New Delhi, 24 September: Hannover Milano Fairs India Pvt Ltd, the Indian subsidiary company of the global joint venture of Deutsche Messe (Germany) and Fiera Milano Group (Italy) has announced the partnership between Department of Heavy Industries and WIN India 2015, India's leading Industrial and engineering trade fair, scheduled to be held from December 9-11, 2015 at the Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. Department of Heavy Industries, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise, Government of India has partnered with FICCI, one of the largest and oldest apex business organisations and government advisory, to be the lead agency for executing the partnership for WIN India 2015. This partnership is to work jointly towards promoting India's high-tech engineering and capital goods manufacturing industry as a part of the Government of India's 'Make in India' campaign.

To formalise the collaboration, present at the conference were Shri Rajan S Katoch, Secretary, Department of Heavy Industries, Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprise, Government of India; Dr A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI; Wolfgang Pech, Senior VP, Deutsche Messe AG; and Tushar Alekar, Commercial Director, Hannover Milano Fairs India Pvt Ltd.

WIN India 2015 is the Indian sister event for Deutsche Messe's largest global industrial engineering trade fair HANNOVER MESSE, where India participated as partner country this year, generating interested enquires of close to USD 1.2 Bn at the show. This partnership MoU is being seen as a significant step in enhancing India's 'Make in India' focus by extending its progress made at HANNOVER MESSE. WIN India will serve as a platform for the showcase of high-tech engineering and capital goods manufacturing innovation on a global platform.

"The Make in India initiative has generated tremendous positive sentiment and interest from global investors. It is estimated that between April 2014 and February 2015, foreign direct investment in India reached USD 28.8 Bn - a 40 per cent increase compared to the same time period in the previous year. WIN India has been successfully working towards the mission of creating more interest in India as a long-term production location for 8 years now. With more global interest in India, and with our partnership with Department of Heavy Industries and FICCI, we hope to further pave the way for investment and partnerships to enhance India's economic engagement with Europe and other global economies," said Wolfgang Pech, Senior Vice President Deutsche Messe AG and Managing Director Hannover Fairs International, Hannover/Germany.

In December of this year, Lower Saxony's undersecretary, Daniela Behrens, will lead a business delegation from Lower Saxony to visit WIN INDIA with the specific goal of meeting Indian companies and intensifying Lower Saxony's economic relations with India. This is a direct result of India's partner country appearance in Hannover, which is the capitol of Lower Saxony. Learning that there are numerous investment and cooperation opportunities in India, the delegation will visit WIN India 2015.

"India is an attractive hub for foreign investments in manufacturing sector. Several companies have set up or are looking to establish their manufacturing bases in India. Department of Heavy Industry will be the strategic partner of WIN India 2015 with support from FICCI, where both the organizations will together work towards strengthening the Indian manufacturing sector thereby making PM's vision of Make in India a reality. The partnership also signifies greater government partnership in WIN India, which is an important factor in augmenting the Indian Capital goods manufacturing ecosystem," said Shri Rajan S Katoch, Secretary, Department of Heavy Industries, Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprise, Government of India.

Mehul Lanvers-Shah, Managing Director, Hannover Milano Fairs India Pvt Ltd, said "We are very happy to extend all our support to our partners and are thankful that they have chosen WIN India as the platform of choice for the sector. At WIN India this year, DHI will showcase the Indian Capital Goods manufacturing sector and its strengths and will focus on Government of India's successful campaign Make in India, taking forward the progress made as Partner Country at Hannover, Germany."

"India is lagging behind in domestic capital goods manufacturing, leading to an increasing dependence on imports in the sector. Capital goods manufacturing is crucial for the development of India's manufacturing ecosystem as it has a multiplier effect by supplying the equipment and machinery needed to support and encourage the sector's growth. Today, the capital goods industry contributes a meagre 12% to the total manufacturing activity in the country. We are greatly looking forward to this partnership at WIN India 2015 to promote the Department of Heavy Industry objective of boosting the Indian Capital goods sector, and promoting India's focus on Make in India," said Dr A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI.