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German CEOs Meet Modi, Double Down on India Growth Story

By LokMarg 25th February 2023

German-based companies’ CEOs doubled down on the Indian growth story after meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of German companies had a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday and discussed new opportunities for the German Companies to expand education and business opportunities in India.

German CEOs eulogise the meeting with Prime Minister Modi. Chairman of the Management Board of TUV NORD, Dirk Stenkamp on Saturday said that India is at forefront of leading nations with increased self-confidence and is at the point where it can take off.

While talking with ANI, Stenkamp said, “The meeting with the Prime Minister was very impressive, I think India is at the forefront of leading nations and there has been an increase in self-confidence in the last two years. “I think India is at the point where it really starts to take off.”

Speaking on the ‘Make in India’ initiative he said, “I know about Make in India since the beginning and we’re supporting many German companies to come to India and start producing in India. Currently, there’s an initiative going on in German Mittelstand invited by India to come and become part of Make in India”.

Currently, an initiative is going on in German small and medium-sized enterprises where they are asked to come to India and become part of the make-in-India initiative, he informed.

Regarding growth and expansion, he said that the opportunities in India are tremendous.

“We are very active in energy transition, which means turning fossils to watts, wind and so on,” he added.

Other than Stenkamp, there was three more companies delegation that participated in the meeting with PM Modi.

One of them was Klemens Rethmann, CEO of the German-based Rethmann company, who stated that India has skill and talent and it’s a “privilege to use those resources,” and added that “India will become bigger in the production world.”

“You’ve got the workforce here. So, Germany is lacking in the workforce. You’ve got such wealth and skilled work and so many intelligent young people who wanted to do something. This is a privilege to use those resources. And therefore, PM Modi asked us to produce in India but for us, it’s not only because he asked us because this is where the resources are and we see our chances,” Rethmann told ANI.

Meanwhile, CEO of Renk, Susanne Weigand stated that they are proud to be here, a trusted partner of the Indian government. The company are supplying the Indian armed forces and Navy with drive solutions. We also actively supply the Indian energy market with our high-speed gears.

“India is also a booming fast growing cement market,” she added.

“We are based in Bengaluru with our team and we are expanding a lot, we honour the ‘Make in India’ initiative which is important for us also as India is a high-speed going market, a key market in Asia,” The CEO of Renk said while appreciating the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Modi Government.

Not only Weigand, but CEO of the Software company SAP, Christian Klein also participated in the meeting with PM Modi. After the meeting, he said that India has high aspirations for sustainability and wanted to use technology to decarbonize supply chains and produce green hydrogen which goes hand in hand with technology.

He also said that he is happy to be a partner of India.

While talking to ANI, Klein said, “The country (India) has high aspirations for sustainability and wants to use technology to achieve that, to decarbonize supply chains, to move to the circular economy, to produce green hydrogen. And that goes hand in hand with technology. And India has a very strong agenda for both topics.”

All CEOs are a part of the delegation visiting India along with the German chancellor Olaf Scholz. Olaf Scholz is on a two-day visit to India from February 25-26. (ANI)

FIFA WC: Japan Script Memorable Comeback, Stun Germany 2-1

By LokMarg 23rd November 2022

Japan made a scintillating comeback to create a massive upset against Germany, defeating the four-time champions 2-1 in the group E match of the FIFA World Cup at the Khalifa International Stadium on Wednesday.

Germany was leading at the end of the first half but Japan scaled up their game in the second half, scoring in the 75th minute through Ritsu Doan and in the 83rd minute through Takuma Asano.
Takuma Asano was brought in as a substitution in the 57th minute and proved his mettle in the match as Japanese supporters yelled and cheered from the stands.

The second half saw the Japanese players come with a new fervour, zeal, and confidence as they dominated the ball possession and made constant runs to the German box.

Gundogan, who had scored for Germany through the penalty kick in the first half, continued his good form and came very close to scoring in the 60th minute but his the ball ricocheted off the goalpost to the huge disappointment of German fans.

Germany ended with superior ball possession and shots on goal but piercing attacks by the Japanese team left them vulnerable.

With this win, Japan has got to the top of the table in Group E which also features Germany, Costa Rica, and Spain.

Germany was leading Japan 1-0 at half-time after Ilkay Gundogan scored via penalty kick in the group E match at the Khalifa International Stadium on Wednesday.

Japan goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda failed to prevent a goal in the 32nd minute of the match. Gundogan netted the ball straight into the goal through a penalty kick to give Germany a 1-0 lead.

The four-time FIFA champions wasted no time and came out all guns blazing as they went deep inside the Japanese box in the second minute of the game and looked threatening from the beginning.

Daizen Maeda challenged German Antonio Rudiger to dribble the ball past him but the center-back was alert and cut the Japanese’ run short.

Maeda was in the reckoning once again in the 8th minute as he made a brilliant run to get to the ball perfectly and score, only to be called off-side.

There was a constant struggle between the sides for possession. Japan also had the advantage for some time.

Germany came close to scoring in the 16th minute with a superb corner kick from Joshua Walter Kimmich that was headed just a few inches wide by Rudiger.

A free-kick was given to Germany as Thomas Muller was brought down by Takefusa Kubo in the 18th minute but the Germans failed to score off it.

Gundogan troubled the Japan team with his brilliant football skill as he managed to constantly find vacant spaces in the field.

The German finally scored via a penalty to give Germany a one-goal lead over Japan.

Japanese players seemed a bit demotivated after trailing and faltered with the ball, giving possession to the German players in the first half.

Germany almost took a 2-0 lead in the closing minutes of the first half after Kai Havertz found the back of the net but was called off-side.

The result of the match was similar to that on Tuesday when Saudi Arabia had shocked fancied Argentina 2-1.

Japan caused an upset much similar to the match between Saudi Arabia and Argentina on Tuesday.

Both Japan and Saudi Arabia came from behind to clinch famous victories against their fancied rivals. (ANI)

German Delegation Praises Concrete Climate Actions Taken By India

By LokMarg 27th October 2022

While fully supporting India’s G-20 Presidency beginning in December, the German delegation at a meeting in New Delhi praised the concrete environment and climate actions taken by India despite the huge size and population.

Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav held a fruitful meeting with the Committee on Environment of German Federal Parliament headed by Member of Parliament (MdB) Harald Ebner, on Thursday at Indira Paryavaran Bhawan, New Delhi.
In the meeting, they discussed global environmental, climate change, and other related challenges, and how Germany and India can work together to find sustainable solutions to these challenges.

As Per the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in the meeting, issues related to a sustainable lifestyle, circular economy, e-wastes, conservation of water bodies, drinking water, the problem of fertilizers, urban migration, sectoral climate action plans, and achievements were discussed.

“The Union Environment Minister acknowledged the support given by Germany to India for addressing challenges relating to the environment and climate change. He appreciated Germany’s support in Ganga Rejuvenation and stated that India and Germany must work together to address global environmental challenges,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Minister highlighted that India has been undertaking numerous concrete climate actions under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both domestically and globally. These include NCAP, Biofuel, Kalyan Yojana, Amrit Sarovar, 500 GW target of RE, BS-VI, etc. India always endeavors to be part of the solution, and not part of the problem, Yadav said.

Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav elaborated on India’s global commitment to addressing climate change, by spearheading global initiatives like International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), and Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT), and specially thanked Germany for joining ISA.

He emphasized the need for mindful consumption and circular economy, and that India is promoting circular economy from three aspects-Legal, Capacity, and Market economy.

While responding to the questions raised by the German delegation, Union Minister Yadav stressed that India’s climate actions are based on the principle of CBDR-RC. He stated that India achieved the targets mentioned in the 1st NDC on renewable energy and energy intensity before time. Further, India has enhanced these targets along with the launch of Mission LiFE.

Concluding the meeting, both sides acknowledged the contribution of the Indo-German Bilateral Cooperation on environment and climate and agreed to further strengthen the same and also explore how both countries can work together in areas like conservation of water bodies, circular economy, and e-waste. (ANI)