We have made history. The world's smallest satellite has been

launched in space.A team of students from Space Kidz India

in Chennai, who built the world's smallest satellite called

'KalamSat', rejoiced after its launch by the National

Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) today.The

satellite weighs only 64 grams.The team led by Rifath

Sharook, an Indian teenager hailing from Tamil Nadu,created

the smallest and lightest satellite in the world for NASA.They

have broken a global space record by launching the

satellite."It's a 3-D printed satellite. It is for the first time that 3-

D printing technology is being used in space.

250 Trains in India to have Solar Panels fitted We recently mentioned about how India was increasing its use

of solar power to reduce carbon emissions and provide an

environmentally friendly source of energy in the country. Well,

Indian Railways is planning to install solar panels on the roofs

of a number of its trains. It is already fitting solar photovoltaic

panels to the roofs of a considerable number of its

buildings.The railway company just happens to be the fourth

biggest train company in the world. It is to fit solar panels to

250 of its trains’ coaches that provide a local service with the

energy being used to provide power for lights and fans.

Batteries will also be used.

Yoga: India’s soft power that can change the World The Yoga initiative, starting with International Yoga Day, was

a welcome break from India’s prior cultural lethargy. It is

imperative that India expands its yogic culture as its civilisa-

tional strength. India has a tremendous cultural power or

civilisational shakti that has maintained a profound impact on

the world for thousands of years. This is represented by India’s

great gurus, rishis and dharmic traditions at an inner level,

along with a sophisticated artistic and material culture outward-

ly.

PSLV-C38 Successfully Launches 31 Satellites in a Single Flight India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its 40th flight (PSLV-

C38), launched the 712 kg Cartosat-2 series satellite for earth

observation and 30 co-passenger satellites together weighing

about 243 kg at lift-off into a 505 km polar Sun Synchronous

Orbit (SSO).The co-passenger satellites comprise 29 Nano

satellites from 14 countries namely, Austria, Belgium, Chile,

Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,

Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, United Kingdom and United States

of America as well as one Nano satellite (NIUSAT) from

India.This is the 11th Satellite launched by PSLV for Germany.

Another landmark moment for India Germany Space

Cooperation.This is the thirty ninth consecutively successful

mission of PSLV.

All News and Photos are procured with the help of different Media sources

India-Germany Business News P A G E 8

V O L U M E I V , I S S U E V I I

Narendra Modi's four-nation tour: Make in India outreach programme has attracted many German SMEs, says PM The Make in India Mittelstand (MIIM) launched to encourage

German small and medium industry (SME) to India has

evoked major interest in Germany, giving further boost to bi-

lateral business ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. Ger-

many is contributing in a big way to the Make in India. The

Strategic Market Entry Programme -- MII Mittelstand started

in September 2015 to facilitate entry into the Indian market

has been a major success. Over 83 German companies have

expressed interest in joining the programme, 73 have officially

enrolled, while 47 companies' investments are in advanced

states of implementation. PM noted that the Indo-German

Managers Training Programme had led to increased invest-

ments and creation of joint ventures by companies from both

countries. "More than 500 Indian managers have benefited

from this programme,” said the PM.

BMW to invest Rs 125 crore in India after 8% growth BMW, the luxury carmaker from Germany is about to invest

another Rs 130 crore in India to provide the push to its local

operations. This round of investment would take its total

investment in the country to Rs 1,250 crore. In the January-

May period this year, BMW India has grown at the rate of 8%,

having sold 3,533 units. "Since 2007, we have been

consistently investing in India. In 2017, we are going to

increase our investment further to up to Rs 1,250 crore on a

cumulative basis," said the BMW India President Vikram

Pawah. Talking about manufacturing in India, he said, "We

are locally producing eight of our total 16 models that are

available. So as we introduce new models, also the new 5

Series, will be produced in the Chennai plant."

'Indo-German varsity exchange programme on full steam' Germany was actively working with India for the university

exchange programme, German Deputy Consul General Jurgen

Thomas Schrod said. "India-Germany varsity exchange

programme is consistently going on involving premier

institutions in Kolkata as well as from North-East. Advocating

the need for increased cultural exchange between the two

nations, he said "Quite a few people in Kolkata - artistes,

literary people, musicians - have gone to Germany. "As part of

heightening cultural activities, the Max Mueller Bhavan in

Kolkata is having new premises where more art shows,

musical programmes can take place," he said.

He also said that India was among the top five trading partners

of Germany.

India mulling startups exchanges with Germany, Saarc To further develop the ecosystem for startups in India, the

government is working on ways to step up the exchanges with

startups from countries like Germany and in the South Asian

region, said the Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. "We

have negotiated with Germany for an exchange of ideas with

German startups under an existing arrangement between our

countries." The Minister said at the launch of the Startup India

Hub online platform designed to be a single point of contact

for the startup community and we are currently working on the

modalities of how to exchange ideas with German startups, and

hope to realise this within some months. Given the complemen-

tarities among the South Asian nations, the government is ac-

tively considering a South Asian Association for Regional

Coperation (Saarc) startups exchange programme.

Germany to conduct feasibility study on Chennai-Bengaluru-Mysuru rail route Known for its expertise in the high-speed rail sector, Germany

will conduct a feasibility study for running trains at a speed of

about 300 kmph on the 450-km-long Chennai-Bengaluru-

Mysuru route. Germany has appointed a consortium of consult-

ants comprising DB E&C, Intraplan Consult and Ingenieurbng

to carry out the study in the southern region. Germany will bear

the cost of the year-long study involving exact location, rid-

ership, opportunities, and challenges among other issues and

submit the report. A pre-feasibility study of this section was

completed by the German side in 2016 and now they are keen

to do a feasibility study, said a senior Railway Ministry official

involved with the high-speed rail project. India had signed a

joint declaration of intent in October 2015 on the development

of cooperation in rail sector between German Federal Ministry

of Transport and Digital Infrastructure and the Indian Railways

during the visit of the German Chancellor to India.

India to participate in food industry exhibition in Germany Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur

Badal on Tuesday signed an agreement for India's participation

in ANUGA, an international exhibition for food industry in

Germany in October 2017. While ANUGA 2015 had 135 Indian

exhibitors, more than 200 Indian companies are expected to

participate in ANUGA 2017. "Food diplomacy will bridge

many differences and transform the lives of the

farmers."Development of food processing industries will help

achieve the target of doubling farmers' income by 2022, said the

Union Minister.

KfW financing water metro in India KfW has signed a loan agreement with the Republic of India

for EUR 85 million on behalf of the German Federal Ministry

for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The loan

is to be used to finance an integrated water transport system in

the city of Kochi in Southern India and will be transferred to

the Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) via the Indian state of

Kerala. This development will ensure a seamless transport net-

work, as electric buses and rickshaws will transport passengers

to the boats, and footpaths and cycle lanes will be created. Ko-

chi is one of the 100 "Smart Cities" in India. The development

and the energy-efficient modernisation of the water transport

system will help to significantly improve the mobility of the

city's population, while also reducing environmental pollution

and the volume of resources consumed. With this development,

Kochi is making a vital step towards becoming a 'Smart City'.

India is one of Germany's oldest and most important partner

countries. Since the beginning of the German development co-

operation in 1958, India has received government commitments

totalling EUR 13 billion, which is the highest amount world-

wide. The bilateral cooperation is focusing on the fields of en-

ergy, the environment (including urban development) and sus-

tainable economic development.

All News are procured with the help of different Media sources

CONSULATE GENERAL OF INDIA

FRIEDRICH-EBERT-ANLAGE 26, 60325, FRANKFURT AM

MAIN, GERMANY

Telephone :+49 69 153 00 50

For suggestions and feedback, please send your e-mails to pic.frankfurt@mea.gov.in

Month of June in Pictures!

CG Raveesh Kumar and Mayor Mathias

Geiger, EconomiCouncil Head

IGCC Reception in Düsseldorf Inauguration of Frankfurt Sangeetha

Sabha by Consul Ms. Soni Dahiya

Shri T. G. Ramesh Vice Consul (E & C) presenting on Social Impact of

Digitalisation on India

CG´s Farewell Reception!

CG with the Consulate General of India, Frankfurt family

Farewell reception by CG & Family

CG with members of ‘Friends of India’

Members of ‘Indian Business Forum’ presenting a Memento to CG

Consul Shri Prabhakar presenting a memento to CG