The Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) has launched the ‘Indo-German Innovation Studio’ in association with Rathinam Group of Institutions, a leading educational institution in Coimbatore, marking a significant step towards strengthening innovation and industry-academia collaboration between India and Germany.
The initiative was inaugurated at a special function held on the Rathinam Group campus, with Thomas Dose, Managing Director, BMW Plant Chennai, attending as the chief guest and delivering the inaugural address.
Speaking on the occasion, Dose emphasised the importance of precision and efficiency in driving innovation amid the rapidly evolving industrial landscape.
“Our major focus is on precision and efficiency in order to meet the paradigm shift towards innovation. During my years in India, I have realised that the country has a bright future because of the way people apply common sense in their daily lives. India is also universally and strategically well positioned,” he said.
The event was attended by several distinguished industry and academic leaders, including Dr. Madan A. Sendhil, Chancellor, Rathinam Global University; Dr. S. Chandrasekar, Director, Roots Group of Companies; Dr. Thomas Nechupadam, Chairman, SICCI Kerala; Dr. Vivek Manoharan, Chair, Startup and Innovation Committee, SICCI Coimbatore and Co-Founder, Bipolar Factory; M.V. Subramanian, Member, SICCI Executive Committee and Partner; Raja Arumugham, former UN diplomat and UN Peacekeeping official; Selvakumar Periasamy, Chairman, German-Indian Business Alliance; Sivakumar Palanisamy, Vice President, StartupTN; and S. Manikandan, President, SICCI Kovai Chapter.
In his address, Dr. Chandrasekar highlighted the steadily strengthening relationship between India and Germany over the past few years.
“This is not merely an inauguration. It is the coming together of two great industrial civilisations — one that gave the world the precision engineering of the Mittelstand and another that gave the world the entrepreneurial spirit of the Manchester of South India. Together, we are building an innovation hub filled with ideas that will benefit Coimbatore and its more than 364,000 MSMEs, as listed on the Udyam platform,” he said.
He further noted that Indo-German relations are currently at a historic high. In 2026, India and Germany are celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations and 25 years of their Strategic Partnership. Bilateral trade in goods and services exceeded USD 50 billion in 2024, accounting for more than 25% of India’s total trade with the European Union. Germany is also India’s ninth-largest foreign investor, with cumulative FDI of USD 15.63 billion.
Dr. Chandrasekar also highlighted recent developments that underscore the growing partnership between the two countries.
“In January 2026, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited India with 23 leading CEOs on his first official visit to Asia, signalling Germany’s strategic interest in India. In addition, the new Indo-German Digital Dialogue (2026–27) has been finalised, covering artificial intelligence, data governance, telecommunications and Industry 4.0,” he said.
Speaking about the role of the German Indian Round Table (GIRT), Coimbatore, Dr. Chandrasekar noted that the organisation was founded in 2001 as a federation of business leaders committed to strengthening ties between India and Germany. Today, it connects nearly 3,000 professionals across the Indo-German industrial ecosystem.
“The Coimbatore Chapter has emerged as one of the most active within this global network. I have the privilege of leading the German Indian Round Table – Coimbatore Chapter under the patronage and guidance of K. Ramasamy, Chairman, Roots Group of Companies, and G.D. Rajkumar, Managing Director, Gedee Group of Companies,” he said.
Highlighting the potential impact of the new Innovation Studio, Dr. Chandrasekar said the hub would play a key role in supporting Coimbatore’s future-ready industries, particularly in the electric vehicle sector.
“A government-backed EV motor cluster, led by SiTARC, is already helping transform pump and motor MSMEs into suppliers for EV traction motor manufacturing. More than 180 MSMEs have already been trained in EV readiness. Germany, being a global leader in automotive precision manufacturing, is a natural technology partner. Through this Innovation Studio, we can create a strong co-innovation pipeline connecting Coimbatore with European EV supply chains,” he added.