Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Europe and Canada ended with a number of important agreements being announced, but the performance of Indian companies at the Hannover Messe may not have matched up with the publicity that surrounded it.
At the end of the fair, an official release from the Hannover Messe public relations firm listed just six Business to Business agreements signed and three Government to Government MoUs for India.
An analysis of the agreements indicates solar and renewable energy agreements were the focus, and officials say a major MoU on clean energy is likely to be signed when German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits India in October this year.
However, each of the actual agreements transacted are worth a few million dollars, nowhere near the figures that had been expected ahead of the annual industrial technology fair.
In a statement just before the Hannover Messe, the Commerce Ministry had cited more than $1.3 billion generated through dozens of agreements during the 2006 Hannover fair, the last time India was a partner country.
“Our participation at the Hannover Messe was not about signing a few MoUs,” countered Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion Secretary Amitabh Kant, when asked by The Hindu about the outcome.
Aim is to educate visitors“Our aim was to generate interest amongst visitors and educate them about India’s new policy framework. And we were very successful at that.”
To a specific question on the amount of business generated, Mr. Kant said, “You will see the results in two to three years.”
However, India’s show in 2015 will certainly be remembered for the omnipresent Make in India Lion that roared and walked down the aisles in hologram form to the delight of the audience at the Hannover Messe.
