Annual Meeting of the Indo-German Digital Dialogue 2023

In his opening remarks, State Secretary Schnorr (BMDV) highlighted the importance of the bilateral, multi-stakeholder dialogue for a better understanding of each other’s approaches and priorities. To him, the Indo-German Digital Dialogue is a pivotal platform for fostering collaboration between German and Indian organisations and for developing harmonised solutions in the digital transformation.

Secretary S. Krishnan (MeitY) praised the robust foundation of the Indo-German partnership, based on mutual trust, and highlighted the Digital Dialogue's role in promoting multi-stakeholder cooperation. He also shed light on key topics of the dialogue, such as digital public infrastructure (DPI). According to him, the Indo-German Digital Dialogue creates great benefits for both sides.

Enhancing electronics manufacturing for Industrie 4.0

From the industry participants, Dr Detlef Houdeau of Infineon Technologies presented developments in Industrie 4.0, focusing on the vertical standards introduced by semiconductors and emerging connectivity technologies. Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman of the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association, underscored India's ambition to become a global leader in electronics manufacturing and proposed Indo-German initiatives in this field, such as an Electronics Development Center of Excellence.

The Indian company VVDN Technologies showcased their strategic partnerships within the realm of 5G data centres, offering innovative solutions through the collaboration of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), German automotive companies and VVDN Technologies' design and manufacturing.

Facilitating business collaboration in digital technologies and services

Shivendra Singh, Head of Global Trade Development at the Indian National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), highlighted that India's robust software ecosystem perfectly complements Germany's engineering talent and manufacturing competence. Dr Stefan Saatmann from Siemens shared insights about the global framework for cybersecurity initiated by Siemens and the crucial role of 5G in industrial manufacturing.

Secretary Krishnan stressed the need for 5G deployment and its use for industrial and IOT applications. According to him, Indo-German partnership can significantly boost productivity in this area.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Wipro Technologies (Wipro) presented concrete collaboration opportunities: TCS proposed an Indo-German citizen-centric public service delivery model and Wipro advocated for joint market access initiatives. According to them, this would set the stage for increased Indo-German cooperation in critical domains such as data centres and AI, cloud, cybersecurity and engineering.

Advancing digital public infrastructure (DPI)

Sushil Pal, Joint Secretary at MeitY, emphasised the advantages of Indo-German collaboration in the field of DPI. Stakeholders mentioned the initiatives of GovStack and India Stack as an important link between theory and practice. Furthermore, the Mobility Data Space was presented as a collaborative hub, facilitating a cross-organisational data exchange within the mobility sector.

In conclusion, the Annual Meeting of the Indo-German Digital Dialogue demonstrated the commitment of both Indian and German partners and stakeholders to deepen the knowledge exchange and collaboration on topics of digital transformation. The discussions and proposed cooperation initiatives showed the readiness of both sides to shape digital policy together and jointly improve the framework conditions of the digitalisation.