M A I N   N E W S

Germany lowers reservation on Indo-US N-deal
Satish Misra
Tribune News Service

Hannover, April 23
Germany today lowered its reservation on the issue of supply of civilian nuclear technology to India saying that developments on this issue were on “the positive path”.

Addressing a joint press conference along with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany was closely observing the progress on how the Indo-US agreement on civilian nuclear energy issue was being received by the House of US Representatives and the Senate which still had to ratify it.

Ms Merkel said her government had noted the positive remarks of IAEA Chief Mr ElBaradei. “We found it very important in Germany that Mr ElBaradei considered the Indo-US deal as a clear step forward. We will also have a close look at what the Indian Prime Minister said. Germany will take very seriously what was said by the Indian side and we will recognize these as a clear commitment. But it is still a process and then we will build an opinion within the international community. I have an overall impression that we are on a successful and a positive path.”

The German Chancellor, who had a 30-minute one-to-one talk with Dr Manmohan Singh, said her government acknowledged that the Indian side had ensured a lot more on this issue than was the case earlier. “If we have further questions on it, we will discuss them directly on a friendly basis.”

On his part, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed optimism that Germany would respond positively to India’s energy requirements by extending support to the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal.

“Of our requirements for oil and gas increase, it will exercise enormous pressure on the World market price and increase competition for diminishing reserves. We hope we will be able to convince Germany to look at this issue for mutual benefit,” Dr Singh said.

When the Prime Minister’s attention was pointed to poor condition of India’s infrastructure, he said: ‘we need huge investments if we are to remove the bottlenecks and at the same time overcome the great challenges in sectors such as energy and water. Foreign companies can play an important role here.’’

He stated that a lot was already happening in the field of infrastructure. India had established regulators in all important areas. Its highway system was growing, ports were being constructed and set up a facility at Pitampura in Madhya Pradesh to manufacture trucks and buses at an estimated investment of 300 million Euro.

Optical lens manufacturer Carl Zeiss, plans to set up a research and development centre, car major Volkswagon has committed to set up a base in India, while Deutsche Bank intends to start a BPO for its global services.

Engineering major Siemens would also invest $ 600 million over the next few years to expand its manufacturing facilities, Mr Nath said.

Mr Nath said Germany was the manufacturing base of Europe and for India to emerge as a favoured manufacturing destination it was essential to tap German companies.

About 70 per cent of German investment in India was in manufacturing sectors and this was a good sign, he added.

German companies have evinced interest in setting up operations in India, he said, adding that BMW had appreciated the Indian government authorities for the fast clearances for their project.

Bosch will expand its facilities at Nashik and Bangalore, Mr Nath added.

The MoU between Indian and German railways (Deutsche Bahn) is aimed at enhancing cooperation between the two in railways related technology and developments.

The areas of cooperation would cover both modernisation, and servicing of rolling stock, signaling and telecommunication, maintenance and servicing of rail lines, modernisation of transport operations, technology for increasing speed of rail traffic and undertaking joint research projects. — PTI

Hannover Diary
Pied Pipers of Hamlin
Satish Misra

Around 50 km from Hannover is the legendary town of Hamlin where a Pied Piper in 1284 saved the city from rat menace by making them dance to his pipe’s music.

According to the folklore, the Pied Piper was promised a handsome sum for getting the city rid of rats but he never got the sum.

Out of revenge, he lured away 120 children of the town on a Sunday when parents were away to church.

The town has five accredited pied pipers who earn their livelihood by donning the 13th century dress of Pied Piper and play pipe music to the entertainment of a large number of visitors.

The city, though small with a population of around 60,000, attracts two million tourists every year. It has a solar energy institute, which holds a solar fair every year.

So the region earns its livelihood from holding fairs.

Business talk

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met CEOs of 12 major German companies, including ABB, Siemens and Bosch.

Among these companies was Giesecke & Devrient, which prints bank notes and securities of many of the world’s central banks.

The Prime Minister not only spoke about general growth indicators but also stressed the need for modernisation of airport, seaport and railway systems.

He said manufacturing sector in India was witnessing a growth of 10 per cent but it needed to be taken to 12 per cent. India is ready to absorb investments in medium and small scale sector, which is one of the major strengths of Germany.