Source: Times of India, Monday 6 July 2009

Bavaria meet: India optimistic about

economy
Mini Joseph Tejaswi | TNN

Munich: The global financial market crash has visibly impacted all geographies.
Despite this, India is still seen to be on a good growth trajectory. Banks in the
country are much stronger with average NPAs (non performing
assets) at less than 3%, while it is 25% and 50% in China and the US
respectively.

Addressing a large gathering of business leaders and bureaucrats at the first ever
Global India Business Meeting organized by the Bavarian government here, Anand
Sharma, Union minister of commerce and industry, said India has the potential to
absorb $500 billion investment in infrastructure , energy, engineering, agriculture,
telecom in the next five years. Trade bodies and companies are the engines of
growth and the government will provide a support structure with right policies, he
said. There is a need to deepen the economic activities in the current scenario.
From a country mired in poverty and illiteracy under the colonial era, India today is
a fast growing economy. The government has been investing in areas like high-
tech, space, science, education, infrastructure, etc.

Quoting a recent study, Sharma said the investment returns are the highest in
India at 59%, against 56% in Brazil and 36% in China. The minister said he would
call a state industry ministers meet to discuss issues related to attracting
investments.

On Indo-German bilateral trade, Sharma said the countries share trade worth $14
billion today. The German state of Bavaria alone has over 60 Indian companies
including IT majors like TCS, Wipro and HCL. Speaking on the occasion, Arun
Shourie, former minister of disinvestment, communication and IT, said Indians
should pay attention to the German qualities of perseverance, reliability, precision
and ability to work as a team. The principles of German scholars like Max Muller
have helped India in remaking and building after the colonial period , he said.

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Murugesh Nirani, Karnataka minister for large and medium industries, said the
government was willing to extend any kind of help to facilitate bilateral trade
between Karnataka and Bavaria. We are also in the process of identifying 1 lakh
[Note: 1 lakh = 100,000] acres of dry and non-cultivable land for companies that
are looking to enter or expand in the state.

The three-day meet which was attended by Martin Zeil, Bavarian minister of
economic affairs, Rahul Bajaj, chairman, Bajaj Auto, Kris Gopalakrishnan , CEO,
Infosys Technologies, Pramod Bhasin, CEO, Genpact, and Girish Paranjpe, co-CEO ,
Wipro concluded with the signing of an MoU to further the trade relations between
India and Germany.

(The correspondent was in Munich on the invitation of Invest in Bavaria)

Presented By Ganesh Srinivasan

Management Consultant From India With International Solutions Selling, Projects Implementation, Joint Venture,
Collaboration & Procurement Experience

Current Focus
● Setup Operations [Select Countries & Verticals]
● Strategic Investments [Select Countries & Verticals]
● Business Performance Management [Operational Analysis & Improvements]

The Article Is Presented And Circulated For Knowledge Exchange And Not For Any
Commercial Gains – Ganesh Srinivasan