Agenda for the Symposium “Grassroot Innovations: New Opportunities for Indo-German Cooperation?”

Posted on 26. September 2011 by Rajnish Tiwari

Many local users in rural areas come up with inventions that are not only innovative and useful but also less expensive than the usual solutions available in the market. Another important feature of grassroot innovations is that they are generally environment friendly and in sync with the given infrastructural conditions. Examples of such innovations include water-based cooling systems that do not require electricity. The idea of “grassroot innovations” has been popularized by untiring and inspiring efforts of Prof. Anil Gupta, called “Gandhi of Technology” by the reputed German magazine “Der Spiegel”.

The Institute of Technology and Innovation Management at Hamburg University of Technology, together with the Hamburg chapter of German-Indian Round Table (GIRT), will hold a symposium during the India Week Hamburg (on 20th October 2011) to explore and demonstrate the vast cooperation opportunities for German firms, especially small and medium-sized ones, to assist the inventors with technical and marketing know-how. Mutual benefit can be found, for instance, in the giant domestic Indian market as well as in international marketing of such products in other corresponding markets of Africa, Latin America and Asia. In some cases, e.g. herbal medicines, it might even be possible to introduce the products in Germany or other developed countries. Prof. Anil Gupta is scheduled to deliver a keynote address and to participate in a panel discussion. Other speakers at the event include Prof. Dr. Luc Soete (Founding Director, UNU-MERIT), Prof. Dr. Hugo Tschirky (ETH Zurich / Member of the Board of Directors of Canon Switzerland Ltd.), Dr. Klaus Gronwald (Mahindra Satyam), Aline Krämer (endeva), Klaus Sieg and Joerg Boethling (both from ‘agenda – photographers and journalists’, Anup Karath Nair (Strathclyde University Business School), and Dr. Stephan Buse and Rajnish Tiwari (Hamburg University of Technology / German-Indian Round Table Hamburg).

See: Agenda & Speakers (as on 23.09.2011).

Please register yourself by 14th October 2011:

Registration Form (send by e-mail: grassroot@tu-harburg.de / or by fax: +49 (0)40 428 78 2867)

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India Week Hamburg 2011: आइये, भारत की एक झलक हैम्बर्ग में देखें

Posted on 11. September 2011 by Rajnish Tiwari

हैम्बर्ग में इस वर्ष चौथी बार भारत सप्ताह का आयोजन हो रहा है. हैम्बर्ग नगर ने हैम्बर्ग और श्लेस्विग-होल्स्ताइन स्थित विभिन्न आयोजकों के साथ मिलकर एक रंगारंग, बहुआयामी कार्यक्रम की रूपरेखा तैयार की है. आइये, जानिये भारत की अर्थव्यवस्था, राजनीति और संस्कृति में आ रहे नये परिवर्तनों के बारे में. आइये, एक स्वाद लीजिये भारत के समाज, उसकी सभ्यता और वर्तमान संस्कृति का. इस वर्ष के भारत सप्ताह का कार्यक्रम “यूरोपीय पर्यावरण राजधानी २०११” को ध्यान में रखते हुये तैयार लिया गया है. इसके केंद्र में होंगे पर्यावरण सुरक्षा, नवीकरणीय (अक्षय) ऊर्जा और स्थिर विकास जैसी वैश्विक चुनौतियाँ और सहयोग के क्षेत्र. तो आइये, आपको आमंत्रण है अर्थशास्त्रियों और पर्यावरण विशेषज्ञों के विचार सुनने का, या फिर प्रदर्शनियों, फ़िल्म संध्याओं, और विभिन्न प्रकार के कलात्मक, रचनात्मक कार्यक्रमों का लुत्फ़ उठाने का…

Program India Week Hamburg 2011

(भारत सप्ताह की विस्तृत जानकारी अंग्रेजी और जर्मन भाषाओँ में उपलब्ध है.)

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Infosys reportedly gave up China investment plans for IPR fears on clients’ side

Posted on 11. September 2011 by Rajnish Tiwari

According to a news item appearing the Economic Times (7th Sept. 2011) Indian IT major Infosys gave up its plans for increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) in China as its major customers in Europe and the USA had apprehessions about their data procession and/or software-related work being done in China owing to fears about the protection of intellectual property rights.

The report cites as source a US diplomatic cable which has been released by WikiLeaks. It also narrates an incidence, which N.R. Narayana Murthy, Co-founder of Infosys reportedly told US diplomats:

Murthy said he understood the misgivings of his clients and narrated his experience in China to show how rampant piracy was. Stepping out of his central Beijing hotel to go for a stroll with Peter Bonfield, then CEO of British Telecom, they encountered a sidewalk vendor selling pirated Microsoft and Windows products.

Bonfield jokingly asked the vendor if he had Finacle (an Infosys banking software product) and the vendor replied: “I can get it for you tomorrow.”

Murthy, was at the same time quite clear about China’s potential, its qualities, and HR problems that it faces, as is clear from the next section:

Murthy, however, was optimistic about the long-term potential of China. As per the cable, he stated: “There is nobody better than the Chinese at solving a problem once they are serious about it.” Murthy said it would take four to five years for the Chinese to overcome that reluctance.

There were other concerns for Infosys to expand in China. Murthy told the diplomats that though qualified graduates were available, those with sufficient English skills commanded a high premium. He said retention was more difficult in China than in India, as Chinese professionals are more willing to leave for a higher salary where Indian ones value institutions a bit more.

The whole report is available at: The Economic Times (11.09.2011)

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Tata Consultancy Services reportedly bids $500 mn for 80% stake in Lufthansa IT Systems

Posted on 11. September 2011 by Rajnish Tiwari

According to a report in the Economic Times, dated 6th Sept. 2011:

India’s largest software services exporter, Tata Consultancy Services, has put in a bid valued at $500 million to acquire a controlling stake in Lufthansa IT systems, the captive information technology unit of the Frankfurt-based airline, two people said on condition of anonymity.

TCS is in talks to negotiate a multi-year contract from Lufthansa which could yield revenues in excess of $2 billion for the company according to people familiar with the bidding process.

Credit Suisse is advising TCS on its bid for Lufthansa IT systems.

According to Lufthansa System’s website:

Lufthansa Systems provides consulting and IT services for selected industries and has a leading position in the global aviation industry. The wholly-owned subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group offers its customers the entire range of IT-services, including consulting, development and implementation of industry solutions as well as operations.
At its headquarters in Kelsterbach near Frankfurt/Main, Germany, the company operates one of the most modern data centers in Europe. Lufthansa Systems has offices in Germany and 16 other countries and employs about 3,000 people.

(Site accessed on: 10.09.2011)

Lufthansa Systems also has a strong presence in the Metropolitan Region of Hamburg, where it operates 3 branch offices, including one in Norderstedt.

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Indien Magazin: “GIRT-Hamburg beteiligt sich stark an der India Week Hamburg 2011”

Posted on 8. September 2011 by Rajnish Tiwari
India Week Hamburg 2011

Vom 16. bis 23. Oktober 2011 findet zum vierten Mal die India Week Hamburg statt. Rund um das Thema der deutsch-indischen Wirtschaftsbeziehungen gibt es diesjährig mehr Veranstaltungen als jemals zuvor. Der German Indian Round Table (GIRT) ist einer der Initiatoren der India Week Hamburg und auch dieses Jahr an der Organisation von fünf Wirtschaftsveranstaltungen beteiligt oder ist gleich selbst der Veranstalter.

Gleich bei der Auftaktveranstaltung „Aktuelle Trends im Indien-Geschäft“ ist der GIRT Hamburg zusammen mit der Handelskammer Hamburg (HK Hamburg), dem Ostasiatischen Verein (OAV) und der Deutsch-Indischen Handelskammer (AHK Indien) mit dabei. Diese Veranstaltung und der nachfolgende Senatsempfang leiten eine lange Reihe von zehn informativen und breit gefächerten wirtschaftsbezogenen Fachveranstaltungen während der India Week Hamburg ein.

Als besonderes Highlight kann die am 20. Oktober 2011 stattfindende „Grassroot Innovations: Neue Geschäftsmöglichkeiten in der Deutsch-Indischen Zusammenarbeit?“ gelten. In Zusammenarbeit mit der Technischen Universität Hamburg-Harburg, dem GIRT, der National Innovations Foundation Ahmedabad, der HK Hamburg und Mahindra Satyam als Sponsor, wird ein Thema behandelt, das einen gemeinsamen Nenner zwischen globalisierter Wirtschaft und lokaler, ländlicher Entwicklung in Indien sucht. Stargast ist Prof. Anil Gupta, der in Indien über die Dörfer zieht, immer auf der Suche nach neuen„Grassroot Innovations“. Das Symposium wird von einem Bildvortrag von zwei Hamburger Journalisten eingeleitet, die Anil Gupta auf seinem Fußweg durch Indiens Dörfer begleitet haben. Der Hamburger GIRT-Leiter Rajnish Tiwari, der auch an der TUHH zu deutsch-indischen Wirtschaftsthemen forscht, wies nicht ohne Stolz auf einen seiner Studenten hin: „Anup Karath Nair hat [gemeinsam mit zwei weiteren Studenten] genau zu dem Thema Grassroo[t] Innovations einen Businessplan entwickelt, der mit einem Wissenschaftspreis von Erasmus ausgezeichnet wurde. Mit Prof. Anil Gupta haben wir zudem den Initiator des Grassroots-Konzepts gewinnen können, das auf unserer Veranstaltung behandelt wird.“

Vier weitere Programmpunkte während der India Week Hamburg 2011 finden mit Beteiligung von GIRT-Aktiven statt. Bei „Neuer Osten – Neue Mächte: Wachstumsmotor Asien“ am 18.10.11, „Food Processing: Marktchancen für Indien“ am 19.10.11 und „Indien als Beschaffungsmarkt“ am 24.10.11 wird Dr. Dietrich Kebschull vom GIRT in Delhi mitwirken. Rudolf Weiler, ehemaliger Leiter des GIRT Hamburg, wirkt beim interkulturellen Seminar “Tanz mit dem Tiger” mit, bei der er in der Diskussionsrunde seine reichen Erfahrungen in der deutsch-indischen Arbeits- und Geschäftswelt einbringt.

Mit der Beteiligung des Hamburger GIRT-Leiters Rajnish Tiwari an [der] gesellschaftspolitischen Veranstaltung „Europas Verhältnis zu Indien: Neue Impulse für die Zusammenarbeit demokratischer Staaten“ am 18.10.11, das vom GIRT und der Europa-Union Hamburg organisiert wird, guckt der GIRT über den Tellerrand der Wirtschaft hinaus.

Untenstehend eine Übersicht zu den Wirtschaftsveranstaltungen der India Week (Die Veranstaltungen mit GIRT-Beteiligung sind fett gedruckt):

  • 17.10.11 Aktuelle Trends im Indien-Geschäft und Senatsempfang (GIRT Hamburg, HK Hamurg, OAV, AHK Indien)
  • 18.10.11 Aktuelle Entwicklungen in der indischen Luftfahrtindustrie
  • 18.10.11 Messemarkt Indien
  • 18.10.11 Neuer Osten – Neue Mächte: Wachstumsmotor Asien (mit Dr. Kebschull vom GIRT Delhi)
  • 18.10.11 Europas Verhältnis zu Indien: Neue Impulse für die Zusammenarbeit demokratischer Staaten (Europa-Union Hamburg, GIRT mit Rajnish Tiwari)
  • 19.10.11 Food Processing: Marktchancen für Indien (HWWI, IGEP mit Dr. Kebschull vom GIRT Delhi)
  • 19.10.11 Erneuerbare Energien in Indien und Hamburg
  • 20.10.11 Grassroot Innovations: Neue Geschäftsmöglichkeiten in der Deutsch-Indischen Zusammenarbeit? (GIRT Hamburg, TUHH, National Innovations Foundation Ahmedabad, HK Hamburg)
  • 20.10.11 Tanz mit dem Tiger – Interkulturelle Herausforderungen im Indien-Geschäft (in der Dikussionsrunde: Rudolf Weiler)
  • 21.10.11 Mahindra Satyam Aerospace Engineering Day
  • 21.10.11. Hanseatic India Colloquium
  • 24.10.11 Indien als Beschaffungsmarkt (WTSH – Wirtschaftsförderung und Technologietransfer Schleswig-Holstein mit Dr. Kebschull vom GIRT Delhi)

Alle Informationen zur India Week Hamburg 2011 finden sich auf der Website www.indiaweek.hamgburg.de

(Version vom 8.9.2011)

Quelle: Indien Aktuell Magazin

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