Design Connects: Indian Design Delegation Visits German Design Council
A mission for exchange, innovation and creativity
India stands as one of the world's most compelling design nations – economically dynamic, technologically ambitious, culturally rich. From 8 to 13 June 2026, the India Design Mission Germany brought two design ecosystems together in ways that run deeper than one might expect. The connection between German and Indian design has roots stretching back further than many realise. In the 1920s, Bauhaus representatives exhibited their work in India. The Bauhaus then became instrumental in shaping design education at Indian schools – a legacy that endures today.
Organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), India's most prominent business federation, a 33-strong delegation of founders, Chief Design Officers, professors and managing directors travelled to Germany. Their goal: not simply to observe, but to build lasting connections. The delegation was led by Dr Udayant Malhoutra, MD and Chairman of Dynamatic Technologies and Chairman of the CII National Committee on Design, alongside Prof. Pradyumna Vyas, President of the World Design Organization and Senior Adviser to the CII.
That this mission came about is no coincidence. The German Design Council and CII have collaborated for several years already. In 2020 and 2021, the German Design Council was a partner of the India Design Summit, the CII's flagship annual event. This mission represents the next logical step: not simply to listen, but to build on that foundation.
Facts&Figures
33 Delegates from India
6 Programme Days
20+ Venues & Partners
The programme took the delegation through Germany's design ecosystem – from institutions and universities to industrial icons. Six days, four cities, one central thread: design as a strategic force.
Realising Global Design Power Collectively
On the opening day, the German Design Council welcomed the delegation at the Frankfurter Messeturm. There, CII and German Design Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding – a tangible commitment to a partnership built to last. Over the following days, delegates visited Braun in Kronberg (Dieter Rams & German Product Design), Hochschule Darmstadt, Merck and BASF as well as the MAK Frankfurt and Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach.
In Stuttgart, design studio studiokurbos curated the day's programme around "Automotive Ecosystem Stuttgart: Design, Innovation and the Future of Mobility", followed by visits to the Mercedes-Benz Museum and Porsche Museum – two institutions that embody German automotive design excellence in its fullest form. Representatives from Evonik also joined for a focused exchange on Advanced Materials.
Design is a global creative force. These days demonstrated how it works in practice.
For the German Design Council, the India Design Mission represents far more than a visit programme. It forms part of a clear international strategy: following the subsidiary in Shanghai and the new hub in Singapore, India is now taking centre stage as a strategic partner.
The newly established contacts will be nurtured through the German Design Council's Singapore office, with the explicit goal of bringing design-focused Indian companies into the German Design Council Foundation network. Both CII and German Design Council share a conviction: design determines outcomes – competitiveness, sustainability, the future of industry. They also share the commitment to make this conviction concrete. Through partnerships that endure.
