VDMA India and Messe Stuttgart to host a dedicated conference mapping India’s path to a $5 trillion economy for the global metalworking industry. For Indian manufacturers and component makers eyeing the European market, the session offers a rare direct line into how German industry is reading India’s growth story, and where it sees the openings.
AMB 2026, the International Exhibition for Metal Working, will run from September 15 to 19, 2026, at Messe Stuttgart in Germany, bringing together manufacturers and buyers from across the global machining value chain. Among the show’s accompanying programme is “India Opportunities,” a dedicated conference session scheduled for Wednesday, September 16, 2026, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the ICS Seminar Wing (Rooms C4.2/C4.3), jointly organised by VDMA (German Engineering Federation), through its India office, and Messe Stuttgart.
The two-and-a-half-hour session focuses on India’s trajectory toward becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2028 and the role the metalworking sector is expected to play in that growth. According to the organisers, the programme includes presentations on EU-India trade frameworks, regional growth drivers such as Andhra Pradesh, dual (vocational) training initiatives, and industrial infrastructure development, aimed primarily at European metalworking companies looking to enter or expand in the Indian market.
Messe Stuttgart and VDMA India cite German machinery exports to India as having grown roughly eightfold since 1999, with close to 600 VDMA member companies now operating in the country, figures the organisers point to as evidence of how deep the Indo-German manufacturing relationship has become over the past two and a half decades.
“India is no longer a market German machinery makers are testing; our member companies are building capacity here for the long term, and that shift is exactly what this year’s programme is built around,” said Rajesh Nath, Managing Director, VDMA India. “The India Opportunities session at AMB 2026 is designed to give our engineering companies a clear, practical view of where that opportunity is heading next in genuine manufacturing partnerships with Indian industry.”
The session will also feature a panel discussion titled “India’s Manufacturing Moment,” bringing together representatives from European precision tool manufacturers and Indian industrial firms. Rajesh Nath, Managing Director of VDMA India, will moderate the panel, drawing on more than 30 years of experience in Indo-European trade promotion.
