The mega power T&D show, ELECRAMA 2018, organized by industry body IEEMA is scheduled to be held in March 2018. We have Vijay Karia discussing the various contours of this grand event. Karia is encouraged with the stupendous response by both Indian and international exhibitors, and is confident that this edition of ELECRAMA will be the grandest of all editions so far.
As we understand the mega ELECRAMA 2018 was completely sold out in three months flat. Was such a huge response anticipated?
Yes, ELECRAMA space was sold out completely within three months of its launch. We are extremely delighted with the response we received for ELECRAMA 2018. Due to huge demand for the first we had to add additional space as requests for space were pouring in from everywhere. Was it anticipated? This year we were looking at a different approach to promote country’s biggest electrical exhibition. We created a thorough communication plan to engage with the past exhibitors and agencies and promised them an experience they never had before. This communication worked for us and so did the ideology of taking ELECRAMA 2018 to next level.
Please discuss ELECRAMA 2018 in terms of number of exhibitors and number of countries participating.
The mega event will have more than 1,100 exhibitors showcasing their products and services and visitors from more than 100 countries will be participating in it. Most important, visitor footfalls anticipated are more than 2,50,000. The five-day event will have various pavilions of interest. There will be a power pavilion, railway pavilion and also an “E-Tech Next” to showcase the technology of tomorrow.
This year’s ELECRAMA focuses on the paradigm shift from the earlier T&D in electricity space to electric vehicles, Internet of Things (IoT), storage solutions and renewable energy.
The focus is not just on Smart Electricity but on various aspects of electricity. The word energy is now changing to electricity and is seeing some exciting developments to look forward to. Therefore ELECRAMA 2018 focuses on the new areas of electricity. To understand and see what kind of infrastructure is needed and to support this commitment Indian government has promised to reduce carbon footprint, pollution and not to increase costs per unit to make consumption of electricity cost efficient, we are trying our best to bring everything possible on one platform.
We wanted this ELECRAMA to be amongst the biggest exhibitions ever. Noida has one of the country’s largest grounds and we believe that this edition will be much larger than the previous traditionally-done ELECRAMAs.
What inspired the change in venue from Bengaluru where two editions (2014 and 2016) were held?
We wanted this ELECRAMA to be amongst the biggest exhibitions ever. Noida has one of the country’s largest grounds and we believe that this edition will be much larger than the previous traditionally-done ELECRAMAs. One of the other major reasons was we wanted to explore new markets this time and showcase the ideology and world class technology to the national capital. This ELECRAMA will have lot of foreign visitors and delegates and Delhi is more accessible in terms of international air traffic.
People often speak of Elecrama as a “recession-proof” event where exhibitors are most keen to participate even amidst economic slowdowns. We could perceive this especially in the 2010 edition. What makes Elecrama so compelling?
Please discuss the active support that the government—power ministry and the ministry of heavy industry in particular—has been providing to Elecrama, over the years.
ELECRAMA 2016 saw railways, heavy industry and power from the government side showing interest. Utility heads from across the world came to participate in ELECRAMA. Government’s goal to electrify entire India and its “Make in India” for the world campaign is aligned with the core ideology of ELECRAMA.
Our government is committed to completely remove power T&D losses and they identify with this platform and bring in active participation through pavilions and concurrent events throughout the five days of the event.
Over the years, Elecrama has been contributing to the growth of the Indian electrical equipment industry and even projecting India on the world map. What is your expectation from Elecrama 2018?
India is always on the world map as far as investors are concerned. In the infrastructure and electrical segment there is going to be paradigm shift, where we are moving from fossil fuels to renewable energy, from antiquated networks to smart grids, from metropolitan cities with creaking infrastructure to smart cities. This trust of the government has led to a lot of interest, especially in the infrastructure sector, and we anticipate that ELECRAMA 2018 will further fuel this increased interest in the electrical segment, apart from the electronics and electric vehicle sector.
(Photographs relate to Elecrama 2016 held in Bengaluru)
