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BENGALURU:(TOI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that "talented young Indians now prefer to become entrepreneurs".

 "Talented young minds in India are no longer looking merely for high paying jobs. Instead, they have now begun taking risks and preferring to become entrepreneurs. We have witnessed exponential growth in the number of start-ups in the recent past," PM Modi said while addressing the Indo-German summit in Bengaluru.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday visited German automotive major Bosch’s facility in this tech hub for a firsthand view of its operations in India.

"Modi and Merkel viewed a powerpoint presentation on Bosch operations in India and walked through our innovation and vocational centres where research is done on innovative projects and skill development is imparted to our employees," a Bosch India official said.

Both the leaders also interacted with top executives of German firms operating in India, including Bengaluru, and exchanged views on how to help the government boost its ’Make in India’ and ’Digitise India’ initiatives for creating jobs and promote exports.

After Bosch visit, Modi and Merkel jointly participated in a tech event hosted by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) and the German Fraunhofer Institute on "Digitising Tomorrow".

Addressing the Summit, Merkel said German engineering and India’s IT expertise are fused here in Bengaluru. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi and I are working together for reform of the UN Security Council through the G-4. Indian investors are warmly welcome in Germany. Germany and India have great opportunities in the area of digitization, infrastructure, energy supply," she said.

Earlier, Karnataka Governor Vajubhai R. Vala and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah received Modi who arrived by an Indian Air Force (IAF) at the HAL airport amid tight security.

 "It is the software of India that will move the hardware across the world. It is the talent of India that will master the technology," the PM said.

 Making a strong pitch for "Make in India" initiative, PM Narendra Modi said that "never before was India so well-prepared to absorb talent, technology and investment from outside".

 "At a time of global slowdown, India represents a bright spot for investments," PM Modi said.

 The PM said that his government has worked aggressively in the last fifteen months to make India an easy place to do business.

 "We have fast tracked approvals and clearances for industry and infrastructure. Transparent auction and allocation of spectrum and of key natural resources like coal, iron ore and other minerals in the last 15 months have created a level playing field for investors," the PM said.

 PM Modi said that to enhance the flow of foreign investments, the government has liberalized the FDI regime.

 "As a result of our initiatives, the sentiments for private investment and inflow of foreign investment have turned positive. The growth rate of our GDP is above 7%. FDI inflows have gone up by 40% compared with previous year’s corresponding period," the PM said.

 PM Modi also said that he was hopeful about rolling out a new goods and services tax (GST) in 2016.

 Talking about India-Germany relations, the PM said that there is tremendous potential in India-Germany economic collaboration.

 Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Indian investors will be warmly welcomed in Germany.

 "Germany and India have great opportunities in the area of digitization, infrastructure and energy supply, Angela Merkel said.

Merkel pledges 1 billion euros for solar energy

NEW DELHI: As many as 18 MoUs and letters of intent and a new German assistance package for over 1 billion euros for solar projects in India - taking overall commitments to more than 2 billion euros - were sealed during inter-governmental consultations led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chancellor Angela Merkel here on Monday.

 The third India-Germany inter-governmental consultations saw Modi describing Germany as a ’natural partner’ for India’s economic transformation and said clean energy and climate change are areas witnessing a high level of convergence and growing cooperation.

 Merkel’s visit also provided a leg up to EU-India ties with both leaders committing themselves to restarting talks for the stalled FTA while MoUs signed spanned education, railways, security, food safety, skill development and manufacturing reflecting the depth of the India-Germany strategic relationship and the importance Modi and the Chancellor accord to bilateral relations.

 Elaborating on climate change, Modi said, "We look forward to a concrete outcome at COP21 in Paris that strengthens the commitment and the ability of the world, especially of poor and vulnerable countries, to transition to a more sustainable growth path." Foreign secretary S Jaishankar said Germany welcomed India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) submitted to the UN last week.

 MoUs were signed on security, including one on aviation security, which will see the use of sky marshals. India agreed to fast-track investments by setting up a special facility for German companies with the Indian side promising a "single-point clearance" by March 2016. They also discussed cooperation in defence manufacturing using Modi’s ’Make in India’ initiative.

 Another important takeaway came in the form of Modi and Merkel underlining their "strong commitment" to the EU-India Broad-Based Trade and Investment Agreement (FTA) and committing to bringing about a resumption of negotiations as soon as possible. The negotiations for EU-India FTA have remained stalled with India expressing concern over issues like data security and EU seeking to place restrictions on sale of over 700 Indian drugs.

 While Merkel pressed for an early resumption of FTA talks, Jaishankar said that PM conveyed India’s concerns to Merkel over pharmaceuticals and told her that it was important that the regulators took the right decision in that regard.

 "German response to our development agenda is very encouraging. We can look forward with confidence to increased investment, trade and technology partnerships in manufacturing, infrastructure and skill development," said Modi.

 While the focus has always been on economic ties between the countries, they also signed a broadbased MoU on security which will see the two countries actively working together to thwart terror recruitment, financing and propaganda.

 The two leaders discussed the situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan and West Asia, apart from maritime security in Indian Ocean. Merkel spoke about Europe’s refugee crisis and also the situation in Ukraine.

 Taking off from their recent G-4 meeting in New York over UNSC reforms, both leaders reaffirmed the urgent need for comprehensive reform of the Security Council, especially its expansion in both permanent and non-permanent categories.

 "Recalling the Outcome Document of the 2005 World Summit, the leaders committed themselves to an early reform of the Security Council. Both sides stressed the outcome of the meeting of the G4 in New York on September 26th and agreed to intensify efforts to realize concrete results in the 70th anniversary year of the United Nations," said a joint statement issued by the two countries.

 While India denied Merkel had specifically taken up the issue of human rights in India, the joint statement said both leaders underlined their commitment to the ``protection of human rights and democratic values".

 Germany welcomed India’s intensified engagement with the various export control regimes - The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), Australia Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement. Both sides agreed to continue to work together for India’s accession to the regimes as a full member and thereby strengthen global non-proliferation efforts.

 They also took "positive note" of the resumption of negotiations for amending the existing Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement including the Article on Exchange of Information to enhance the elimination of double taxation and to foster financial transparency.