PRESS RELEASE

German companies to support Namami Gange, Swachh Bharat and Smart City Programmes

1. German companies have expressed interest to participate and contribute to Ganga Rejuvenation Mission, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and Smart Cities Mission of the Government of India. Addressing a business meeting organized for the German investors and technology providers in the water and waste sector at the Embassy of India, Berlin, Dr. Andreas Jaron, German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) conveyed that both countries are identifying specific areas and projects to develop the water and waste sectors in India including identification of Best Available Technologies, assistance in capacity building, developing markets, business models and a roadmap for bilateral cooperation.

2. Germany has already pledged 126 million for the Ganga rejuvenation mission and has also identified the cities of Kochi, Coimbatore and Bubaneswar for development as Smart Cities. Several German companies from the waste management and water to-energy sectors are keen to expand their footprint in India. In this regard, the business event organized by Embassy of India, Berlin in partnership with the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) and German Water Partnership sought to mobilize greater B2B collaborations in the sectors of water and waste.

3. Speaking on the occasion, Arun Lakhani, Member, CMD Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd and Member, FICCI Water Mission mentioned that German companies should take note of the market developments in the water and waste sector in India which is rapidly changing. He advised German companies to adapt as well as improve their technologies and solutions to suit the Indian conditions. He suggested for adoption of successful business model including PPP modes to be successful in India.

4. German companies are global leaders offering advanced solutions in the water and waste sectors. Senior officials from German Water Partnership and German Waste Industry Association (ReTech) participated in the event and identified potential areas of cooperation with India leveraging the strengths of the German industry in water and waste sectors.

5. Many of the German companies showed interest to forge new partnership with India seeking support under the Make In India Mittelstand (MIIM) programme, being run by the Embassy to ease the entry of German SMEs to India.

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