Economic and Commercial relations between India and the Czech Republic
1. Trade ties between India and the Czech Republic, formerly Czechoslovakia, preceded India's independence. Czechoslovakia established its consulate in Mumbai in October 1920 and in Calcutta in December 1929.
2. The famous Czech shoe company Bata, which started its operations in Batanagar (West Bengal) in the 1930s, is one of the most popular Czech brands in India. While škoda is currently a well-known Czech brand in the automotive industry, Czech Jawa and Yezdi motorcycles were also popular in the 1960s. Due to this popularity, Indian car giants Mahindra and Mahindra have successfully revived the Jawa brand. Jawa motorcycles made in India are exported to the Czech Republic.
3. During the communist era, Czech companies launched a number of important industrial projects in India in the fields of energy, metallurgy, machine tools and transport; by 1990, they had approximately 60 large projects in India. Some of these Czech companies continue to work on projects in the heavy engineering sector in India.
4. The Czech policy of trade diversification outside the EU has given new impetus to Indo-Czech bilateral trade and economic relations. New mechanisms and diversified interaction thereafter resulted in revival of bilateral trade to more than US $ 3.16 billion in 2022, from just US $ 86 million in 1993 as per Czech statistics.
Main Indian products exported to the Czech Republic:
1. Smartphones
2. Medicaments consisting of mixed or unmixed products for therapeutic or prophylactic purposes, put up in measured doses "incl. those in the form of transdermal administration" or in forms or packings for retail sale
3. Static converters
4. Machines for the reception, conversion and transmission or regeneration of voice, images or other data, incl. switching and routing apparatus (excl. telephone sets, telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks)
5. T-shirts, singlets and other vests of cotton, knitted or crocheted
Main Czech products imported to India:
1. Gear boxes and parts for tractors, motor vehicles, motor cars designed for the transport of persons and goods and special purpose motor vehicles
2. Butadiene rubber "BR", in primary forms or in plates, sheets or strip
3. Reciprocating positive displacement pumps for liquids, power-driven
4. Parts suitable for use solely or principally with spark-ignition internal combustion piston engine
5. Parts and accessories, for tractors, motor vehicles for the transport
5. Institutional cooperation
a) Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation: The first meeting of the Indo-Czech Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation (JCEC) took place in New Delhi in November 2010. The JCEC has been meeting regularly since then, with the 11th meeting taking place in October 2018 in Prague.
b) JWG for Heavy Engineering: During the 9th meeting of the Joint Economic Commission in 2012, both parties agreed to reactivate the JWG Joint Working Group on Heavy Engineering. The first meeting of the JWG took place in Mumbai on 15 March 2013 and the JWG has met regularly since then. The 6th JWG Heavy Engineering Meeting was held in Brno in October 2019 as part of the International Engineering Fair in Brno.
Bilateral investments:
6. Almost 7% of Czech investments outside Europe go to India. More than 30 Czech companies have invested in India, including škoda Auto, Doosan škoda Power, Bonatrans, Home Credit, Liko-s, Tatra trucks, Zetor, Dina-Hitex etc. in various sectors such as transport, energy, automotive, metallurgy and finance. In 2021, Skoda Auto launched two new models in India – Kushaq and Slavia, Volkswagen followed with the launch of Taigun and Virtus. As a part of investment initiatives of Volkswagen group the new investment (India 2.5) will introduce small city-centric electric car that will be produced in India built using locally procured parts.
7. Indian companies have invested in the Czech Republic in sectors such as IT, electronics, telecommunication, textile industry, pharmaceuticals, automotive components, food industry. Major Indian companies that have invested in the Czech Republic include Infosys, LEEL, APAG Elektronik,, Varroc Lightning systems, , Pricol, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Mileta Hořice, MSSL Advanced Polymers, etc.
Commercial Representative
Mr. Abhijit Chakraborty
Counselor
Tel: +420 257 533 490, +420 257 107 019
E-mail: fspol.prague@mea.gov.in, com2.prague@mea.gov.in
February 2023
