Hannover Messe 2015 focuses on Indo-German collaboration on Digital

“India is moving in supersonic speed in implementation of many of the programmes like mobile payments, UID etc. when compared with Germany”

Favoured with government policies, burgeoning market for local consumer electronics and telecom products and availability of skilled labour, there is a renewed thrust to attract investments to boost the Indian EDMS (electronic document management system) industry. Hence, as the partner country at Hannover Messe 2015, India focused on Indio-German collaboration on Digital India.

A seminar on Digital India was also jointly organised by CII, Department of Electronics and IT (DeitY), Ministry of Communications and Information technology, Government of India (GoI) and ZVEI - German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association. It explored the opportunities for government and industry partnership to implement ‘Digital Presence’ on the ground by creation of compelling digital strategies and services and how can these impact citizens. During the seminar international practices and standards were also discussed which have ensured transformative digitisation campaign’s citizen-centric services’ reach to the masses.

Speaking to an audience comprising members of both Indian and German industry, Rajendran Kumar, joint secretary, Department of Electronics and IT (DeitY), Ministry of Communications and Information technology, GoI shared the vision of Digital India. He reiterated the areas where there are opportunities for India and Germany to collaborate towards India’s aim to provide access to broad band to every citizen, ensuring the safety and security of cyberspace, integrated services and digital empowerment of Indian citizens.

At the seminar, R Chandrashekhar, president, Nasscom said, “Disruptive technology, social media, mobility, cloud and Internet of Things etc. will be needed to build solution at a price point which makes sense in India.” He shared the example of how price point facilitated the mobile revolution in India.

Highlighting the opportunities to collaborate, he said, “There are 27 German companies in India in the IT sector. All of these companies are doing cutting edge work in India. Therefore, as India aims at ‘Make in India’ and Germany at Industry 4.0; utilising the huge base of German companies is a great opportunity to move forward.” He further added that Nasscom will be launching a German Council consisting of all German companies in India next week.

Applauding India’s e-governance efforts, Franz-Josef Schuermann, country head-Germany, Infosys said, “Germany can learn from some of India’s large scale projects for the people.” Referring to Government of India’s programmes for its citizens he said, “India is moving in supersonic speed in implementation of many of the programmes like mobile payments, UID etc. when compared with Germany”

During panel discussions, Rakesh Garg, chairman, Telecom Commission and secretary, Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, GoI spoke about the relevance of the National Knowledge Network. He said, “It has connected 1038 research laboratories and other institutions of higher learning through a broadband network.” He further added that the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) launched by the GoI will become the backbone of the Digital India programme. NOFN is the world’s largest rural broadband connectivity project through optical fibre. “The objective is to ensure that every citizen is digitally literate. The Government of India is targeting one person is each family,” he said.

Further, CII and FICCI organized a seminar on ‘Investment Opportunities’ in Indian states of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh highlighting investment opportunities in auto, ceramics, energy, IT and electronics in the State.