A car rally was organized to mark the 75 years of India’s Independence, “Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav”, and 70 years of diplomatic relations between India and Germany.

Over 300 cars in different parts of Germany participated in the rally, which witnessed massive support from the Indian diaspora in Germany. The car rally was organized by “Bharatiyam”, an umbrella of Indian diaspora organizations based in North Germany, in association with the Consulate General of India, Hamburg.

Flagging off the car rally from Glacischaussee to Sylvesterallee, am Volksparkstadion, Hamburg on 28 March, Consul General of India in Hamburg, John H. Ruolngul made remarks thanking the diaspora people for their enthusiastic and phenomenal response to the celebrations.

The rally covered major landmarks of Hamburg city and people were seen waving both German as well as Indian flags.

The ‘Azadi ke Amrut Mahotsav’ is a series of events being organized by the Government of India to commemorate 75 years of India’s Independence, which will continue till 15 August 2023. During this period, the Consulate will interact closely with the various diaspora associations located under its jurisdiction.

According to a press statement, the state and local governments will also showcase dedicated themes and events based on the five pillars, freedom struggle, ideas and subsequent actions and achievements, as elucidated by Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.

The Indian diaspora organizations have pledged their support for this significant occasion, the statement added.

The rally also took place in Nüremburg where people from Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Punjabi associations joined in over 50 cars. Dr. Suyash, who manages the Consulate’s cultural activities in Bayern and Baden württenburg flagged off the rally. Similarly, in Munich, over 60 cars participated to celebrate the occasion.

“Indian diaspora in Germany will continue to support the initiatives of the Government of India to celebrate India’s independence. Prayers were also held for the fight against COVID-19 pandemic”, the press release stated.

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Germany has brought a new legislation that states that companies listed under its government must mandatorily include women on their executive boards. This milestone law came to power after agreement by both houses of the country’s coalition government on Wednesday (January 6).

It is to be noted that several attempts to close this gender gap voluntarily had failed, following which this bill was proposed in the Parliament, and got passed after a bit of deliberation. The government added that a further quota would also be introduced for “corporations under public law”, such as health insurance companies and pension and accident insurance institutions as well as the Federal Employment Agency.

The law sends “a very strong signal”, Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht told reporters, urging corporations to “take advantage of the opportunity presented by highly qualified women”. “We can show that Germany is on the way to becoming a modern society fit for the future,” Family Affairs Minister Franziska Giffey was quoted saying in a report.

Despite being one of the world’s biggest economies, Germany has always struggled with equal representation for women in the workplace. There have been jokes about how a woman can much rather hold the highest office in the country as opposed to equal representation at a run-of-the-mill workplace. This new bill now dictates that management boards with more than three members must include at least one woman, reversing a voluntary system that critics argue has failed to achieve the required shift towards gender equality.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a video-teleconference with the German Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel on January 6.

PM Modi, in his talk with Chancellor Merkel, appreciated the long-standing role of his German counterpart in providing a stable and strong leadership at the European and global stage, and thanked her for guiding the growth of the India-Germany Strategic Partnership. The two leaders discussed key issues of mutual importance, including the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral ties, regional and global issues and particularly India-EU relations.

The Prime Minister briefed Chancellor Merkel on the developments in India with regard to vaccine development and assured Chancellor Merkel of India’s commitment to deploy its capacities for the benefit of the world. He conveyed to her his best wishes for early containment of the new wave of infections in Germany and other European nations. PM Modi also welcomed Germany’s decision to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA), and expressed his desire to further strengthen cooperation with Germany under the platform of Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

Noting that this year marks the 70th anniversary of setting up of bilateral relations between India and Germany and the 20th anniversary of the India-Germany Strategic Partnership, the two leaders agreed to hold the sixth Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) at an early date in 2021 and to set an agenda for the same.

(Published from PIB)

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Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who had been admitted for having been allegedly poisoned, was discharged recently. On Monday, he came out to the press and said that Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel visited him privately in Berlin.

German magazine Der Spiegel reported Sunday evening, without citing sources, that Merkel had made a secret visit to Navalny when he was at the Charite hospital in Berlin. It didn’t specify when the visit happened, but Navalny was discharged from the hospital last week.

Navalny had said the above in clarification to the report, “There was a meeting, but one shouldn’t call it secret,” in a tweet, referring to media reports alleging that Merkel made a secret visit to the Charite hospital where he remained for 32 days. “Rather, (it was) a private visit and a conversation with the family. I’m very grateful to chancellor Merkel for visiting me in the hospital,” the politician wrote.

He had been critical in the hospital for 32 days after having been suspected to be poisoned by the World War II famed poisoning agent Novichok. Angela Merkel’s visit allegedly confirms this poisoning, after doctors deemed his condition had improved sufficiently for him to be discharged. He will remain in Germany for the time being to continue his rehabilitation.

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Over 20,000 people took part in demonstrations against coronavirus restrictions in Berlin on Sunday. There were scattered protests all over the city, following which they converged, batting a blind eye to social distancing norms. The protesters had reportedly called it an ‘End of Pandemic – Day of Freedom’.

The demonstrators spanned a wide range of interest groups, from left to rightwing extremists, including members of the neo-Nazi NPD party and Reichsbürger or Citizens of the Reich – who reject the legitimacy of the German state – as well as followers of QAnon, the rightwing conspiracy theory group, members of the Querdenken or Lateral Thinkers movement, followers of the anti-Islam protest group Pegida, anti-vaxxers and self-declared esotericists. Some individuals said they were not affiliated to any group.

The gathering was broken up by police after repeated warnings over participants’ failure to wear face coverings or keep a 1.5-metre distance from each other were ignored. Police said 133 demonstrators were arrested and 45 officers were injured, with some needing to be hospitalised. Several journalists reported being verbally or physically attacked.

The country’s politicians stand divided over this issue. Although most parties came out in criticism of the protestors, the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) defended them, saying they had the right to protest. Meanwhile, Germany’s infection rate has crept up in the last two weeks to a level not seen since mid-May.

Source: The Guardian

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Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany announced the ban of burqas in public places on Tuesday, citing that ‘ full-face coverings do not belong in a free society ‘. This rule is to be applied to primary and secondary level schoolgirls. It is to be noted that this state had already banned the wearing of burqas for teachers.

The Daily Mail reported that State Premier Winfried Kretschmann said that it was rare for school girls to wear burqas but that a ban was required for the exceptional cases. Kretschmann added that such coverings, which are usually worn by conservative Muslim women and girls, do not belong in a free society, although he admitted that banning them at university level was a more complex matter.

The country’s left-wing Green party has been divided on the issue, but in Baden-Württemberg, Green party leaders were in agreement with the CDU, with state party leaders Sandra Detzer and Oliver Hildenbrand referring to the burqa and the niqab as ‘symbols of oppression.’  Other party members have argued that a ban could stoke tensions and negatively impact cultural integration.

In February, a German court overturned a school’s niqab ban after a 16-year-old girl was told she had to show her face to teachers. Hamburg education officials had ordered the girl’s mother to ensure that her daughter did not wear the veil at school, a decision which an administrative court overruled.

Source: The Daily Mail UK

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Germany’s R rate or the reproduction rate surged after a recent outbreak at a meat processing factory infected dozens. Post the outbreak, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in Germany has reported an R rate of 2.88. This has come at a time where the country’s chancellor has repetitively said that the only way Germany could become coronavirus free was if the R rate was kept below 1. The value indicates how much the virus is spreading in the country. A reproduction rate of 1 means each person with coronavirus will infect an average of one other person.

Speaking about this, the RKI said, “Since case numbers in Germany are generally low, these local outbreaks have a relatively strong influence on the value of the reproduction number”.

Notably, Germany’s R value was at 0.75 until recently, when a meat processing plant in Gutersloh called the Tœnnies recorded 1,331 positive cases on Sunday. This incident has put the factory under intense scrutiny.

The total recorded number of coronavirus cases in Germany is 191,657, while the number of deaths stands at 8,897.

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Germany has announced a €130 billion recovery package to tackle the recession caused as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic in an attempt to resume economic activities. This will be a package comprising of tax and spending measures. Being Europe’s largest economy, this package is touted to have sweeping tax cuts, as well as increase benefits, in an attempt to help with economic rejuvenation.

This package includes the following features:

• A temporary VAT cut from 19% to 16%, from 1 July until 31 December
• A €300 one-off payment for every child in the country
• A €50bn fund to address climate change, innovation and digital technology›
• A €25bn loan support programme for small firms that have seen their sales drop by more than 60% for June to August. This could be a particular boost for bars, restaurants, hotels and other hospitality businesses.
• €10bn for municipalities struggling with lower tax receipts, with public spending on infrastructure and housing

Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel said a “bold response” was required to secure jobs and keep the economy running, since the country was experiencing massive unemployment due to recession.

This package comes as an addition to the already announced €750 billion, to cushion the blow to the economy. It included loan guarantees and direct spending measures such as furlough wage subsidies.

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After several negotiations with the German government, Lufthansa has finally clinched a $10 billion deal bailout. The government will also have a 20% stake in addition to two supervisory board seats.

In a press statement on Monday, Lufthansa’s spokesperson said that they have been given a “stabilization package,” under Germany’s Federal Economic Stabilization Fund, helping companies combat the losses incurred due to the global pandemic. The package includes a €3 billion credit facility spanning three years, and will be majorly managed by the state-owned development bank, KfW.

In addition to this, the government is investing a rough estimate of up to $6.2 billion into the company, in return for a 4% stake, which is speculated to increase in the coming years.

The airline group may also be required to waive future dividend payments.

The airline is all set to drop 10,000 jobs worldwide, as well as plans to shut down its carrier ‘Germanwings’ as part of rationalization of its operations.

In a press statement, the German government spokesperson said, “Before the pandemic, the company was healthy and profitable and had good prospects for the future, but it faces an existential emergency because of the current corona crisis. The federal government’s stabilization package takes into account the needs of the company as well as the needs of taxpayers and employees of the Lufthansa Group.”

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In a goodwill gesture, a church in Berlin, opened its doors to Muslims who were unable to offer their prayers in their neighbourhood mosque.

The German government allowed religious gatherings from May 3, but under the conditions of maintaining social distancing at 1.5 m apart. Because of this, the Dar Assalam mosque in the city’s Neukölln district was unable to contain all those who had come to offer their Ramadan prayers, due to limited capacity. Throughout the month of Ramadan, Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk.

Following this, the Martha Lutheran in Kreuzberg, Berlin offered to help, and allowed several Muslims to conduct their Friday prayers, as the end of Ramadan was near. The Church’s pastor also took part in the prayer proceedings and delivered a sermon in German.

Ramadan celebrations all over the world have taken a hit because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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