Steinmeier, who is also vice-chancellor, will fly Wednesday to New Delhi where he will meet Thursday with his counterpart Pranab Mukherjee, Premier Manmohan Singh and opposition leader LK Advani, as well as representatives from trade unions and civil society.

"The current state of the financial markets and the role of emerging markets in stabilising the world economy, as well as ways to solve global challenges such as climate change will top the agenda," the ministry said in a statement.

Steinmeier, who has been named the Social Democrats' candidate to challenge conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel in next year's general election, will fly Friday to high-tech capital Bangalore and make Germany the first country to open the first consulate in the city, the ministry said.

More than 120 German firms or German-Indian joint ventures are based in Bangalore. Bilateral trade doubled in the last three years to 12 billion euros (15 billion dollars), the ministry noted.

Steinmeier will travel with business and cultural delegations.

German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel arrived in India Saturday for a four-day visit focused on energy supply, environmental issues and water management.

Influential news weekly Der Spiegel noted the flurry of visits by German ministers to India in its Monday issue, dubbing it "India fever".

But it said that official Indian visits to Germany, Europe's biggest economy and the world's top exporter, were far less frequent as New Delhi focuses its attention on partners such as the United States, China and Russia.

It said it was also unclear how much serious interest India has in supporting Germany's bid to gain a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council or Merkel's drive for a global climate deal.