JOIN USAfter loudly showering accolades on Indian techies in Silicon Valley, it is time for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fete Indian startups, IT honchos, and hi-tech engineering R&D heads at India’s Silicon Valley, Bengaluru, during the yet to be officially announced Nasscom-organised event as part of the planned visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
According to sources familiar with the development, Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will share the dias in Bengaluru as part of the Nasscom programme on October 6.
Besides addressing 44 German companies which have established research and development (R&D) centres in India, Merkel will also address Indian IT companies, which have already proven their prowess in service delivery.
Sources also said she is bringing a 40-strong industry delegation which will interact with IT companies, hi-tech engineering companies, and automotive firms as part of sharing the engineering prowess of Germany.
Since India is a sought after location for its highly skilled talent pool for engineering services, skill sharing and joint R&D will be high on her agenda. Germany, known for its engineering and design talent, is looking at the Indian IT talent pool on its next journey of high-end manufacturing based on the Industrie 4.0 initiative.
Startups at the high table
Indian startups, which are gaining global accolades with their innovations, will also find a major place at the meeting. Nasscom is already in the forefront of incubating startups across the country as part of its ‘10,000 Startups’ initiative and it is actively supported by the state government. 10,000 Startups, which began in April 1, 2013, is committed to incubate, fund, and support 10,000 technology startups in India by 2023.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the India-US Start-up Konnect 2015 at San Jose on Sunday and signed seven MoUs between various organisations in India and the US.
Modi had tweeted on Sunday, “Startups are more than commercial success stories. They are powerful examples of social innovation….I elaborated on how the Govt is encouraging the creation of a dynamic start-up ecosystem that will transform the lives of India’s youth.”
When Deccan Herald contacted the Nasscom headquarters in New Delhi, officials there declined to comment on the development.
“We can’t reveal anything at this critical point as everything is handled by PMO and officials from the German Embassy. We are organising an event on October 6 and the programme schedule is yet to be finalised,” said a senior official.
DHNS adds from Delhi: Merkel will be accompanied to New Delhi by six ministers of her cabinet. The two sides are expected to ink a number of agreements after the Modi-Merkel meet, sources said.