There has not only been tremendous growth in terms of number of exhibitors at ELECRAMA but there is a marked shift in the mindset of exhibitors, according to Vijay Karia, Chairman of the Organising Committee of ELECRAMA 2018, the mega power trade exhibition that will be held at Greater Noida during March 10-14, 2018. Karia was speaking at a press conference in Mumbai, aimed at highlighting key features of the event.
ELECRAMA 2018 is dubbed to be the biggest exhibition, across any sector, in India’s history.
Karia said that there was a time when exhibitors were happy showcasing standard products to visitors at their stall. However, the mindset of exhibitors is fast changing and there is a conscious move to put on display technologically-advanced products and solutions at ELECRAMA.
The 13th in the series, ELECRAMA 2018, the high popular power T&D show organized by industry body IEEMA, is expected to have around 1,200 exhibitors including both domestic and international ones. ELECRAMA 2018 is dubbed to be the biggest exhibition, across any sector, in India’s history.
Elaborating on his point, Karia said, “All of us are looking to showcase what we are capable of. The government is also looking at suppliers that have the ability to leapfrog the technology from the past to the coming decades. The government is also not interested in buying run-of-the-mill products.” However, the government’s “L1” mentality needs to change, suggested Karia. L1 is the procurement practice, largely followed by government utilities to procure from suppliers that quote the lowest. In such type of procurement, quality invariably takes a backseat as the price quoted by the supplier takes precedence over all other aspects.
Shreegopal Kabra, President, IEEMA, highlighted the role that the industry body has been playing in resolving policy-related issues. “IEEMA has contributed to bring the organization to where it stands today with a membership of above 800 and a combined turnover of $42 billion. Today, the environment in which our businesses operate is changing very fast, but the Indian entrepreneur is known for his agility to adapt to the changing environment. We have witnessed change in the taxation regime. Our association took up the cause of appropriate tax rates wherever anomalies existed and successfully steered the path to its logical conclusion.”
ELECRAMA 2018 is expected to host 1,200 exhibitors spread over a staggering area of over 1 lakh sqm
Aaditya Dhoot, Member of the ELECRAMA Organising Committee, also discussed key features of this edition of ELECRAMA. For the first time, the Indian Railways will be actively participating in this mega event. Dhoot provided the insight that Indian Railways need several types of electrical equipment but nearly 60 per cent of these are imported. This clearly does not go in favour of “Make in India” philosophy. ELECRAMA 2018 could prove to be a stepping stone for the Railways to source a higher proportion of components from Indian suppliers.
Dhoot also was of the opinion that the electricity value chain was fraught with commercial losses that amount to a staggering Rs.90,000 crore per year. Much needs to be done to done to bring in commercial efficiency, he felt. Electricity tariffs are still on the higher side and consumers—industrial, commercial and even residential—are paying quite a bit, just to compensate for the inefficiency of state power utilities, he said.
Giving an overview of the sheer size of ELECRAMA 2018, Vijay Karia said that there will be around 1,200 exhibitors. Of these 300 would be foreign companies, several of them placed in six country-specific pavilions. The total exhibition space would be over 1 lakh sqm. In fact, three new halls had to be constructed to accommodate the record number of exhibitors, Karia observed.
L to R: Aaditya Dhoot, Shreegopal Kabra and Vijay Karia addressing the media at an interaction held in Mumbai on February 28, 2018.
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