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This week's edition takes a look at Europe and its steps for tech collaboration with India, India and the G7 Summit, and more must-know news.

Recap: I hope you enjoyed last week’s guest article, when fellow Riser Vijay Kumar Vaddadi shared with us “Why India Matters”. My key takeaway: the foundation and momentum for a closer Indo-European partnership is better than ever, while challenges exist and must be addressed.

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India is emerging as key collaboration partner in the field of technology and smart manufacturing for European businesses. Recent announcements by Bosch or Heineken confirm the trend, and with the market maturing and the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) expected to be signed in 2025, many others are preparing to enter, expand and find partners in the fastest growing major economy.

India is on a positive trajectory of becoming a leading manufacturing hub globally, and a growing number of European and global businesses are taking action. As we reported in several issues over the past weeks (see issues 6, 9, 10, 11 and 13), this development is sector agnostic.

The growing interest is particularly noticeable by German businesses. According to Stefan Halusa, Director General at the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, there are three key reasons German business representatives show an increasing interest in India:

With a traditionally strong expertise in manufacturing technology, German companies are particularly seeking local partners to support and improve their production capabilities in the green energy, semiconductor and pharmaceuticals sectors.

Many European companies get ready, but wait for the India-EU FTA to be concluded before taking actions, as Halusa shared during the same event. One additional area which is expected to grow rapidly: establishing R&D capabilities in India.

European companies had a higher growth rate compared to their American counterparts in the number of Global Capability Centres (GCCs; dedicated R&D and technology hubs) established in India over the past 5 years (41% vs. 27% from 2019 to 2024). Driving innovation globally from India is expected to accelerate, particularly due to the need for talent in fields of AI, ML, Cloud and Cybersecurity. All areas where India has built strong ecosystems.

Already more than 10% (185 out of 1,700+) of India’s GCCs have dedicated Centers of Excellence (CoE) focusing on AI, according to Zinnov. These CoEs aren’t just internal development teams, but help organisations to establish scalable AI infrastructures that are linked to their core businesses.

Recent developments confirm the trend:

This European-Indian partnership makes strategic sense. European companies bring manufacturing excellence and engineering precision, while India offers a proven innovation ecosystem and a track record of driving global technological advancement. For established European businesses, India represents both a vast market opportunity and a chance to accelerate their digital transformation through access to cutting-edge technology capabilities.

As the India-EU FTA moves toward completion, I expect this collaboration to deepen further. European companies that establish strong Indian partnerships now are positioning themselves not just for market access, but for global innovation.

Sources: LiveMint, Zinnov, NASSCOM, GCC Rise, Times of India, The Hindu

Leaders of the G7 countries met in Canada last week, and India was invited as a guest. The invitation to the G7 summit signals India’s rising influence on the global stage, and facilitated bilateral meetings that could support the long-awaited India-EU Free Trade Agreement.

The G7 represents some of India's most important economic partners, with bilateral trade reaching USD 248 Billion in FY2025, a robust 12% CAGR over the past four years. Modi's face-to-face meetings with his counterparts from Germany, Italy, and France during the summit focused on three strategic priorities that align well with European business interest:

Important developments came from Modi's meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, their first encounter since Merz took office. Beyond extending an invitation for Merz to visit India, as shared by the Indo German Young Leaders Forum via LinkedIn, both leaders agreed to deepen and expand the India-Germany Partnership that started 25 years ago. This carries particular weight given Germany's position as Europe's largest economy and India's largest European trading partner.

With India-EU FTA negotiations progressing and recent high-level delegation meetings between Indian and European governments (as covered in recent India Rising issues), the summit discussions provide additional political momentum towards concluding the agreement by the end of 2025.

As European leaders return from Canada with strengthened relationships and renewed commitments, businesses should prepare for an acceleration in India-Europe collaboration. The diplomatic groundwork is being laid for what could be a transformative period in bilateral relations.

Sources: IGYLF, Mangalorean, Times of India

“Limitless: Leadership in the Age of AI” is the theme of Zinnov Confluence 2025.

The annual event is one of the largest in India’s tech industry, with over 5,000 attendees from Engineering R&D organisations, Product & Digital Technology Global Capability Center (GCC) companies, Indian companies, Product Start-Ups, Universities, and VCs.

You can find more details here.

Your random facts and stories about India and the Indo-European friendship.

This week: AI for all! What India’s and Europe’s approach to AI tells us about our shared values.

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