India Expo Shop 2017

Indian Exhibition Conference & Events Services Association (IESA) presented the second edition of India Expo Shop 2017, from April 17-16, at Greater Noida

The inaugural ceremony for IES and the third Global Exhibition on Services 2017 (GES 2017) was organised by the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India, Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Delegates from 73 countries participated in the event including participation from 20 states of India. The formal inauguration of the four-day mega event was done by President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

The ribbon cutting ceremony was graced by Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce and Industry, Government of India; Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry; Anup Wadawan, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Govt of India; Naushad Forbes, President, Confederation of Indian Industry; Rita Teaotia, Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India; Rajpal Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Industry, Government of Rajasthan; Satyadev Pachauri, Minister for MSME, Export Promotion, Government of Uttar Pradesh; Chandra Mohan Patowary, Minister for Transport, Commerce and Industry, Parliamentary Affairs, Skill, Employment, Government of Assam.

Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce & Industry, Government of India said, “India's service exports have grown by two and a half times, while global export of services dipped by six per cent in 2014-15. India now accounts for 3.3 percent of the global services exports. Serviceification of manufacturing would enable India to create millions of jobs in the country, and help it to grow both in service as well as manufacturing.”

EMBRACING TECHNOLOGIES

At the India Expo Shop 2017, a two-day summit was also organised from April 18-19, 2017. Themed “Embracing Technologies in Events and Exhibitions”, the summit offered information, presentations and networking sessions. The welcome address was given by Nanu Binu, President, Indian Exhibition Conference & Events Services Association (IESA). The show demonstrated capabilities of the industries serving organisations for holding exhibitions, conferences and events. The visitors included exhibition organisers, stand designers, exhibiting companies, event organisers, MICE agencies, retails players and corporate event organisers.

One of the founding fathers of the event management business in India, Sabbas Joseph, President, EEMA, Founder-Director of Wizcraft International Entertainment, while giving the keynote address, said, “I think there is a need for synergy from us in the corporate sector and private sector, I think we need to work more closely with the government. The reality is that the government is not really seeing this as an opportunity.”

OPPORTUNITIES GALORE

India is a land of opportunities and the service industries have a plethora of options to explore. “The best case to cite from is within our country itself, the state of Gujarat, which has done wonders with events and exhibitions. It has built an economy around events and exhibitions, made possible event tourism and exhibition tourism, and exhibition opportunities as a focal point, and a fulcrum to create big business around to drive employment, marketing, culture, tourism. If you go anywhere in the world, you will hear that Guajarati's are very enterprising. Anyone from Gujarat can build anything and that belief comes in because Vibrant Gujarat creates a vibrancy not just for Gujarat but also for retail. I wish each of our states take Gujarat as an example. It can be the starting point for many of us, as an industry, to see a way forward.”

“We have seen the future; we have seen the opportunity long before others saw it. Having been exposed to different parts of the world, we have observed that in different cities the creation of events is based on a short-term income benefits, to the company, its employment, visas, airport and tax, among other benefits and then there is retail. Long-term benefits may include developing the event into something that all may look forward to every year.”

WITNESSING A PARADIGM SHIFT

With the growing advancement in technology, the exhibition industry has witnessed a paradigm shift in the last few years.

Joseph says, “We have always used technology to be better, faster and give information, application data, capture and constantly replace data. We will always be looking at technology to deliver better. If you look at exhibitions and events there is an element that invites people. How we are getting them in, is very important; when are they coming in, where they are going what they are doing are some parameters. Is there something that the exhibitors, clients are looking forward to? How do I capture this information? Long-term relationships are built on data points, future relationships will be built on data.”

GO GREEN MOTTO

Elaborating on going green, he adds, “Everything that we do must be looked at from the point of environment. Responsibility is something we must take upon ourselves as an industry. It's time for us to collaborate, to create opportunities together, build technologies that we can sell and showcase to the world. How fast can we do it, can we do it better, can we do it in an environmentally friendly manner and in how much time will it be done? These are some of the questions that need to be answered suitably."

In conclusion, he says, “Finally we keep asking for industry status, which I believe will come in the future, not because we want it, but because the country wants us to have it. I think we must target our people, do projects that matter to the country, and envision those dreams that matter to the country.”

Long-term relationships are built on data points, future relationships will be built on data