Quote

India is still considered a preferred destination for many multinationals to manufacture cost-competitive high-technology products for domestic consumption as well as for global demand.

My view is make Indian manufacturing competitive, and if it is competitive, it can serve customers or consumers anywhere.

India is the most competitive manufacturing destination on this planet. If we are able to take advantage of that competitiveness for our domestic markets, this country would be humming with activity; industrial production will grow at 10-11% per year.

To be sure, India has achieved enviable success in business services, like the glistening call centers in Bangalore and elsewhere. But in the global jousting for manufacturing jobs, India does not get its share.

Indians have very good engineering capabilities, and that is why, if an industry focuses on innovation, you will have a far greater chance of success, rather than the model which is based on just being a production machine.

As a traditionally risk-averse nation, India has rarely been at the forefront of innovation. Indian companies have mostly imitated others and became very good at it.

India has the unique advantages of having the biggest domestic market and this should support IT companies.

India is a very, very old country with a history, culture and tradition like Italy. And we can use the English language to be in touch. Then India's industrial situation is similar to us. Both have big companies but are dominated by small and medium-sized companies. It is extremely important for both to do joint ventures.

Prior to 2001, hardly any company in North America or Europe would buy from India.

There are 1600 German companies active in India, and some of them are more than 100 years old. Our companies value India as a location for manufacturing and as a market.