Gold-plated shirt pins to yoga for CEOs: How PM Modi will promote Make in India during Germany visit

To promote the ‘Make in India’ initiative ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to Germany, the government has bought merchandise like key-chains and coffee mugs from private companies in bulk. [caption id=“attachment_2176417” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Reuters[/caption] The merchandise will be decorated with 22 carat gold and shirt pins and will sport the Make in India logo, according to The Indian Express. A bulk order of the merchandise has been made for distribution to CEOs at the Hannover Messe fair in Germany, which Modi will attend in April. “We have got very nice mugs on Make in India. We have key-chains, shirt pins with the Make in India logo. These will be given to the foreign CEOs who would be visiting the Indian pavilion at the Hannover Messe,” Indian Express quoted Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Amitabh Kant as saying. The report also said that the government had purchased nothing less than 1000 coffee mugs to be distributed at the Hannover Messe Fair. It’s not just merchandise which will be used to promote Indian culture at Germany. 40 chefs from six hotel chains will also cook Indian cuisine dishes like dal bukhara, dum murgh biryani, shammi kebab and gulab jamun for the leaders at the Germany Fair, according to Economic Times. Moreover, some of India’s top yoga instructors will also organise yoga sessions at two-hour intervals at the five-day fair. “It is an industrial fair, but since India is a partner country, we would use the occasion to show our cultural strength through yoga. Indian cuisine is very famous across the world, and our team of top chefs from India will serve food from all corners of India,” ET quoted a government official as saying. Also,over 400 Indian companies including TCS, Infosys, L&T and Bharat Forge would take part in the fair. PM Modi will embark on an eight-day tour of France, Germany and Canada on 9 April with a focus on attracting investment and enhancing overall cooperation with the three countries. Modi will first travel to France on 9 April and from there he will leave for Germany on 12 April. On the third and final leg of the tour, he will visit Canada from 14-16 April. Modi’s visit will focus on investments and technology sharing with these three countries, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said. (With inputs from PTI)