The Make in India logo with the striding lion greets you at Hannover airport, a reminder of the mega event that will last through the following week.

The flight from Munich on Saturday is packed with Indians, almost all of whom are heading for Hannover Messe 2015. Yashodara Raje Scindia, Industries Minister of Madhya Pradesh, is among the known faces and she is here with her team. Likewise, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are also going to be part of the list of Indian states participating at the event.

This is also happening at a time when the Narendra Modi-led BJP Government is keen on giving greater empowerment to states, as evident in the 14th Finance Commission outlay which saw them get a larger share in the central taxes pool. States will also have a large role to play in the implementation of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) which is scheduled to come into effect next year.

Hannover Messe 2015 will be jointly inaugurated by India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, on Sunday evening. India is the official partner country for this trade fair which will see hundreds of companies participating.

Make in India is, of course, Modi’s pet passion aimed at boosting local manufacturing which, in turn, will give a fillip to creation of jobs and get the economy on the fast track. It is here that states will have to do their share in attracting investments from big names across sectors like automotive, power, capital goods etc.

Andhra Pradesh, for instance, recently unveiled its auto policy which has goodies galore to woo potential companies. Madhya Pradesh, which has an auto hub in Pithampur and is also home to Bharat Petroleum Corporation’s Bina refinery, will be keen to rope in more high profile residents. States like Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have traditionally led the fray and the next round of growth is expected to come from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh as the Make in India drive gathers momentum.

As India’s ally at Hannover Messe, Germany would also like to take the growth story forward. The likes of Bosch, Siemens, Daimler, Volkswagen (VW) and BMW are betting big on emerging economies like India which have been identified as future growth engines. No longer can companies afford to put all their bets on Europe and the US which are still slowly coming out of the woods.

Daimler, for instance, is earmarking substantial investments for its bus and car operations in India located in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra respectively. As for VW, China is its largest market today with annual sales in excess of 3.5 million units but it is now gearing up for a new phase in India with a host of brands in its kitty including Skoda, Audi, Scania and MAN.

It is here that Modi will hope that the Make in India campaign gradually gains momentum. The country desperately needs to increase its manufacturing component of GDP on the lines of China. Hannover Messe 2015, to that extent, is an important step in this direction.

The writer is in Hannover on an invitation from Volkswagen

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