New Delhi, Oct 5 (KNN) Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in industrial clusters will be the main beneficiaries from the agreement between the Department of Heavy Industries (DHI) with Fraunhofer, Germany, government said today adding that this will pay way for induction of latest technologies in capital goods sector.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in the presence of Secretary, Department of Heavy Ministry, R Katoch here today.

The objective is to support and augment the “Make in India” programme through increasing the innovation and technology prowess of Indian industry the Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises said in a release.

As per the agreement, DHI will actively conduct technology need surveys with units and clusters and run a number of awareness, technology development and assimilation programmes with the help of Fraunhofer.

The MoU is also a strong indication of German support to Indian economy. This will pay way for induction of latest technologies in capital goods sector, added the Ministry.

The activities include creating a road-map for technological development for Indian industry, identifying and plugging technology gaps. Implementation identified projects in manufacturing, working with various stakeholders in government, industry and academia for increasing cooperation in applied research.

The 12th Five Year Plan called for augmenting Indian industrial technologies development at institutes through collaborations with Fraunhofer and like institutions.

Fraunhofer- Gesellschaft is the leading organization for applied research in Europe. Its research activities are conducted by 66 institutes and research units at locations throughout Germany. The Fraunhofer- Gesellschaft employs a staff of nearly 24,000, who work with an annual research budget totalling more than 2 billion Euro’s. Of this sum, around 1.7 billion Euro’s is generated through contract research. More than 70 percent of the Fraunhofer- Gesellschaft’s contract research revenue is derived from contracts with industry and from publicly financed research projects.  (KNN Bureau)