Companies in Sweden, India take concrete steps to meet the challenges of green conversion: Håkan Kingstedt, Chairman of SIBC
On October 26, 2021, India and Sweden will celebrate the 8th Innovation Day. The online event with the theme “Accelerating India Sweden’s Green Transition” is organized by India Unlimited in collaboration with the Indian Embassy in Sweden, Sweden-India Business Council (SIBC), the industrial body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Start-Up India.
Tanmaya Lal, India’s Ambassador to Sweden and Latvia and other top ministers from India and Sweden will speak during the day – long virtual event.
Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of Science and Technology, Government of India and Ibrahim Baylan, Minister of Business, Industry and Innovation, Government of Sweden, Dr. Renu Swarup Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, Darja Isaksson, Director General, Vinnova; Swedish Innovation Agency.
Also present will be TV Narendran President, CII, Amit Chadha CEO & MD, L&T Technology Services; Robert Andren, Director General, Swedish Energy Agency; Martin Lundstedt CEO, Volvo Group. They will interact with the audience which will include decision makers from India and Sweden business / government / start-ups / media ecosystems.
Håkan Kingstedt Chairman of Sweden – India’s Business Council shares more about the agenda for Innovation Day and much more with FE Online.
The following are excerpts
What is the agenda for India Sweden Innovation Day?
This one-day event will be divided into nine parts to discuss different aspects of climate change and possible solutions to create green change and break new ground.
The sessions will include an exchange of ideas on the implementation of digital technology and artificial intelligence to introduce climate-friendly solutions. The power of technology could not be overestimated in fighting the pandemic and resuming several operations to reach some level of normality. Using it further in a creative way will therefore increase the growth and development of any country, and give them the much-needed help to recover during the post-pandemic era. Therefore, the forum will lead discussions to analyze various aspects of technology related to the two nations, including Sweden-India Tech Startup Ecosystems, Joint Investments in Technology, Healthcare, Energy, Transportation, Industry 4.0, Technology Parks and the scope of artificial intelligence.
India Unlimited was founded in 2013 to promote cross-cultural ties between India and Sweden in collaboration with the Indian Embassy in Sweden and the Sweden-India Business Council. During the eight years, the organization has hosted a number of events in Stockholm and Gothenburg that showcase the diversity of Indian cultural, economic and social life.
How can the two countries work together for a green transition?
India is well on its way to meeting and exceeding its climate commitments in Paris. Sweden is in the same situation. Sweden’s goal is to reach net zero emissions by 2045 and negative net emissions thereafter. What is most important, however, in addition to creating structures for our countries to work together, are the concrete steps that companies take to meet the challenges of green transition. India and Sweden are together in the UN-led industrial change program and of course we have the effects of innovation with the launch of Hybrit Green Steel, in a sector that accounts for about 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Sweden-India Business Council is of course working with our members to facilitate the roadmap for the transition. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven visited India in 2016 during the Make in India week and with that they envisioned the India Sweden Business Leader Roundtable (ISBLRT).
A CEO group of leading industrialists in both India and Sweden has gathered to discuss key issues affecting business and the need to unlock opportunities in the future.
In 2018, India and Sweden signed the Joint Action Plan (JAP) to further promote bilateral cooperation. Under this overall agreement, partnership points included smart cities, innovation and next-generation transportation. This continues to be the guiding framework for us.
SIBC works to operationalize such drawings and all initiatives. For example, one of the organizations we work with, the Swedish Environmental Institute, has recently signed an MoU with the National Environmental Engineering Institute (NEERI) to develop R&D partnerships. About 37 Swedish startups signed up for the Ignite matchmaking challenge supported by the Swedish Incubators and Science Parks (SISP) to find business-to-business partnerships with India in the arena of sustainable development and energy efficiency. SIBC works to connect these startups with major industry counterparts, together with Ignite.
Collaboration in the field of Science & Technology & Research and Innovation – how does this drive investment?
India Sweden innovation collaborations are governed by India Sweden Innovation Partnership and Joint Action Plan. These have resulted in calls for research partnerships between India and Sweden. In 2020, the Swedish Energy Agency announced a joint call together with the Department of Science and Technology (DST) for innovation projects in smart grids to learn and co-create new solutions for climate change. In the same way, DST has also announced a call to the Swedish Innovation Agency (Vinnova) for projects that can promote smart cities and traffic safety. SIBC is very pleased to say that the Sweden Indian Transport Innovation and Safety Partnership (SITIS), a collaboration consisting of 15 actors in industry, academia and government, is included in this call. SIBC is the secretariat for SITIS.
More about bilateral relations between the two countries and cooperation in the defense and aviation sectors? And what does SAAB in India offer for the Indian Air Force?
Sweden and India have had a MoU in Space since 1986 and the area for cooperation was further mentioned in the Sweden-India Joint Action Plan, which was agreed by Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and Prime Minister Narendra Modi 2018.
Sweden India Joint Action Plan highlights collaboration on space research, technology, innovation and applications. It was mentioned again as an area of cooperation in the joint statement from the virtual Sweden-India summit in March 2021 between the two Prime Ministers.
With Saab, Swedish Space Cooperation and L&T, we work with both countries in the innovation and startup community and in the space ecosystem. Defense and space go hand in hand.
Saab has been operating in India since the mid 70’s and they have products in all branches of defense in India. They offer Gripen E / F to India for MRFA procurement and work actively with Indian industry to support Make in India.
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