Over 250 Swiss companies in India
Switzerland-India partnership is a special one with economic engagement driven by innovation, science and technology, President Ram Nath Kovind said at a business roundtable on the two countries.
“We have together created wealth and business opportunities for ourselves and for the world,” he said at the India-Switzerland Business Roundtable held 13 Sept 2019 in Bern.
He commended Business Chambers of Switzerland and India for organizing the Roundtable where Economiesuisse and the Confederation of Indian Industry gave presentations to business delegations.
Kovind highlighted Indian business potential pointing out that the country is home to the third largest Start-up network in the world with over 21,000 enterprises.
“Our 30 unicorns are valued at over 90 billion US dollars,” said the President, acknowledging that Swiss Start-up ecosystem is equally impressive. “We must join hands and add value to each other.”
Today, India has one of the world’s largest renewable energy programmes. Globally, India stands 4th in wind power and 5th in solar and overall renewable power capacity, he said.
“Our target is to achieve 175 Giga Watts of renewable energy by 2022. We have also set a target to get 6 to 7 million electric and hybrid vehicles on the road by 2020,” said Kovind.
“Over 250 Swiss companies present in India. It includes different business models – from sales to manufacturing for exports to third countries. This operational diversity reflects the confidence of Swiss investors in the Indian economy,” he noted.
Switzerland is home to high-end technology and India is producing world class human capital, the President told the roundtable delegates.
India ranks as a major global player in areas such as pharmaceuticals, healthcare services, information technology, solar energy, automobiles, space and biotechnology.
“Our two economies are highly complementary. There is vast scope to combine our relative advantages in capital, technology, science and skills for mutual benefit.
“We have received Swiss participation in our flagship Make in India, Smart Cities, Digital India, Clean India, Startup India and Skill India programmes,” he said.
With almost half of India’s population, that is 600 million people, below the age of 25 years, and about 550 million people as labour force; India has abundant and youthful human resource, he told his Swiss hosts.
“We welcome Swiss companies to further invest and engage in our transformation and our growth.
“We have set up an online portal, India Investment Grid, to showcase investment opportunities across India. I encourage you to visit it,” said Kovind, looking forward to further strengthening India-Switzerland trade and investment relations. fiinews.com
