Giving wings to wishes: Making sense of Indo-German intergovernmental consultation (IGC)

The Indo-German strategic partnership began in the early-2000's. Germany is the only country with which India has a high-level format of discussion as the Intergovernmental Consultations. The 6th IGC took place between Prime Minister Modi and Chancellor Scholz last week in Berlin.

IGC is a bi-annual event taking place by turns in New Delhi and Berlin. IGC includes a number of resolutions formulated as “intentions”. German “intentions” are generally backed by a plan and are to be taken seriously. Even India’s present administration, while formulating such joint declarations, does a lot of homework as to how it can be put to practice.

Based on my association with Germany over decades, I believe the following actions are likely. In India, we need to proact, or at least react – as it takes two to tango.

• ???Partnership for Green and Sustainable Development, achievement of SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), and implementation of the Paris Agreement have a great emphasis in these IGCs. Many goals are focused on Joint Development Initiatives. One may expect such initiatives can be driven through the German Development Agency GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für international Zusammenarbeit). GIZ’s activities are likely to increase many folds, and so is their reliance on partners to implement those initiatives on the ground. It will be interesting for Indian organizations engaged in the achievement of SDGs to initiate joint implementation proposals and approach GIZ, or other EU or UN agencies. Such organizations, however, should have the track record, skills in the preparation of proposals, and the ability to participate in a collaborative programme at various levels. Germany, the EU, and the UN might be willing to invest in sustainability but they also need to demonstrate visible outcomes.
• ?Green Hydrogen activities are likely to pick up. Indo-German Green Hydrogen Task Force will soon be established supported by the Indo-German Energy Forum (IGEF). Policy-makers from India, NITI Aayog , and industry associations like FICCI and CII should take the lead. Green Hydrogen has various aspects – from raw material to production, electrolyzers to storage to transport. Germany is investing heavily in the infrastructure and development of the ecosystem – especially through its Hy-5 initiative. Germany is willing to have India as a partner in its Green Hydrogen ecosystem. In India, Green-Hydrogen technologies are at a very nascent stage. However Indian power, chemical and industrial companies, steelmakers, EPC contractors, research institutes, and universities need to start engaging in this field. There is a large scope for prototyping (proof of concept projects) and experimentation at this stage.

• Low-emission energy systems, scale-up of renewable energy, green grids, and storage, and energy efficiency are again other focus areas. The term frequently used is “just energy transition”. EU President Ursula von der Leyen’s TERI Gram (The Energy and Research Institute’s) visit and interaction with Indian youth a week before IGC are remarkable in this respect. A large number of Indian students have studied in the EU under the Erasmus Mundus scholarship programme on related topics. Students keen on pursuing careers in the circular economy should watch out for further such programmes. IGCS (Indo-German Centre for Sustainability) could be an organisation to watch in this regard. Similarly, TERI and similar organizations can act as a vehicle for joint projects on energy and sustainability.
• Marine Litter and plastic recycling have been a major topic even in the previous IGCs. India and Germany agreed to closely cooperate in the UNEA (United Nations Environment Agency) towards establishing a global legally binding agreement on plastic pollution. AIPMA (The All-India Plastic Manufacturers Association), MRAI (Material Recycling Association of India), and a large number of recycling associations need to develop coordinated projects on evolving ecosystem for creating awareness, as well as the collection, storage, and mechanical and chemical recycling of plastic. We recently hosted a plastic recycling delegation- PERCY in India from four EU countries. A number of possibilities for collaboration were identified. But they need to be pursued vigorously and on an urgent basis.
• For a swift implementation of the climate targets declared by both participants - India and Germany – during COP26 in Glasgow for 2030, Germany intends to strengthen its financial and technical cooperation and other assistance to India with a long-term goal of at least 10 billion Euros for new and additional commitments till 2030 under this Partnership. Such huge support can help create speedy and visible progress on climate matters. India’s Central Government, TERI, NBA (National Biodiversity Authority), etc. need to work out joint progress in order to make use of the assistance offered. With unpredictable climate changes, natural disasters and the present heatwave in India wide-ranging public awareness programmes can be initiated on an immediate basis.
• Apart from bilateral cooperation, IGC talks of trilateral and multilateral cooperation. Triangular Development Cooperation becomes an important term here. Building on the individual strength of India and Germany, and implementing sustainable, viable projects in 3rd countries is covered under this. Here, GIZ and similar organizations, as well as private companies may initiate triangular development projects where technical and financial support may come from the German side, and implementation and ground-level support may be sought from India. Indian agencies and private sector players – who are already working on the ground in Africa, Asia, and other developing countries can strongly support these triangular development initiatives. In fact, a template can be developed for triangular cooperation projects. One can also refresh ones Indian diaspora network in Africa, the Middle East, and S-E Asia.
• IGC reiterates Germany’s strong support for India’s inclusion in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in the face of strong opposition from China. The Make-in-India programme will benefit from access to technology and the ability to construct nuclear equipment. As a result, our country's economic growth will get a boost. It will also help us achieve the renewable and clean source energy targets from the Paris Climate Agreement.

• IGC also mentioned the launch of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council during EU President’s India visit a week ago. It’s just the 2nd such agreement for the EU, after the USA, and the 1st for India. In practical terms, it will focus on joint efforts on high-tech like artificial intelligence, 5G, climate model, etc. This is extremely important geopolitically, but also economically and could act as a precursor to the long-awaited EU-India Free Trade Agreement.
• Indo-German Renewable Energy Partnership would also support the creation of a circular economy for solar technologies. Germany expressed its intention to provide financial and technical cooperation including concessional loans of up to 1 billion EUR from 2020 to 2025 depending on high-quality project preparation and the availability of funds. This will again involve a thorough project plan, supported by good proposal preparation skills – which will involve vision-mission statements, but also a road map, deliverables and timeline details.
• IGC also talks of lighthouse cooperation (typically a small scale but big picture project – scalability) on “Agroecology and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources” to benefit the rural population and small-scale farmers in India in terms of income, food security, climate resilience, improved soil, biodiversity, forest restoration, and water availability and to promote Indian experience globally. Germany expressed its intention to provide financial and technical cooperation including concessional loans of up to 300 million EUR until 2025 depending on high-quality project preparation. Here again, the focus could be on triangular development by joining hands between Germany and India to deliver sustainable, viable, and inclusive projects in beneficiary countries.
• Indo-German Partnership on Green Urban Mobility will work on concrete targets for the joint work in the partnership until 2031. KfW – German Development Bank has been working closely together on various Metro projects in India – the major being Nagpur Metro in Maharashtra. Can we try to involve KfW in similar projects?
• IGC also speaks about tailored research cooperation projects in the area of food safety by the “Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung” (BfR – German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment) and FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India). Here again, Germany and India may participate in triangular projects.
• In IGC it was agreed that the Indian and German private sectors in the context of public-private partnerships for innovation and investments in SDGs and climate goals in particular through DeveloPPP – which happens to be a popular and highly successful project of GIZ. Here identifying the private (for-profit) partners from both countries who can collaborate and bringing them together becomes important. They would also need support in proposal preparation and maybe, also in execution.
• One of the IGC goals is to promote employment and decent work conditions, the introduction of re- and upskilling policies that enable all people of working-age. Here IGCC/AHK (Indo-German Chamber of Commerce) is already engaged in bringing German Dual VET (Vocational Education and Training) to India. It will also provide scope for focused Skills Development organizations, as well as Universities (eg. Symbiosis Skills and Professional University, Pune). Focusing on vocational education rather than on academics will become imperative in the next years if we wish to have a demographic dividend and not a demographic disaster. ITIs (Industrial Training Institutes), as well as agricultural and tertiary training institutes, must gain importance. Developing courses at such institutes (duration, frequency, in-factory/on-field, and in-classroom sessions, curriculum, etc.), and training the trainer will become critical, and needs to be supported by both the countries. Germany is the best place in the world so far as vocational education is concerned. How can we benefit from their experience of a couple of centuries in skills development?
• IGC acknowledges that the Indo-German Digital Dialogue is an important instrument to facilitate cooperation on digital topics such as Internet Governance, emerging technologies, and digital business models. Here again, GIZ may play a big role. Indian IT has the skills and scale, that German SMEs (Mittelstand) need, but lack sufficient skilled resources. Yet, they are finding it difficult to come together. Joint efforts by IT associations like NASSCOM and Indian IT companies, on one hand, and German Mittelstand - BVMW (German Federal Association of SMEs) on the other - may serve as door-opener for Indian IT to German/EU SMEs.
• IGC also highlighted the need to promote bilateral economic relations by implementing the training programme for corporate managers (“Manager Programme”). I feel the focus must be on the intercultural aspects of the business. Business executives have reached the position based on their technical, managerial, and leadership skills. But when you work in international collaborative teams, undertake joint R&D and innovation projects, enter into joint ventures, establish units in a foreign country, and negotiate sales and purchases, – it becomes critical to understand the people you are talking to, their motives, background and history, the pace with and structure in which they work, their local business and social ecosystems. These factors are going to decide whether B2B partnerships of the near future are going to be successful or fail.

• Education, which is already seeing a sea-change, will scale further in a collaborative manner. Germany’s skill shortage - driven primarily by demography - can be very well counterbalanced by Indian students and manpower in many domains. IGC welcomed active people-to-people exchanges including among students, academia and the professional work force. They agreed to support each other’s efforts to expand the internationalization of their higher education systems, to interlink further the innovation and research landscapes of both countries, and strengthen dual structures for Vocational Education and Training. The Indian Government will encourage exchange of students and facilitate admission of German students in Indian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) under programmes like Study in India. This will encourage collaboration between Indian and German universities. Special courses for German students can be developed by Indian universities introducing them to Indian culture, business practices, and social environment. This will create knowledge about India, and help in long-term B2B collaborations.
• Indo-German Cooperation in science & technology and research will get a further boost through programmes like Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC ) and Women Involvement in Science and Engineering Research (WISER ). Bangalore-based Office of Fraunhofer Institute, DFG (German Research Foundation) and the Delhi-based office of DWIH (German Centre for Research and Innovation) will play a bigger role in the future so far as applied research is concerned. Indian universities and institutes of scientific research should get more acquainted with how these programmes can be leveraged to give exposure to Indian scientists and create scientific temperament in India which has made Germany a leading industrialized nation over the last two centuries. In startup field the activities of GINSEP (German Indian Start-up Exchange Programme) will be interesting to follow.
• IGC acknowledged the huge and widening skill gap in the case of healthcare personnel. It welcomed the signing of an agreement between the German Federal Employment Agency (BA) and the State of Kerala regarding the migration of skilled healthcare workers. Special courses need to be created for the nurses which will train them in the German language, culture, medical practices, etc. These will make them more productive and enhance their incomes as soon as they land in Germany. On general immigration to Germany, IGCC's Pro-Recognition could play a bigger role.
• IGC appreciated substantial cultural exchanges and educational cooperation between Germany and India and the important role of the Goethe-Institut (Max-Muller Bhavan ), German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD ), University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and other relevant institutions in this regard. They recognized the role of the German political foundations in facilitating such contacts through educational and dialogue formats. In India there are offices of many German Think Tanks - Konrad Adenauer Stiftung , Friedrich Naumann Stiftung , Carl Duisberg Stiftung, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung etc. Besides, there are many think tanks operating from Germany / Europe like Bertelsmann Stiftung, ORF , etc – who silently and meticulously keep on influencing the narrative amongst politicians, decision-makers, academia, thinkers, etc. Indian think tanks should find ways to engage with them.

IGC is supposed to be focusing equally on economics, social, environmental, and geopolitical aspects. However, one sees clearly – there is an unspoken but strong undertone of geopolitical matters. Strong democracies - India and the EU - are both facing aggression on the borders. Both are moving towards center-of-right policies. Both are wary of overreliance – for materials or energy – on unpredictable countries. China and Russia have announed "no-limits" partnership during Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin's meeting in February this year.

And the other factor that lay heavy on the consultations is a serious concern about the climate and environment. Every discussion about business is juxtaposed with sustainability.

The geopolitical atmosphere is favorable for India which was proven during EU President's New Delhi visit preceding IGC and Indian PM's Nordic visit succeding IGC. Germany has already invested heavily and is willing to invest further in joint projects. Efforts are necessary at the Central and State Governmental levels to leverage this investment for the benefit of both the people, and for a sustainable future for the world.