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German investments. A survey conducted by the Indo-British Part
nership Initiative on the question as to "who are India's favourite
business partners?" revealed that even in the context of technology
transfer to India, German enterprises rank first followed by the
USA, UK and Japan. Similarly, among the foreign enterprises sur
veyed, it was again the German industry which showed the keenest
interest in nurturing business relations with India.15
This through and through positive assessment however does
not seem to find its reflection in the concrete cooperation policy,
especially as compared to other partner countries of India. A survey
of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce in 1992 showed that at the
end of 1980, India's share in the total direct German investment was
only 0.25%. Whereas the FRG with about 55million Dollars as total
volume of investment during the period 1980-1990 ranked second
among the direct investors, the USA being the first (234 million
Dollars), FRG's share plummeted sharply after the economic and
investment liberalisation policy of July 1991 got underway in India.
The German share in the approved direct investment dropped in 1991/
92 from 16.5% (1980-1990) to just about 3%.16 This, as has been
shown much too clearly in two surveys conducted in the middle of
1993 by the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, Bombay and IFO-
Institute, Munich, was owing to the fact that the German enterprises
would rather prefer the new laender (federal states of erstwhile East
Germany) and sometimes even the East European countries as their
new cooperation partners.
Although industrial cooperation undoubtedly brings in positive
results for India, as has been the case with Indo-Germanjoint ventures
which created approx 80,000 workplaces in India17, positive and
negative effects should be studied and accounted for more intensively.
For instance, it needs to be studied what role joint ventures play with
respect to environment, distribution and in-house training and up
rading of skills. These aspects are of great relevance for developmen
tal policy.
Scientific and technological cooperation:
Industrial cooperation also implies, directly or indirectly, sci
entific and technological cooperation, especially as the technological
cooperation (securing of licences) from Germany to India without
capital participation was the dominating trend till the mid-80s. There
are also two intergovernmental agreements: one of 19.5.1972 on
cooperation in use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and space
