»Where people have no prejudice or abhorrence of all things ›made in Germany‹, the ›Merck‹ [affiliate of E. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany] brand will become increasingly prevalent even in India.«
Report from the England-America Department on the fiscal year 1901-1902

The Darmstadt company procures raw materials from across the globe, especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Sometimes company representatives also send plant samples to Darmstadt, where they are examined in company laboratories for potential pharmaceutical activity. However, the sea wormwood (Artemisia maritima) obtained from Martin & Harris, Ltd., Calcutta, in 1932 does not meet expectations: »Indian Artemisia maritima. Sample 32/816 from Martin & Harris, Calcutta. Contains no santonin«. India itself, however, exceeds expectations and is one of the most important countries for the company.

The oldest documentable business contact dates back to 1891, when »The Co-operative Pharmacy Calcutta« is mentioned in an invoice ledger. Initially, the company struggles with prejudices in this Anglophile country, but eager representatives like Martin & Harris, Ltd., who had been working for the company since 1911, soon achieve good results in India. In 1928, Karl Fietje is commissioned to safeguard the Darmstadt-based company’s interests at Martin & Harris, Ltd.; 11 years later he becomes managing director of »E. Merck Scientific Department, Calcutta«, affiliate of E. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany.

Business relations, which were interrupted by World War II, are resumed in 1949 when Capco Private Limited, Calcutta, becomes the company representative in India. In 1956, the Emedia Export Company is founded, »to set up through its branch office in Mumbai manufacturing facilities in India for chemical products and/or to have chemical products manufactured by third parties, as well as to establish a sales and marketing organization in India for such products«. A decisive step follows in 1967 with the founding of »E. Merck (India) Pvt. Ltd.«, affiliate of E. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany, in Mumbai. The company decides to transform Emedia Export Company into an Indian enterprise. The newly founded »E. Merck (India) Pvt. Ltd.«, affiliate of E. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany, takes over the business of the Emedia Export Company; at the same time E. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany, decides to expand its activities in India and to develop its own production unit for pharmaceutical products.

In 1981, E. Merck (India) Limited, affiliate of E. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany, conducts a capital increase to finance its expansion efforts in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors. At the same time, the company lists its shares on the stock exchange with great success.

Presented since 2011, the »Merck Tagore Award«, sponsored by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, commemorates Rabindranath Tagore, an Indian winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, whose play »Chitra« was translated by Elisabeth Wolff-Merck and whose works were published by her husband Kurt Wolff as of 1914.

Willy Merck, who visits India in 1888 on a trip around the world, reports on his impressions and experiences in letters to his mother. Personal contact with local customers is essential for business success. In 1907, E. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany, receives an important customer from India in Darmstadt.

Martin & Harris, Ltd, the company representative in India since 1911, also markets the vitamin D preparation Vigantol, which was developed jointly with Bayer in 1927. In 1949, Capco Pvt. Ltd. becomes the company representative in India. The joint venture »Sarabhai Merck Ltd.«, Baroda, India, founded in 1958, is dissolved in 1969.

The foundation of »E. Merck (India) Pvt. Ltd.«, affiliate of E. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany, in 1967 is of great importance; in the first year the company has 115 employees, in 1975 already more than 1,000. Following the IPO of E. Merck (India) in 1981, E. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany, holds 51% of the capital. The shares are 44 times oversubscribed; shareholders are thus extremely pleased.