On April 7, the biggest election in world history com-

menced in India. About 815 million voters, roughly the

population of the U.S. and European Union combined,

are eligible to cast ballots in nine rounds of voting

over five weeks to pick 543 lawmakers. Since 2009,

about 100 million new voters have been added to elec-

toral rolls. Election officials traverse forests, deserts,

glaciers and seas to meet a requirement that polling

stations be set up within two kilometers (1.2 miles) of

every voter. Helicopters are being used to transport

medicines, food, wireless communications, voting

machines and election staff to certain areas with rug-

ged terrain. In total, the Election Commission of In-

dia set up 919,000 polling stations and will use 3.6

million electronic voting machines. Global funds

pumped $11 billion into Indian debt and equities this

year, on optimism the new government will revive

growth.

On April 9, 2014, the Consul General of India, Mr.

Raveesh Kumar led an India Business Forum Delegation

to Cologne. During the course of the programme, there

were interesting discussions with the Lord Mayor of

Cologne, Mr. Juergen Roters and the City Economic

Promotion Council. The delegation also met with offi-

cials from Koeln Messe and were warmly welcomed by

TUEV Rheinland for a round of very stimulating inter-

action. Interactions were also held with two Indian

companies, based out of Cologne: e-navik and Mindtree

GmbH.

World’s Largest Democracy goes to the polls

India Business Forum delegation visits Cologne

INDIEN NEWSLETTER M A Y 2 0 1 4 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E V I I I

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

H I G H L I G H T S :

-General elections

commence in India

-IBF delegation heads

to Cologne

-India becomes the

world’s third largest

economy

-’Fascinating India 3D’

a documentary film to

hit German theatres

soon

I N S I D E

T H I S

I S S U E :

Headline

News

1

Spotlight on

India

2

India-

Germany

Business

News

3

News Round

-up

4

(Top: People wait to cast their votes in a village in Rajasthan; above: election

officials travelling to a village carrying voting machines)

Seen here, Consul General with the Lord Mayor of Cologne, Mr. Juergen Roters

P A G E 2

Muenster mesmerizes with ‘Chalo India’ The second edition of the ‘Chalo India Film Festival’

was held in Muenster from April 25-27, 2014. Organ-

ized by the ‘Indian Filmclub Muenster’, the Film

Festival is chiefly supported by the Cultural Office

and Integration Office of the city of Muenster. CGI

Frankfurt lent its full support to this initiative this

year. Renowned filmmaker and producer Anurag

Kashyap was present at the inaugural event, as part

of which the premier of the yet-to-be-released film

‘Ugly’ was held. A total of eight films and documen-

taries were screened over the weekend. Apart from

the film screenings, Bharatnatyam and Bollywood

dance workshops, cultural programmes and a dance

party were organized.

With new satellite in space, India to get it’s

very own 'GPS'

The Indian space agency made history on April 4,

2014 by launching the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

or PSLV successfully bringing India one step closer

to its own global positioning system. The 44 meter,

320 ton, PSLV rocket accurately placed India's sec-

ond navigation satellite in space. The GPS will be

similar in function to the American Global Position-

ing System (GPS) but regional in coverage.

India will be the sixth country in the world, after

America, Russia, Europe, China and Japan to have

this system.

General Elections: Launch of Special Web-

Portal and Reference Handbook

On 3.4.14 Press Information Bureau released

‘General Elections 2014: Reference Handbook’, a

compendium on past elections and the latest provi-

sions relating to the general elections. Apart from

English and Hindi, the book is available in 11 re-

gional languages, namely, Assamese, Bengali, Guja-

rati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi,

Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Simultaneously, the Bureau

also launched a web-portal, dedicated for the General

Elections 2014: pib.nic.in/elections2014.The Refer-

ence Handbook is available on this portal. On Count-

ing-Day, i.e. May 16th, 2014, this portal shall also

be used to disseminate official trends and results,

based on real-time data made available by the

Election Commission of India.

India now third largest global economy

India has displaced Japan to become the world's

third biggest economy in terms of purchasing

power parity (PPP), according to a World Bank

report.The 2011 round of the bank's International

Comparison Program (ICP) ranked India after the

US and China. The last survey in 2005 had placed

the country on 10th place.

India now only country with legislated

CSR

With the implementation of the new company law

from April 1, India has become the only country

in the world with legislated corporate social re-

sponsibility (CSR) and a spending threshold of up

to $2.5 billion (Rs.15,000 crore).

The new law mandates that all companies, includ-

ing foreign firms, with a minimum net worth of

Rs.500 crore, turnover of Rs.1,000 crore and net

profit of at least Rs.5 crore, spend at least two

percent of their profit on CSR.

I N D I E N N E W S L E T T E R

Spotlight On India

Highlights of the Eco-

nomic Report for

March, 2014

-The growth of GDP at

factor cost at constant

(2004-05) prices (real GDP)

for 2013-14 is placed at

4.9 per cent as compared

to 4.5 per cent for 2012-13

-Food grains (rice and

wheat) stocks held by FCI

and State agencies were

48.39 million tonnes as on

March 1, 2014

-Eight core infrastructure

industries registered a

growth of 4.5 per cent in

February 2014 as com-

pared to 1.3 per cent in

February 2013

-Foreign Currency Assets

stood at US$ 278.4 billion

at end-March 2014 as

compared to US$ 260.8

billion at end-March 2013

-The Rupee appreciated

against the US dollar,

Pound sterling, Japanese

yen and Euro in the month

of March 2014 over Febru-

ary 2014

-Gross tax revenue for the

financial year 2013-14

(April-February) recorded

a growth of 9.8 per cent

over 2012-13

Top: Anurag Kashyap at the festival; Above: Q&A after premier of Ugly

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E V I I I

India key part of Merc’s global R&D map

When Eberhard Kern tells you that every Mercedes sold across the world has

a part of India in it, he is not kidding. The Managing Director & CEO of Mer-

cedes-Benz India is only driving home the point that the country is the sec-

ond largest R&D hub for the German automaker after its headquarters in

Germany. Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI) operates

out of Bangalore and Pune with over 1,500 engineers on board, and is still

growing, although it barely had ten people on its rolls when it kicked off

operations in 1996.

Germany's Miele to expand in tier-2 Indian cities

Germany-based high-end domestic appliances maker Miele would invest

around $17 mn on expanding its presence in India, mostly in tier-2 cities

like Raipur, Indore and Coimbatore.Miele, headquartered at Gütersloh, in

Germany, is the global leader in the production of premium domestic appli-

ances. Its global revenue was 3.15 billion euro ($4.37 billion) last year. The

company entered the Indian market in October 2009 through a fully-owned

subsidiary Miele India Private Limited, headquartered in the national capital.

It has expanded operations in seven major cities including Mumbai, Chennai,

Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune and Surat.

Germany to get Made-in-India Ford EcoSport this June with modi-

fied parts

As Ford gears up for sale of its compact SUV EcoSport in Europe from June

2014, starting with Germany, followed by the UK, Austria and Switzerland, it

is now revealed that the EcoSport for Europe will feature modified parts and

a stronger overall structure. Though it will be manufactured in India, at

Ford’s plant in Chennai, various modifications have been implied in the

European version of EcoSport, with regard to safety so as to meet the strin-

gent safety norm prevalent in Europe.With Ford EcoSport deliveries to

Europe commencing from June, modifications will include steering on the

left hand side, added airbags and ABS, besides 300 other changes.

IBC Solar expands activities in India

Germany’s IBC Solar announced it was realizing its first megawatt-scale PV

plant in India as an EPC contractor in cooperation with its local subsidiary.

The 5.5 MW park is located in Bhadla, in the Indian state of Rajasthan, close

to the Pakistani border. The company said it ensured continuous quality

control on the project, including final certification by Germany’s TÜV

Rheinland. IBC has already realized five projects in India with a total

capacity of 18 MW.

German tyre major Continental bets big on India

German tyre major Continental has said India will be a key focus

market for the company for new investments as it expands here fol-

lowing the acquisition of Modi Tyres in 2011. The company said it is

also open to fresh acquisitions in India to gain a sizeable foothold

faster, though there are no immediate targets. India is a critical mar-

ket for Continental and despite short-term challenges, the company

strongly believes that that it is a strong long-term prospect.The com-

pany sells truck/bus radial and bias tyres, which are manufactured

at its plant at Modipuram in Uttar Pradesh. Also, it is present in the

passenger car tyre market, while making two-wheeler tyres in part-

nership with Metro Tyres.

Daimler displaces Eicher Motors as third biggest truck

manufacturer in Indian heavy truck market

It has achieved this feat in less than two years after its debut in the

country. Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, the Stuttgart-based

company's wholly-owned subsidiary, now commands a 4.3 per cent

share of the domestic heavy duty truck market, according to sales

data for the quarter to March compiled from the Indian Automotive

industry.It sells trucks under the Bharat Benz brand in India.

German Firm Offers Unique Package

ISL Sprachschule, a German firm which specialises in placing foreign

students in German Public Universities, is now offering a unique

package covering every requirement that an Indian student needs to

study in Germany—from obtaining a visa to relevant documenta-

tion. The firm ensures the completion of the process in less than four

weeks. Specifically, the package covers a guaranteed admission into

a German Language programme within a week, the two months guar-

anteed accommodation that is mandatory for obtaining a visa, man-

datory medical insurance and a conditional offer letter from the

University within three weeks.

technologies and products of the wire, cable and tube manufac-

turing and processing sectors in 15 exhibition halls.

97 Indian Exhibitors participated in the exhibition. An official of

the Consulate interacted with some of the Indian exhibitors. Tube

and Wire 2014 Fair. Officials from the Consulate interacted with

some of the Indian exhibitors.

Tube+Wire, International Tube and Pipe Trade Fair/International

Wire and Cable Trade Fair, Düsseldorf, 07 – 11 April 2014

Since 1988 the two trade fairs Tube and Wire are held at two-year intervals at

the Düsseldorf fairgrounds. More than 2000 exhibitors showcase their latest

Indian Participation at Trade Fairs held in April 2014

India-Germany Business News

Germany expects 8%-10% tourist arrivals from India this year

Germany expects an 8%-10% in tourist arrivals from India this year, up

from last year's growth rate of 5%, said the head of its India tourist office.

The GNTO recently announced its new campaign in India for its new cam-

paign theme - 'Germany - UNESCO World Heritage destination'. Germany

has been consistently placed amongst top three most popular European

destinations out of India. Last year, there were close to 615,000 overnight

stays from India, said German ambassador to India, Michael Steiner.

German scholars revived Indian culture: Merck-Tagore

awardee

German intellectuals revived Indian culture during the 20th century when

English literature in the country became a tool of "domination and subju-

gation", said Pramod Talgeri, vice-chancellor, India International Multiver-

sity. "German intellects rejuvenated our classical culture. New impulses of

German appreciation also inspired the Indians," said Talgeri, who

was awarded the Merck-Tagore award, given every two years to a

person who has made a distinctive contribution in promoting cul-

tural exchanges between India and Germany.

German beer in Goan market

Kaltenberg beer, owned by German firm Koenig Ludwig Interna-

tional, will be manufactured by CMJ Breweries Private Ltd at their

plant in Meghalaya , and will retail in Goa at Rs. 75 for a pint. Until

now, the super-premium category only included imported beers,

and holds a tiny market share of around 5 lakh cases a year. Koenig

Ludwig International is owned by Bavarian royal Prince Luitpold

von Bayern, great grandson of the last king of Bavaria. 'Kaltenberg'

is claimed to be one of the oldest beers in the world, courtesy of

the royal family that started the first brewery in 1260.

CONSULATE GENERAL OF INDIA

FRIEDRICH-EBERT-ANLAGE 26, 60325, FRANKFURT

AM MAIN, GERMANY

Telephone :+49 69 153 00 50

Website : www.cgifrankfurt.de

For suggestions and feedback, please send your e-

mails to consulpic@cgifrankfurt.de

News Round-up

Cologne visit: Moments captured!

Colours of Democracy!

‘Fascinating India 3D’ is a 90-

minute documentary on India

from the Cologne-based Busch

productions. It is to be released

across Germany on May 15.

To know more , you can check

the following links:

Facebook Page:

www.facebook.com/

FascinatingIndia3D

Website: www.FascinatingIndia.de

Movie trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?

(From l-r) At TUEV Rheinland, Koeln Messe and Mindtree