Tabloid June -July 2019

Vol. 1 | Issue 1 | June-July 2019

Rs.125/-

BUZZ

LATEST NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

Bi-Monthly Supplement Showcasing The Work Of Trade Associations & Trade Bodies

CLIMATE ACTION NOT MERELY A BOX TO TICK BUT ALSO AN EXCITING $6 TRILLION BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY: MR. JAWAHAR VADIVELU, OUTGOING PRESIDENT OF ICC INDIA

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r. Jawahar Vadivelu, the Outgoing President of ICC India, (International Chamber of Commerce, India) mentioned that the ICC has been at the forefront of driving home the message that climate action is not merely a box to tick for being socially responsible but it is also an exciting $6 trillion business opportunity, for companies to create wealth out of. th

Speaking at the 88 Annual General Meeting of ICC India, Mr Vadivelu said that investment in renewables, energy storage, clean water and sewage are critical sectors that require vast capital

that needs to be channelled expeditiously and towards this, the ICC is working with the investment community to facilitate the channelling of capital, increasingly to companies that are assigned an ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) score.

Vice President of ICC India. At the conclusion of the AGM, Mr. Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Chairman and CEO, Sun Group and Dr. Murtaza Khorakiwala, Managing Director, Wockhardt Ltd. took over as the President and Vice President of ICC India, respectively.

Just as high governance standards have come to be accepted as absolutely essential, the ICC is of the rm view that social and environmental standards will likewise assume priority in the years to come, thereby starving much needed capital and other resources from owing to rms that don't merit them, he added.

The newly elected President of ICC India, Mr. Vikramjit Singh Sahney said that the ICC is a unique mix of policy advocacy, innovation, trade facilitation as also formulating Incoterms to the Uniform Customs and Practice for documentary credits and providing dispute resolution through arbitration.

Vikramjit Singh Sahney and Murtaza Khorakiwala take over as President &

Mr. Sahney is the founder and Chairman of Sun Group, a leading international fertilizer and minerals trading & investment company. Mr. Sahney has held various prestigious positions such as Equity Share Holder & Strategic Advisor to Foskor, Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), South Africa; Advisor - Qatar Chemical and Petrochemical Marketing and Distribution Company (MUNTAJAT); Chair - SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI); Honorary Consul General - Republic of South Africa; Chairman - BRICS Agri Business Forum; Member - Board of Trade, Govt. of India; Member - IndiaUAE Joint Task Force & Member of India-Egypt, India-Africa CEO's Forum.

ICCA CEO SENTHIL GOPINATH HONOURED AS BUSINESS EVENTS INDUSTRY LEADER

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s a testament to his pioneering advancement of association meetings industry education and advocacy, ICCA CEO Senthil Gopinath was recognised at the 2019 PCMA Visionary Awards on 7th May in Washington D.C. when he was named Business Events Strategist of the Year.

The award honours a PCMA professional member who exemplies professional excellence in their contributions to their organisation, PCMA and the business events community. In their announcement of the winners of the latest edition of the Visionary Awards, PCMA described Gopinath as a “creative, passionate and adaptive strategist who is also a respected leader and mentor.” Gopinath is an industry veteran who has spent his glittering two-decade career advocating

for the strategic development of business events in a number of leadership positions in major industry organisations. Before stepping into the role of ICCA CEO earlier this year, Gopinath led ICCA's Middle East ofce as Regional Director and achieved an impressive track record of industry engagement initiatives.

During his highly-successful tenure, he signicantly grew the involvement of the local meetings industry in ICCA activities by organising 17 highlysuccessful educational events and networking opportunities in countries across the region. Gopinath also forged new relationships with regional governments and grew ICCA membership in the Middle East by more than 80%.

Driving the future of association meetings as ICCA CEO Gopinath's recognition as a leader in business events strategy at the PCMA Visionary Awards coincides with the recent announcement that he has been

selected to lead ICCA as its new CEO. At the end of a six-month selection process, ICCA announced in April 2019 that the global meetings industry trade association's Board of Directors had chosen Gopinath to serve as the organisation's new CEO. Alongside the incredible results he achieved as ICCA Regional Director Middle East, the Board noted several career accomplishments as being key to their consideration of Gopinath for the role. His appointment marks a new direction in ICCA's future development.

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LATEST NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

EDITOR NOTE

I am delighted to write the rst note for the inaugural edition of the bimonthly supplement of Exhibition Showcase – The Association Buzz, a tabloid to showcase the work of trade associations and industry bodies. Trade associations and industry bodies are playing a very crucial role in our economy by spearheading business growth through meetings, conferences, exhibitions, training programs and advocacy campaigns. These bodies are mostly run by private players who feel the need to come together to form a collective voice of the industry. Trade associations and bodies are indeed playing a very critical role in pivoting the shape of their respective industries.

In our upcoming editions, we will bring to you the latest news from the world of trade associations. We will keep you abreast with the latest happenings across different associations and we will also interview their key people to understand their vision and plans for the industry. This tabloid will also talk about the key issues being faced by associations. We will also feature international associations. In this issue, we bring to you a special highlight on the Indian Exhibition Industry Association's agship annual event – The 9th IEIA Open Seminar. We will also try to understand the Indian exhibition industry's scenario and the key concerns and opportunities surrounding it.

I do hope that you will admire and appreciate our efforts. I will be glad to hear your feedback and views on connect@associationbuzz.in

CONTENTS

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04 Vijay Kalantri, Vice Chair, World Trade Center Mumbai Re-elected As Board Member Of World Trade Centers Association For The Record Sixth Term Printed at Polykam Offset 138

06 More Than 550 Companies From 29 Countries Will Take Part In The Belagro Expo 07 New Govt. To Use Fintech For Flagship Programmes: Amitabh Kant 10 FICCI Survey Projects GDP Growth For 2019-20 At 7.1%, And 7.2% For 2020-21

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11 CORSIA Has Begun. Our Sustainable Future Starts Here.

13 Pharma Companies Fined Over 74 Crore 15 Reduce Repo Rate At 4% In Phases As Well Rationalize CRR: PHDCCI 20 Agra's Footwear Industries: A Heritage That Contributes To India's Economy

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FROM News FromPICTURES Across The World

LATEST NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

THE WORLD OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Paris has returned to the top of the ICCA City Rankings, with the USA continuing to top the Country Rankings. The new ICCA’s 2018 Rankings also mark another successful year, with the global meetings industry trade association capturing a total of 12,937 rotating association meetings taking place in 2018.

Had a wonderful time today discussing the #ElectionVerdict2019 with business leaders from across India at #PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi.

Moderated with special session with top leaders of Indian industry and academic experts in a live election result watch.

Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) in association with Social and Labor Convergence Program (SLCP) organized a workshop to announce the launch of SLCP operations in Gurugram, Haryana today the 7th June, 2019. Shri HKL Magu, Hon’ble Chairman, AEPC inaugurated the programme.

CII Gujarat hosted the 2nd edition of HR Conference on "Changing Face of Business: HR & Technology" on Saturday in Rajkot, #Gujarat w/ an objective of understanding & exploring the modern day #HR & #Technology trends that have changed the face of businesses.

Vice-president @ASSOCHAM4India Shri @agarwalvineet yesterday chaired the rst meeting of #ASSOCHAM National Council on #Logistics. @TCILGroup

Finance Minister will hold Pre-Budget consultation meeting with industry & trade associations; MSME body FISME is also invited

Glimpses of interactive panel discussion by the Guest of Honour H. E. Mr. Farhod Arziev, Ambassador of Uzbekistan India and Business Deligation from Uzbekistan on "Investment, Trade and Tourism Potential of Uzbekistan's" organised

by World Trade Centre Mumbai

The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) plans to appeal to the new government to provide policy support to the textile and clothing (T&C) industry. CITI Chairman Sanjay K Jain said the T&C sector went through a phase of consolidation with stagnating exports,demonetisation, bank restructuring and implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The India Convention Promotion Bureau, ICPB announces its agship event 12th Conventions India Conclave from August 29 to 31, 2019 at Grand Hyatt Kochi

ELCINA delegation in Taiwan. Visited Nuvoton IC Fab in Hsinchu. NAND and Memory Ics. Electronic Industries Association of India (ELCINA) is the oldest and largest Association for Electronics Hardware Manufacturing sector, established in 1967.

Vinnie Mehta, Director General, Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) afrmed that the industry has been facing pressure due to the slowdown in the automobiles sector.

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VIJAY KALANTRI, VICE CHAIR, WORLD TRADE CENTER MUMBAI RE-ELECTED AS BOARD MEMBER OF WORLD TRADE CENTERS ASSOCIATION FOR THE RECORD SIXTH TERM On this occasion Mr. Kalantri said, “I am honoured and privileged to be elected once again as Board Member. I thank all the members for reposing faith in me. I reafrm my commitment to the vision of WTCA which is to promote prosperity through trade.”

Trade Centers across 91 countries connecting one million businesses across sectors. WTCA helps businesses to connect globally while prospering locally.

ijay Kalantri, Board Member, World Trade Centers Association (WTCA), New York and Vice Chairman, MVIRDC World Trade Center Mumbai was elected for the sixth consecutive term as the Board Member of World Trade Centers Association (WTCA), New York.

Mr. Kalantri is also the President of the All India Association of Industries and Promoter of Dighi Port. Mr. Kalantri is also on the Board of WTCA Foundation to help in its mission to conduct programmes that promote social welfare as well as support activities that foster peace and social stability.

World Trade Center (WTC) Mumbai, promoted by M Visvesaraya Industrial Research and Development Centre, is the premier World Trade Center in India dedicated to the promotion of international trade and investment. It is a member of the WTCA. The prime objective of the World Trade Center Mumbai is to enhance India's trade competitiveness and facilitate India's integration with global markets through trade promotion, research, education and training in international trade and business.

The re-election took place at a time when WTCA celebrates its 50th General Assembly at Querétaro in Mexico.

World Trade Centers Association is an unparalleled network of 328 World

World over, WTCs are growing at a fast pace with over 28 of them in India alone.

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COIMBATORE DISTRICT SMALL INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION’S INTEC 2019 PROMOTE MSME’S

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he 18th edition of international machine tools and industrial trade fair 'Intec 2019' will be held from June 6 to 10 at Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (Codissia) trade fair complex in Coimbatore.

The fair is expected to generate a business turnover of around 800 crore.

The trade fair will have an exclusive pavilion for products from plastics, die and mould category, which according to the organisers will be related to the defence corridor project.

The chairman of Intec 2019, J. Balu, said that trade fair will have 575 exhibitors against 536 exhibitors it had in the previous edition. “We expect a business of about 300 crore during the fair, and business enquiries worth 500 core after the fair. The last edition of Intec had 125 core of business during the fair while the business enquiry was to the tune of 375 crore post the fair,” he said.

President of Codissia, R. Ramamurthy, said that the trade fair will boost the prospects of the trade body's industrial parks at Kallapalayam and Mopperipalayam.

Exhibitors from 14 States, Puducherrry, and 12 foreign countries will take part in the fair.The organisers expect a footfall of 50,000 in the ve days. Sriram Viji, Deputy Managing Director of Brakes India Private Limited, Chennai, will inaugurate the fair in the presence of District Collector K. Rajamani. Speaking at the inaugural of Intec 2019,SriramViji, Deputy Managing Director of Brakes India Private Limited, said the country saw steady growth and low ination

during the last few years.

There has been signicant investments in infrastructure and reforms such as GST. However, there are signs of a slowing global economy.

While the long-term sentiment is good among industries, there are shortterm issues. MSMEs - be it as vendors, customers,or traders - will play a vital role in the economy. The global and industrial trends are changing and the MSMEs should cope with the change. The industries need to innovate and upgrade technology constantly, he said.

According to P. Udayakumar, Director (Planning and Marketing) of National Small Industries Corporation, the new Government at the Centre is expected to come out with several reforms that will benet the MSMEs. In the last seven years, the MSME sector is on a digital mode as several schemes have gone online. Three major challenges for the MSMEs are: marketing, skill, and credit access. The Government is aware of these issues. “I foresee a lot of reforms on the credit front.” Mr. Udayakumar urged the industries to look at technologies such as Articial Intelligence and Internet of Things. Karin Christina Maria Stoll, Consul General of Germany, Chennai, said that as in India, a large number of Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Germany are family enterprises. The potential for

Indo-German businesses are high and Coimbatore has many Indo-German businesses. India and Germany share a common perspective on several issues.

About 1,700 German rms are operating in India and 120 of these started operations in the last three years.

Tamil Nadu has nearly 130 German companies. There is a common working committee formed by the Indo-German Chamber and the German Consulate with the State Government. “We exchanged a note recently with the Government of Tamil Nadu on training,” she said.

Texas Ventures, a global research and consulting rm, Intec 2019 and Codissia will jointly organise 'Global Manufacturing Cluster Vision (GMCV) 2030' conference at Hotel Radisson Blu, Coimbatore, on June 7.The ninth edition of GMCV 2030 conference is organised as a knowledge sharing platform for chief executive ofcers of the Indian manufacturing industry according to organisers.

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SIAM PROPOSES GST CUT ON AUTO TO THE GOVERNMENT

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assing through one of the longest sales slowdowns, the auto industry has sought a reduction of GST on all vehicles to 18 per cent from the current rate of 28 per cent. Spelling out its Budget wish list, the Society of Automobile Industry (SIAM) has also asked the government an incentivebased vehicle scrappage scheme in order to get polluting, unsafe and old vehicles off the road and help them replace with new ones.

During a pre-Budget meeting with nance ministry ofcials earlier this month, SIAM stated the GST rate on all categories of vehicles be "brought down to 18 per cent from the current rate of 28 per cent".

Bringing down the tax rate will reduce vehicle prices, which will help in spurring

demand that has been sluggish for the last 11 months, said an industry executive. In April, passenger vehicles sales witnessed the steepest decline in nearly 8 years with sales dropping by 17.07 per cent - the biggest fall since October 2011 -- as weak customer sentiment led by liquidity crunch, uncertainty before elections and high product prices hit sales. During the meeting with the ministry ofcials, SIAM also proposed an incentive-based vehicle scrappage scheme to get polluting, unsafe and old vehicles off the road. With an aim to support local manufacturing, SIAM has asked for applied customs duty on fully imported commercial vehicles (CV) to be increased to 40 per cent from 25 per cent.

Moreover, customs duty on semi-knocked down CVs should be reduced to 20 per cent from 25 per cent to promote local value addition, SIAM said in its recommendation. The auto industry body also pitched for customs duty on CKDs (completely knocked down units) of all form of vehicles to be reduced to 10 per cent from 15 per cent, as it was earlier.

INDIA ITME SOCIETY BLAZING ALL GUNS FOR THE TEXTILE MACHINERY SECTOR

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he India International Textile Machinery Exhibitions Society (India ITME Society) will organise ITME Africa 2020 between February 14 and 16 next year at Addis Ababa. It is co-organised by the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations.

The exhibits will be under four major categories — textiles, textile engineering, nancial institutions and allied segments. It will have country pavilions of Italy, Turkey, China and Switzerland, showcasing technology and engineering expertise in textiles. The pavilion of EEPC India will support engineering units from India to connect with African countries.

The event is supported by the governments of India and Ethiopia and ofcials from 130 diplomatic missions are expected to visit. The event will include technology seminars, business-to-business meetings, and nancial solutions, according to a

statement. Apart from this, the 11th edition of India International Textile Machinery Exhibition (India ITME) will be held in Greater Noida between December 10 and 15 next year. The exhibition will have participants from more than 100 countries and about 1,800 exhibitors. It will cover products under 21 categories from bre to nished products.Breaking past records, online registrations for India ITME 2020 have begun. On the rst day itseld, more than 15,000 sq metres of the area have already been booked.

This 11th edition of the ITME series shall host over 1,50,000 visitors. A complete spectrum of 21 exhibiting chapters from bre to nished goods shall showcase at India ITME 2020. The six-day long fair aims to promote integrated services through exhibitions for setting a benchmark in textile machinery industry through continuous improvement.

LATEST NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

IS IT TIME UP FOR FLEX

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iving in India, you would have come across huge billboards or exes everyday. From highways to markets, the ashy material is used by advertising companies to draw people's attention.

And it is being used excessively in the events and exhibitions sector!

Psychological impact aside, these ex boards also have hazardous effects on the environment. Also known as 'Poison Plastic', the exes are made from a material called Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC), a synthetic plastic polymer. Since PVCs are non-biodegradable, they do not degrade on their own, so, one of the options is to burn them. When burnt, they release toxic fumes that have serious implications on public health. Another option is to send them to the landlls as waste pickers do not earn anything from the discarded exes. This further burdens the trenching grounds with waste that does not dissolve for years together, “No one picks it up as it has no, so it is a major issue for the municipal corporations to clear it,” says Dipen. “This commonplace plastic is one of the most toxic substances saturating our planet and its inhabitants.

PVC contaminates humans and the environment throughout its lifecycle: during its production, use, and disposal.

Few consumers realize that PVC is the single most environmentally damaging of all plastics,” says Greenpeace International.

In the 1960s, when governments across the world started prohibiting industrial chlorine, companies turned to alternatives and thus, there was in a rise in PVC production. As per The Times of India, 90 per cent of all advertising in India in 2017 was done on PVC. On an average, around 18 tonnes of PVC ex is consumed per month. However, the good news is that a transition to eco-friendly alternatives to PVC is possible, and many states in India have already initiated the switch. As for the cost, the PVC ex material at Rs 3-7 is cheaper than Ecoex which is priced at Rs 8-10 per sq ft. But one has to realise that opting for cheap PVC will harm the environment in the long run. Investing a little more in greener alternatives now will save our valuable resources in future. It is time to take a decision. Maybe, its time for the ecoex!

Time to think for the event organisers.

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AMBASSADOR OF INDIA IN THAILAND INAUGURATES THE INDIA PAVILION AT THAIFEX included Royal Import & Export, Shreeji Nut Butter, The Good Life Company (TGL Co.), AnkurChemfood Ltd, Kravour Foods Private Limited, Ezeebee Overseas Pvt. Ltd, etc.

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rade Promotion Council of India with the support of the Department of Commerce, Government of India, organised an India pavilion at THAIFEX during 28 May- 01 June, 2019 at Impact exhibition & Convention Center, Bangkok, Thailand. The pavilion was inaugurated by the Smt. Suchitra Durai, IFS, Ambassador of India in Thailand on May 28 at Bangkok, Thailand in presence of TPCI team members and Indian exhibitors. TPCI participated in the fair with 45 member exporters. The delegation was led by Mr Sandip Das, Director Trade Fair, TPCI and Ms Nupur Kumaria, Assistant Director, TPCI. The TPCI trade delegation included exhibitors mainly from biscuits, confectionaries, dried vegetables, spices and heath food, etc. Some of the participants who were part of the show

The Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) is expecting spot orders of USD 30 million from THAIFEX Fair 2019. THAIFEX is the region's largest food and beverage trade show. Every year, the show attracts thousands of exhibitors and visitors around the world, in a truly global knowledge and business exchange platform. A unique concept of THAIFEX – World of Food Asia is that it comprises 11 trade shows in one, showcasing a unied F&B industry through a diversity of products which includes; THAIFEX Coffee & Tea, THAIFEX Drinks, THAIFEX Fine Food, THAIFEX Food Service, THAIFEX Food Technology, THAIFEX Frozen Food, THAIFEX Fruits & Vegetables, THAIFEX Meat and THAIFEX Rice.Speaking on the business generated during the THAIFEX, Chairman of TPCI, MohitSingla, said, “This is our third participation in THAIFEX, TPCI took 45 member trade delegation and we are

expecting the spot orders of 30 million USD from the fair. I am happy that, India is generating interests from the big food consumers companies and retail chains. I am sure the India- ASEAN partnership will take this fair to next level.”

All About Thaifex 2019: THAIFEX-World of Food Asia kicked off its 16th edition, from 28 May to 1 June 2019, presenting 11 trade shows under 1 roof, housing more than 2,700 exhibitors from 42 countries and regions.

The trade show is expected to welcome over 67,000 trade visitors across ve dedicated trade days IMPACT Muang Thong Thani in Bangkok.

Kalin Sarasin, Chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade of Thailand said: “As an internationally recognized F&B trade show with a cosmopolitan participation, THAIFEX-World of Food Asia is the perfect platform to showcase Thai businesses – be it established companies or young, exciting start-ups – and our local avors to a global audience. We hope that trade visitors, buyers and exhibitors will take the opportunity to interact and exchange ideas with these innovative startups, and work together to shape the future of the F&B industry.”

MORE THAN 550 COMPANIES FROM 29 COUNTRIES WILL TAKE PART IN THE BELAGRO EXPO

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SSOCHAM with the support from Department of Commerce, Govt. of India is organizing India pavilion in Belagro 2019 during June 04-09, 2019.

India exported goods worth US$ 40 Mn to Belarus during 2016-17. There are good opportunities for Indian companies to export food and agro products to Belarus. More than 550 companies from 29 countries will take part in the Belagro 2019 expo, Belarus Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister Vladimir Grakun told the media. According to him, the agriculture expo is growing more popular every year. “This year, we have received applications for participation from 29 countries. A total of 560 companies have applied.

This is more than last year. For example, there will be participants from Russia, Ukraine, Austria, the UK, Hungary, Israel, India, China, the Netherlands, the United States of America,” the deputy minister said. The expo will be held in the Globus Park trade and logistics center in Shchomyslitsa, Minsk District. One of the main novelties of this year will be an innovative exhibition called “Experimental Field”, with the varieties of grain crops planted here in September

2018. Visitors to this exhibition will be able to see, compare and evaluate the shoots of the experimental varieties of winter wheat, triticale, rye and barley that will be presented by the research center for farming at the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and by German companies. The open-air part of Belagro 2019 will showcase modern agricultural machines (over 300 samples).

These will include machines to apply fertilizers and plant protection agents, harvest grain and forage crops, machines for reclamation, cultivation and harvesting of potatoes and vegetables.

Agricultural products, machines and equipment will be demonstrated as part of the technological chain alongside modern energy-saving technologies for all sectors associated with production, processing, transporting, and storage.

“The Belarusian manufacturers will showcase agricultural machines alongside foreign companies. An exhibition of retro vehicles will traditionally be part of the program as it always arouses great interest among visitors of all ages,” Vladimir Grakun said. Belagro is also a venue for business negotiations. This year's edition will welcome more than 30 ofcial delegations from different countries, Vladimir Grakun informed.

Thematic conferences and panel sessions will discuss competitiveness of agricultural products, use of land resources in terms of environmental and economic performance, prospects for cooperation of Belarus with foreign countries in the production of innovative technologies in agriculture and other relevant issues. The program also features practical demonstrations, presentations, master classes and contests such as the tasting contest “Champion of the Taste”, the contest for the best breeding cow, The Best Plowman event, and also an open auction of breeding animals, an exhibition of farm animals and other activities. The 29th edition of the Belagro 2019 international exhibition will be held on 4-9 June. Its organizer is Minskexpo, co-organizer is IFW-expo.

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NEW GOVT. TO USE FINTECH FOR FLAGSHIP PROGRAMMES: AMITABH KANT

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se of nancial technology (Fintech) revolution for achieving greater nancial and insurance inclusion, besides lifting people above the poverty line would be amongst the biggest agenda of the Narendra Modi 2.0 government, NITI Aayog CEO, Mr Amitabh Kant said at an ASSOCHAM Conference in New Delhi.

Sharing his outlook at the ASSOCHAM Fintech Summit: “Emerging Technologies disrupting the Financial Sector”, Mr Kant said India is the third largest and one of the fastest growing FinTech markets globally, attracting about USD 6 bn in investments since 2014. Industry reports estimate that India's total FinTech software and services market is expected to grow to USD 13bn with the software market alone set to touch USD 2.4 bn by 2020. The transaction value for the Indian ntech sector which was approximately USD33 billion in 2016 is slated to reach USD73 billion in 2020, growing at a ve-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22%. The most dominant theme of India's FinTech growth is the Digital Payments space, market size of which is expected to reach US$1 trillion by 2023 from the current market size of USD 200 bn. As much as USD 1 Trillion, or 60% of retail and SME credit, will be digitally disbursed by 2029, said Mr. Kant. ASSOCHAM President Mr B K Goenka agreed with the NITI Aayog CEO, stating the Fintech can meet a huge untapped demand in areas, where the traditional delivery channels were unable to reach.

In his inaugural speech, Mr Kant said the government has played the role of an active enabler for the FinTech industry by disrupting payments. IndiaStack – through its 4 layers viz. Consent (permission), Cashless (UPI, Payments Bridges and Systems), Paperless (digital locker and digital signature) and Presence-less (Authentication through Aadhaar), has powered the growth of

FinTechstartups. Government, in collaboration with the industry, has built the world's most advanced payment system, Unied Payments Interface. The Unied Payments Interface –has taken less than 8 months to reach US$1bn in transactions, fastest ever globally by any nancial product. In addition to Bhim, UPI has empowered several private payment systems like Paytm, GPay, Mobiwkik, PhonePe and Whatsapp. With UPI, you can transfer money in India, just as exchanging a message on Whatsapp.

The numbers that have been achieved using UPI are truly phenomenal, said CEO, NITI Aayog.

FinTech industry can meet India's unique needs (viz. nancial inclusion, access to credit, limited insurance reach etc.) and can also serve as the solution provider of choice for global nancial sector (viz. leadership in RegTech, capital markets Fintech infrastructure and offshore hub for global banks'. The nancial industry is seeing three major trends globally a) Disintermediation at all levels of the value chain and the rise of P2P business models, b) The development of unique payment interfacesand c) use of advanced data techniques and AI for highly personalized nancial services.

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25 March 2019, was aimed at discussing India's existing capabilities in FinTech, and the impediments faced by the industry, and build the narrative for future strategy and policy efforts, and to deliberate steps for comprehensive nancial inclusion. More than 250 thought leaders from banks, insurance companies, startups, investment community, central and state governments, ecosystem enablers and regulators were engaged in the discussion across ve tracks like Digital on boarding of Customers/Merchants for Financial Inclusion, Building Financial Products for Bharat and Millennial India; Emerging Areas of FinTech; Fast Tracking Investments in FinTech Industry; and Financial Inclusion of MSMEs.

The applications of Articial Intelligence and Machine Learning in data analytics and customer service create the opportunity for exponentially more personalized and faster customer experiences, signicantly better insights, and, automation of back-end workows.

Typical use cases of AI include customer acquisition, KYC and on boarding, Accounts and Loans, Customer Service, Brand Management and Risk & Credit.

Blockchain technology's power to disintermediate opens the door to a host of use cases, especially in the insurance and P2P lending models.Globally as well as in India models . He also said NITI Aayog's FinTech Conclave, organized on

ITPO, PHDCCI SIGN MOU FOR MUTUAL COOPERATION (IISE2019) which is scheduled to be held from October 3 to 5 here.

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ndia Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) signed an MoU with the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) for envisaging mutual cooperation in connection with the 22nd India International Security Expo

The MoU was signed

by PHDCCI chairman Rajiv Bhatnagar and Chairman and ITPO Executive Director Deepak Kumar. The MoU is directed towards coordinated joint efforts to promote India's trade identifying internal strengths of the respective organizations in an effort towards attaining synergy through harnessing the strengths of both

ITPO and PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

It is also an endeavour to synchronise the efforts of both organizations by using their expertise and infrastructure. Every year, the event is being organized by ITPO with the support of the Ministry of Home Affairs while the co-organizers are CISF and BPR&D. Signicantly, this is the only security expo in South-Asia region which enjoys the support of law enforcement agencies from all States, CISF, NSF, ITBP, SSB, Delhi Police, SPG and DFS.

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BY 2050 CEMENT INDUSTRY LOOKS TO REDUCE CARBON FOOTPRINT BY 45%

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ontinuing its efforts towards sustainable development goals, the country's cement industry is keen to reduce its carbon footprint by 45 per cent by the year 2050. Adopting best environmental paradigms, new and clean technologies and adhering to stricter environmental standards, the sector is seeking to transform itself and brace itself for new challenges.

Mahendra Singhi, President, Cement Manufacturers Association and MD and CEO, Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited, said that under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, the Indian cement industry has adopted more than 700 villages to improve education, healthcare, sanitation, water supply and green cover; created green belts around cement plants through forestry, nanced 25 colleges and established 225 primary and secondary schools.

Speaking at the 15th Green Cementech 2019 summit, an annual conference for the cement industry organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA), he said, “There is a huge perception gap, with many still thinking about the cement sector as unfriendly to the environment, whereas, the reality is that the cement sector is the most energy-efcient sector in the country and the world.” BN Mohapatra, Director General, National Council for Cement and Building Materials, said that the Indian cement industry has committed to reduce its carbon footprint by 45 per cent by 2050 and expressed optimism for the accomplishment of this and related goals.

Philip Mathew, Chairman, Green Cementech 2019 and Chief Manufacturing Ofcer, ACC Limited, said that concrete is the

second most-used compound material in the world, next only to water. Cement is increasingly seen as unsustainable and harmful to the environment, making the industry provide green solutions.

Mathew said, “More than 1 million tonnes of coal has been conserved over the years by sustainable cement production practices in the Indian cement industry. Conservation of nonrenewable sources of energy is the only way forward.” KN Rao, Co-Chairman, Green Cementech 2019, and Director (Energy & Environment), ACC Limited, said “Cement is subjected to the highest GST slab and this is a major impediment to growth. India has captive power plants with about 55 GW capacity, 60 per cent of which is coal-based, and therefore, there is a huge potential for promoting clean and renewable energy technologies the captive power plants.”

During the day, two publications, 'Cement Formulae Handbook (Ver 3.0)' and 'Energy Benchmarking for Indian Cement Industry (Ver 4.0) were released. For their efforts, JK Lakshmi Cement and Orient Cement were awarded GreenPro (Green Product) certication and ACC Bargargh Cement Works was awarded GreenCo (Green Company) Rating.

COTTON OUTPUT TO DROP BY 5 PER CENT : COTTON ASSOCIATION OF INDIA Crisil study felt. According to the Cotton Association of India (CAI), total stock held by spinning mills and stockists as on April 30, 2019 is estimated at 87.75 lakh bales of 170 kg each, which is equal to about 93 to 94 lakh running bales. Due to small crop size and a very tight cotton balance sheet, closing stock as on September 30, 2019 is estimated at 13 lakh bales.

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ue to small crop size and a very tight cotton balance sheet, closing stock as on September 30, 2019 is estimated at 13 lakh bales.

India's cotton production is expected to drop by over 5 per cent in the cotton season 2019 (October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019) because of low water availability and inadequate southwest monsoon in key cotton producing states, along with lower yields owing to pest attacks. Going by the latest Crisil report, lower production is expected to shrink India's cotton stock to a two-year low of 1.2 months by the end of CS 2019, leading to rming up of domestic cotton prices to Rs 128-140 per kg this scal, marking a rise of 7-8 per cent over FY19. Global cotton prices, though are expected to remain steady at Rs 128-134 per kg as lower production in India, the US and Australia will be offset by higher production in China and Brazil. This would narrow the gap between domestic and global cotton prices, the

The CAI has released its April estimate of the cotton crop for the season 2018-19 beginning from October 1, 2018. The cotton crop estimated by the CAI for the 2018-19 crop year now is 315 lakh bales, which is lower by 6 lakh bales compared to its previous estimate, of 321 lakh bales, released last month.

Atul S Gantra, President, CAI pointed out that the total cotton supply estimated by the CAI during the period from October 2018 to April 2019 is 314 lakh bales of 170 kg each which consists of the arrival of 278.73 lakh bales upto April 30, 2019, imports of 7.27 lakh bales upto April 30 2019 and the opening stock at the beginning of season on October 1, 2018 at 28 lakh bales. Further, the CAI has estimated cotton consumption during the months of October 2018 to April 2019 at 183.75 lakh bales while the export shipment of cotton estimated by the CAI upto April 30, 2019 is 42.50 lakh bales of 170 kg each.

On the export-import front, the CAI projection of cotton export for the season is reduced from 47 lakh bales to 46 lakh bales on account of prevailing higher prices of Indian cotton and smaller crop size. Last year, cotton exports from India were 69 lakh bales. Thus, the cotton exports this year are estimated lower by about 33 per cent.

Import of cotton has been projected at 31 lakh bales compared to the last year's import of 15 lakh bales. Thus, the cotton imports this year are estimated higher to be more than double compared to that of last year, Gantra mentioned.

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FICCI SURVEY PROJECTS GDP GROWTH FOR 2019-20 AT 7.1%, AND 7.2% FOR 2020-21 To bridge the supply gap arising out of the discontinuation of waiver on Iran sanctions, India has been in talks with oil producers in other geographies including countries in the Middle East, Mexico and United Sates itself. Economists were of the view that such efforts to increase supply will neutralise any disruptions/ risks arising out of sanctions on Iran.

Respondents universally agreed that better policy engagements with other oil suppliers can lead to undisrupted supplies of oil.

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he latest round of FICCI's Economic Outlook Survey has put forth an annual median GDP growth forecast for 2019-20 at 7.1% and the projection for scal 2020-21 has been put at 7.2%.

The minimum and maximum growth estimate stood at 6.8% and 7.3% respectively for 2019-20 in the survey, which was conducted in May 2019 among economists belonging to the industry, banking and nancial services sector. The median growth forecast for agriculture and allied activities has been put at 3.0% for 2019-20. Industry and services sector are expected to grow by 6.9% and 8.0% respectively during the year. Further, the quarterly median forecasts indicate a GDP growth of 6.5% in the fourth quarter of 2018-19. The ofcial growth numbers for the fourth quarter will be released on May 31, 2019. The median growth forecast for IIP has been put at 4.4% for 2019-20 by the participating economists, with a minimum and maximum range of 3.3% and 5.5% respectively.

The outlook of participating economists on ination remained moderate. WPI based ination rate is projected at 3.1% in 2019-20, with a minimum and maximum range of 2.1% and 4.0% respectively. On the contrary, CPI based ination has a median forecast of 4.0% for 2019-20, with a minimum and maximum range of 3.5% and 4.1% respectively. Concerns remain on external front with median current account decit forecast pegged at 2.1% of GDP for 2019-20. Median export growth is pegged at 4.0% in 2019-20. Imports, on the other hand, are forecasted to grow at 3.8% in the same year. Participating economists unanimously felt less sanguine about the export sector's outlook in the current year. Escalation in trade war tensions has clouded the global trade growth outlook.

This is having an impact on overall world economic growth as well. The United

States' withdrawal of GSP benets to India which are likely to come into effect from June 2019 have added to India's concerns on the export front. Nonetheless, the duty benets that arose out of this are USD 190 million, implying a minimal impact on India's export sector.

Economists felt that greater efforts will be needed in the current global environment to keep up with the current growth momentum. Economists were also of the view that while greater trade protectionism can harm India's export growth, it also creates opportunities from re-localization of trade ows. It was recommended that India must be proactive to spot and cease such opportunities to enhance its exports.

India must focus on diversifying its export basket as well as markets to capture a greater share in world exports. Venturing into new markets in South East Asia, Central Asia, Central America and African subcontinent can help in dealing with the protectionist stance amongst advanced countries.

In addition, India must relentlessly focus on improving its competitiveness especially in labour intensive sectors.

Other measures such as ensuring adequate availability of affordable credit, timely refund of GST, providing incentives like interest subsidy to merchant exporters and provision of budgetary support for marketing and exports related infrastructure are some of the important steps that the government must consider. Majority of the participating economists believed that the United States' decision to end waiver granted to countries amidst sanctions imposed on Iran is signicant and will affect major oil importing countries including India. This becomes a major concern at a time when international prices of crude oil have been on the rise due to other factors such as supply constraints being undertaken

by OPEC countries.

Alongside, measures to curtail crude oil imports such as greater mix of ethanol in fuel and shifting to more renewable sources of energy will also help India reduce its oil imports, thus easing some pressure off the current account.

However, participants unanimously felt that crude oil prices remain volatile and will continue to pose a risk to India???s macroeconomic stability. Also, greater efforts on the policy front to further improve ease of doing business are required to create a conducive environment for investments. Higher foreign direct as well as institutional investments will play a big role in easing the pressure on balance of payments and can be used to fund the decits arising out of higher oil prices. The respondents were also asked to share their opinion on some major areas that require new government's immediate attention to restore India's growth momentum. Respondents highlighted the distress in agrarian and rural economy as major concern areas. They were undivided on the need for checking the ongoing distress in the sectors through a more structured reform approach that relies on solid policy measures (covering production, warehousing, infrastructural needs, irrigation etc.) rather than the use of quick x measures (like rolling out doles and farm loan waivers).

Other major reasons cited for the slowdown were lack of consumption demand and subdued private investments. Majority of participants felt the need for a quick redressal of liquidity crunch and related persistent credit issues (such as high cost of credit, slowing household savings rate etc.) that are inhibiting growth of private investments. Furthermore, it was felt that quicker recapitalization of public sector banks is the need of hour.

Economist mentioned that lack of jobs in the economy has been a major concern for the aspirational youth of the country.

The government must, therefore, take all necessary steps to improve the situation on the jobs front and assist in creation of livelihood opportunities.

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CORSIA HAS BEGUN. OUR SUSTAINABLE FUTURE STARTS HERE. IATA's Director General & CEO Alexandre de Juniac's personal views on current aviation affairs

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t was an achievement ten years in the making, but on 1st January, the implementation of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) began.

Airlines have started monitoring and reporting their emissions for the rst carbon offsetting obligations beginning in 2021.

CORSIA is the result of the aviation industry's four-pillar climate strategy and goal for carbon-neutral growth from 2020. In 2008 the industry became the rst global business sector to set ambitious targets for carbon emissions: rst, to improve fuel efciency per passengers by 1.5% annually to 2020. Second, to cap emissions through carbon-neutral growth from 2020, and third, to cut net CO2 emissions 50% by 2050 compared to 2005 level.

These targets are ambitious but realistic, provided governments work with industry. The basis for achieving the targets is a fourpillar strategy. Two pillars are the responsibility of industry: introducing new technology, and improving the efciency of operations. The third pillar, better use of infrastructure, requires partnership with governments, especially in the area of air trafc management. The fourth pillar, a market-based measure, requires governments to make a commitment to a single global mechanism for reporting and mitigating airline carbon emissions. The mechanism became CORSIA, and it was adopted by governments at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 2016. At least 78 states have volunteered for the rst phase of CORSIA, from 2021, with it becoming mandatory from 2027.

CORSIA is crucial to achieving carbon-neutral growth. The other three pillars of our strategy have delivered tremendous efciency improvements, but the increase in ights due to the demand to y has outstripped these efciency gains. Offsetting, through which airlines invest in carbon-reduction projects in other sectors of the economy, is a long-established and respected method for ensuring climate nance is directed towards the most innovative and effective methods for reducing carbon emissions. Through offsetting, the industry can cap its net emissions at 2020 levels, until technology levels create the conditions to reduce aircraft emissions at source.

So the industry welcomed the CORSIA agreement. And we have reafrmed our commitment to the industry goals numerous times, most notably in resolutions at our AGMs in 2016 and 2017. More importantly, we have practical support in place. At ICAO, our input into the technical work groups helped dene the monitoring reporting and verication processes. And we have developed a program of workshops, training, and an on-line reporting tool FRED+ (Fuel Reporting and Emissions Database) to help ensure airlines are meeting their monitoring obligations.

As I wrote in an earlier blog, it was very disappointing to see the European Union, which has done so much to promote CORSIA, undermine it by adopting their own MRV standards. European governments in Sweden, the Netherlands and elsewhere persist in adopting environmental taxes which run counter to the commitments made at ICAO. Nevertheless, it is still a moment to celebrate. No other industry has asked to be globally regulated on carbon emissions, still less has employed resources to ensure the adopted measure has become a practical reality. And at ICAO, the world's governments delivered. We need to take that spirit of cooperation and apply it to other areas of practical value, most obviously, increasing production of sustainable aviation fuels, and air trafc management reform.

The industry worked hard to convince governments of the importance of agreeing CORSIA, and on the technical steps needed for implementation. There were three reasons why airlines did this: rstly, because the leaders of airlines share the same concerns over climate change as many other people. Secondly, tackling aviation's contribution to climate change is increasingly being seen as our industry's “license to grow”. Thirdly, the nancial bottom line benets from reduced fuel burn – depending on the price of oil, jet fuel comprises between 20-30% of an airline's cost. In addition, through CORSIA we have a chance to minimize the patchwork of overlapping environmental taxes and charges, many of which create money for governments but do nothing for the environment.

GLOBAL CITY PROJECT, A PART OF THE PROPOSED DELHI-MUMBAI INDUSTRIAL CORRIDOR (DMIC) PAYS FOR WILDLIFE RELOCATION

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he district forest and wildlife department has received a “conservation fund” to the tune of ₹1.3 crore from the Haryana government for rehabilitating wildlife that may be displaced by its Global City project, which is scheduled to come up on over 1,000 acres near Sector 36B, straddling Pataudi and Narnaul villages. An ofcial of the district forest department, requesting anonymity, conrmed that the fund has been allocated to implement a conservation plan for the Global City project, which will be a part of the proposed Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). “We already have an inventory of wildlife species found in the area and have drawn up a plan to mitigate

the project's impact on them. We will do this by creating underpasses on the affected land, building water holes, planting native ora species which the animals depend on and improving soil rejuvenation. A treatment centre to tend to displaced or wounded animals will also be set up,” the ofcial said. Another ofcial pointed out that a corpus of ₹1.3 crore was a “pithy amount” which would not sufce to rehabilitate animals living over 1,000 acres of land. The Global City project is set to be developed jointly by the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) and Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC).

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PHARMA COMPANIES FINED OVER 74 CRORE opinion, directed the ofce of Director- General (DG) to conduct an investigation.

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he Competition Commission of India has imposed a penalty on four pharmaceutical companies and associations, along with their ofce-bearers, for “stiing competition and controlling supply of drugs in the market”.

It imposed a penalty of 55.5 crore on Intas Pharmaceutical Limited, 18.5 crore on Himalaya Drug Company, 4 lakh on Madhya Pradesh Chemists and Druggist Association (MPCDA) and over 39,000 on Indore Chemists Association (ICA) for violating the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002. The allegations were that the associations, through their practice of mandating a 'No Objection Certicate' prior to the appointment of stockists, were stiing competition, limiting access of consumers to various pharmaceutical products and controlling the supply of drugs in the market. The Commission, after forming a prima facie

The investigation established contravention on the part of the said associations and certain pharmaceutical companies, who were found to be facilitating such anti-competitive practices. It also identied certain individuals/ ofce-bearers/ ofcials of the associations and pharmaceutical companies to be liable under Section 48 of the Act, said a release issued on Thursday. The Commission imposed a penalty on the associations - 4,18,404 on MPCDA and 39,142 on ICA — in addition to cease and desist directions, issued under Section 27 of the Act,” the release said.

Further, taking into account the role played by certain ofcebearers of the associations, penalties were also imposed on them, the release added. The Commission, after taking into account the mitigating factors demonstrated by Himalaya Drug Company and Intas Pharmaceutical Limited, imposed on them penalties amounting to 18,59,58,000 and 55,59,68,000 respectively.

Penalty was also imposed on certain ofcials of these companies.

“In addition to this, the Commission also directed MPCDA to organise at least ve competition awareness and compliance programmes over a period of six months in Madhya Pradesh for its members. It directed ICA to organise one competition awareness programme in Indore district. The Commission further directed Himalaya Drug Company and Intas Pharmaceutical Limited to put in place a Competition Compliance Programme and le compliance report with the Commission,” noted the release. The action was initiated after the Madhya Pradesh Chemists and Distributors Federation approached the Commission alleging contravention of rules by MPCDA and others.

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INDIAN INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION (A GOLD RATED ASSOCIATION BY NABET, QCI & MEMBER OF NATIONAL BOARD OF MSME) : A SNEAK PEEK

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ndian Industries Association (IIA) is an apex representative body of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) with a strong membership base of about 8022 Micro, Small and In support of MSME's since 1985 Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). IIA is a member of National Board of MSME as well as an accredited association from NABET, QCI with GOLD GRADE. IIAs motto is to create an enabling environment for the development of MSMEs in today's ever changing and extremely competitive industrial scenario.

IIA's formidable presence is the direct result of its extensive network of more than 40 chapters spread in most of the industrialized districts of U.P, Delhi, Uttarakhand and surrounding states. It has carved a niche for itself as a leading perpetrator and facilitator in the MSME circle while striving for their cause since its inception in 1985. In 1985, a group of committed young professionals joined forces and conceived the idea of an organization that can act as a catalyst for the promotion and growth for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises. It was thus that U.P Chapter of NAYE (National Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs) came into being. In July 1992, however, NAYE was renamed Indian Industries Association (IIA) with the roles and objectives of the organization further widened to suit the needs of changing socio-economic environment.

OBJECTIVES IIA operates on the board based objective of fostering cooperation and support for the promotion of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises. For more than 30 years now IIA has worked consistently in creating an environment conducive to industrial growth specially for MSMEs, disseminating valuable information on legal & technical aspects, latest development in industry & market, about latest Government policies, procedure and laws etc. apart from solving the teething problems of the Industry.

REPRESENTATION IIA is an active and permanent member of more than 30 consultative committees/boards/expert groups formed by Govt. of India and the State Government. The important few are: Member of High Level Task Force constituted by the Prime Minister Ofce for MSME development, Member of National Board for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (NBMSME), Member of Planning Commission's working groups on MSME Growth and HRD with special focus on Skill Development & labour exibility for the formation of 12th ve year plan, RBI Standing Advisory Committee on ow of credit to MSME, Regional Advisory Committee of CBEC & CBDT, Member SLIIC, All industry related committee/bodies of Govt. of Uttar Pradesh, Export Promotion, Minimum Wages Advisory Board, Committee for Selection of MSME for National Award and UdyogBandhu at all levels etc.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE IIA has a two-tier system operating at State/National/International and the Divisional/District/Local area level. Eligible members elect representatives to the CEC for a three years term out of which one-third members retire every year by rotation.

21 elected members elect the President who in turn nominates his team comprising of Sr.Vice President, Vice President, General Secretary, Honorary Secretaries and Treasurer at the State/National/International level. The President also nominates Chairmen of various Subject Committees and Special Invitees to the CEC. At the Divisional level the President nominates Divisional Chairman. At the District/ Local area level, a Chapter Chairman nominated by the President operates through his team of ofce bearers. The Central Secretariat is headed by a full time Executive Director.

ACTIVITIES & SUPPORT TO MEMBERS In association with the Govt. or otherwise IIA organizes Conventions, Trade Fairs, Seminars and Conferences to educate and inform entrepreneurs and thus facilitate industrial growth. Ÿ IIA represents its MSME member industries before the Government for effective policy formulation and modication. Ÿ IIA liaisons at the Government and department levels to help the member units in overcoming their troubles. Ÿ IIAacts as resource group for the entrepreneurs providing them with the consultancy in assortment of areas including technological, legal and policy related matters. Ÿ IIA acts as a close friend and protector of MSME entrepreneurs by taking up any kind of industry related problems/issues for solution at various levels. This personal attention/help is the need of MSME entrepreneurs as it saves lots of time, money and efforts of the MSME Entrepreneurs. Ÿ IIA identies new business opportunities for its membersin particular and MSMEs in general for promoting their business through Trade Fairs, Exhibitions, Buyer Seller Meets, Visits within & Outside India, Foreign tie-ups etc. Ÿ IIA have constituted working groups to discuss, analyze, review and recommend various issues and problems of different industrial sectors/areas in areas such as Labour, Textile, International Business Promotion, MSME Programme, Smart Cities & Cluster Development, Agri& Food Processing Industries, State Level Departments, Rice Mills, Women Entrepreneur Cell Working Group, Employment Exchange, RTI Working Group, IIA Branding & Promotion, Power Working Group, Small & Medium Enterprises, IT, Food Processing, Import-Export, Labour, Energy, Taxation, Environment, Quality management and W.T.O etc. Since inception of IIA, these working groups are constantly contributing for the promotion and development of the industries. Ÿ

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REDUCE REPO RATE AT 4% IN PHASES AS WELL RATIONALIZE CRR: PHDCCI

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HD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) urged the RBI to further slash the repo rate and pro-actively consider reducing the limit of Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) to make sure that private investment picks up to fuel the growth rate and the sagging economy begins to grow and expand. It has also made a prognosis that both SENSEX and NIFTY would commence inching up with stable government in place in India under Prime Minister Mr Modi which would attract huge investments from FPIs, FIIs, Private Equities and host of other such entities and spur up economic activities with aggressive pace.

Its fall out is bound to stoke manufacturing and services to transform India both economically and socially. The aforesaid observations were made during an Open House Discussion on Post Election Market Outlook of Various Asset Classes held here under aegis of PHDCCI which was presided over by its Senior Vice President, Dr D K Aggarwal in which host of experts took part. Dr Aggarwal pointed out that liquidity in the system is still a critical issue for industry and though the RBI has curtailed the repo rate by 25 basis points in its monetary policy yesterday, it is not commensurate with industry's expectations and aspirations and therefore, series of such cuts are called for until the repo rate is brought down to 4% from its current level of 5.75%. According to him, even the limit of CRR that currently prevails in the system needs a review so that non-availability of liquidity is adequately addressed and industry is disbursed the capital it requires for funding economic activities and industrial expansion. Dr Aggarwal also felt that investors in equity markets should invest in all blue chips companies and government securities including debt funds with long term perspective so as to ensure a 15% rate of return in their investments. Chairman, Foreign Trade & Investment Committee, PHDCCI, Mr Vijay Mehta also endorsed the views expressed by Dr Aggarwal adding that capital market is likely to be well oiled in general in near future and it would witness reasonable jumps in case India gains in good monsoon with its good spread and other better and reformed policy measures followed by the current regime. Chairman, Gems & Jewellery Committee, PHDCCI, Mr Ajay Mehra demanded that a suitable mining policy should be brought in so that bullion realizes its real potential with good gold policy in place. Among others who were also present on the occasion comprised EVP, Market & Corporate Affairs, India Infoline, Mr SanjeevBhasin; General Manager, Bombay Stock Exchange, Mr PankajSangal; Founder, Entry India, Mr Navin Pathak; Sr Advisor, Grant Thronton, Mr YogeshMathur; Chairman, Capital Market Committee, PHDCCI, Mr B K Sabharwal; CoChairman, Economic Affairs Committee, PHDCCI, Mr Ambuj Jain and its Chief Economist, Dr S P Sharma.

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AIRIA - CATALYST, CONVENER AND CONNECTOR IN THE RUBBER INDUSTRY

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very business is transitioning to a new age where technology plays a central role in the growth of every industry by delivering a superior customer experience anytime, anywhere. For our progression and winning leap forward the Indian rubber industry needs to be a technological trailblazer and a manufacturing hotspot. Evolving steadily in its role, AIRIA has now transformed into a CATALYST, CONVENER AND CONNECTOR in the Rubber industry. India Rubber Expo 2019 - the 10th version of IRE, the agship event of AIRIA – was held from 17 to 19 January 2019 at Mumbai. Besides exhibition, the value added features of IRE 2019 were: Buyer-Seller Meet (BSM), high level International Conference and Workshop. The then Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the 10th edition of the India Rubber Expo - 2019 in Mumbai. Suresh Prabhu had said that the rubber industry is a truly homegrown industry which is having a deep impact on several global markets. The minister hoped that the rubber industry will continue to grow faster, create more employment opportunities, increase exports and add to the economic output of India. He said that a multi-pronged strategy is being formulated to boost India's exports and to ensure that India's products get market access in more than 150 countries.

What is AIRIA? The All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA) is a not for prot making body serving the rubber industry and trade with the objectives of safeguarding and promoting interests of the industry.

Need for an Association To associate is to share, is to feel one with all those connected with the same industry or trade. Out of unity emerges a united voice and strength for the articulation of problems, for solution and better prospects. For an industry, progress emanates from better understanding and mutual co-operation amongst its members, and meaningful services through a common forum – an Association and hence its need.

Highlights of AIRIA’s India Rubber Expo 2019: 1) More than DOUBLED since last one held in Chennai in Jan 2017. In Chennai in 2017, net used area was 7290 square mtrs & in Mumbai in 2019, achieved net area of 15500 square mtrs 2) 400+ Exhibitors 3) Participation from 30+ Countries and CHINA Pavilion Of 800 & 400 Square metres respectively.

4) Footfalls were over 30000+ 5) Also held in parallel INTERNATIONAL RUBBER CONFERENCE 2019.

It had Approx 300+ Delegates 20 Papers on Varied Topics related to RUBBER. WORKSHOP spread over 514 square meter and for 3 days, conducted by experts from IRMRA, IIT and RIL and more.

Varied Topics on How to Set Up an Factory making Rubber Parts / Goods.

How to process rubber and trouble shoot etc.

How to Mould & Extrude etc.

DOMESTIC REVERSE BUYER SELLER MEET for 3 days spread over 1100 square metres.

Varied Sectors Entities were posed to have a pre xed meeting with interested companies for net working and B2B. Major Buyers included: Ÿ Indian Railways Ÿ RDSO Ÿ DRDO Ÿ AIR FORCE Ÿ Bridge & Roof Company Ÿ Various Port Authorities such as Kolkata, Mumbai etc Ÿ John Deere Ÿ Force Motor Ÿ Ashok Leyland Ÿ Thryuppsen Ÿ Jindal

Exhibitions | Events | Retail | Signage | Museums | Experience Centers

www.litmusmeroform.com Contact info@meroformindia.com isha@meroformindia.com

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. Can you tell us the history of CII?

A. CII is the 124 years old organization which came into existence in 1895. Next year we are celebrating 125 years. We had humble beginnings. About 5 British companies came together and formed an association and since then we have been through various name changes, while the latest name was incorporated in 1992.

Since then we have really gone very strong, now we have 8000 plus members & 66 ofces in India. We have got 10 overseas ofces as well. Our role has also evolved with time. Earlier we were more of a lobbying body but now we are primarily a developmental institution.

Today CII focuses on the four broad segments, namely, policy advocacy, where we do take up a lot of policy related issues with the government.

The second area is, we enhance the competitiveness of our member companies, we have 9 centres of excellence across the country, to name a few we have Green Business centre in Hyderabad, Institute of Quality in Bangalore, Logistic Institute based in Chennai so likewise there are 9 centres of excellence which provide value added service to our member companies.

Third, we focus a lot on business development for our members. We do have very active international department &10 overseas ofces so we are the conduit for bringing in delegations to India from overseas. We also take Indian delegations abroad. We do organize several fairs where we get lot of international participation and we also organize lot of international exhibitions where we take India inc overseas so that's very important activity for us for business development.

Fourth is Social Development. We do a lot of work on HIV, women empowerment, calamities like the current disaster in Odisha, where we work closely with the state governments. So, these are the four areas where CII has been focussing primarily as a developmental institution.

An Exclusive Interview With Mr. Virendra Gupta, Deputy Director General & Head Of Trade Fairs, Confederation of Indian Industry, Excerpts; Q. What is the role of CII in Industry promotion?

A. We do take up lot policy related issues. When GST was being implemented, we worked very closely with the industry. We also do a lot of work for SME promotion & for start-ups.

Around 40% of our membership is from the SME category. We do feel that SMEs and start-ups have a very important role to play in our economy.

Q. What are the major breakthroughs which CII has achieved since inception?

A. We started our rst show in 1975 which was actually the rst exhibition ever held in India, titled, International Engineering and Technology Fair. Since then we have evolved at a very fast pace. Today we organize nearly 50 exhibitions in a year either in India or overseas which is nearly about one exhibition in a week. To name some large brands, EXCON, the construction show, the largest in South Asia which occupies nearly 2.5 lacs sqmt. of space.

We get participation from 1000 plus exhibitors and the show will host 12 international pavilions. Excon will be held from 10 to 14 December 2019 at BIEC, Bangalore. Besides that we also partner with Auto Expo. There are two Auto Expos, Moto Show happens in Noida and the component show that happens in Pragati Maidan. These two shows are happening in the month of February

2020 and this is a very old brand that CII established in 1986, and since then the show has really grown in size and stature. Beside these, we also have International Mining and Machinery Exhibition which happens in Kolkata. The next edition will be held in December 2020. We also organize Railway Equipment exhibition which is happening in the month of October 2019 in New Delhi and beside this we have also been organizing small shows, like one on Gaming with decent visitors. We have run two editions so far and it's been really liked and appreciated by the visitors. We also started a new show on Articial Intelligence this year which was also very much appreciated. We had very large companies like Microsoft, Siemens who participated there.

Germany also put up a pavilion. There was a start-up zone, women entrepreneur zone as well. Beside these, we also organized a lot of overseas shows for example, Enterprise India in Myanmar in the month of December where the president of India had inaugurated the fair. We also have been organizing exhibition on Construction Equipment & Construction Technology, CONMAC in Nepal in the month of December.

So the idea is to promote Indian business units across varying sectors of the economy which gives an impetus to our national growth.

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Q. What are the major events organized

by CII? A. Auto Expo, IMME, The EXCON, IREE. Beside these, we work very close with the Government, we organize a large show on renewable energy in October, we also organize World Food India with Ministry of Food Processing. We organize Global Exhibition on Services, the fth edition will be held in Bangalore in the month of September.

Q. What are the Upcoming Plans?

A. Traditionally we have been doing Brick and Motor shows and feel that we need to perhaps bring in the new economy sector as well so we are to see AI (Articial Intelligence) to play a very crucial role and to that end on our shows we are trying to see if AI could be integrated. In EXCON we are trying to put up a pavilion on whole internet of things, on AI, on smart manufacturing so, we are trying to see if we could bring in some the elements into our existing brands.

Q. What are the major industry issues which you are trying to resolve?

A. Major industry issue has been the GST, we were working very closely with central and state government. Of course, we are working very closely for infrastructure growth and development & we have a very active infrastructure desk. There are issues in terms of policy matters that we regularly take up with the Central & State Government.

Q. Please tell us about your personal journey in this industry.

A. I joined CII in 1992 and I am a Post Graduate in Economics so initially I was part of the Research Division of CII. We were doing research project on Indian Industry with Prof. Michael Porter of Harvard Business School that focused on the competitiveness of the Indian Industry

and we came out with a lot of suggestions, for 14 industry sectors and 8 environment audits in terms of what the industry would really expect in those sectors and this was presented to the then Prime Minister in 1997. Key nding was that the country needs to focus on the micro level reforms. I also had an opportunity to work in Hyderabad, that time AP was doing good work and I worked very closely with Chandrababu Naidu from 1997-98 & then I moved to Chennai. I was heading Tamil Nadu for 3 years from 2000-2003. From there I moved to Bombay, looking after the Maharashtra State ofce from 20032006 and then I headed the Southern region for 3 years from 2006-2009. I moved to Delhi in 2009 and I have been looking after areas like Trade Fairs and events. We have a very ambitious target, looking at 2022 identied targets working closely with the government on how India could be a developed country over the next few years. We have a well worked up plan till 2022.

Q. How have you seen exhibition industry evolve over the years?

A. Exhibition industry has grown quite well. When we started in 1975 there were just handful number of players and now we have a proliferation of very large number of private players. I would really say private and Government as well. Government bodies also coordinates a lot of international shows today so the landscape has totally changed, people do nd value, and thus organisers do get good participation. It has been established that a Trade Fair is an important vehicle to generate business and to promote one’s brand.

Q. As a leading exhibition organizer, what techniques do you adopt for exhibitor and visitor engagement?

A. We do a mix of online as well as print

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media advertisements for marketing. We write to our member base which is over 8000. We do a very painstaking process of identifying the companies who would be visitors of our shows so we do talk to them, go and meet at their premises. We do target the vendors for some of these companies to ensure their visit to shows.

We use social media to ensure mass reach to our activities.

Q. What are the major challenges for the exhibition organizer in India?

A. One major challenge is the availability of quality exhibition complexes. Pragati Maidan renovation is happening, complex which is coming up in Dwarka but then we need them in other cities too so that we are able to organize good quality exhibitions. I am sure that over the next to 5-10 years we would have this gap lled substantially. Secondly, we need skilled professionals in our industry.

I think there is need to develop few institutions that really impart short term and long term training programs, & focus on the growth of HR that is going to become a very important aspect for the Trade Fair Industry.

Q. What can India learn from Global Exhibition Industry?

A. I have been to some good quality shows, Hannover for example or the Frankfurt Motor Show. It's all spick and span, the exhibition area is very large, well maintained, the quality of infrastructure in these countries is par excellence. Another aspect is that the displays also have to improve drastically, what the company display in these shows is very good in terms of what they want to showcase and the business potential also whereas I am not sure if we are able to get those kind of exhibits in terms of participation that we see here in India.

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AGRA'S FOOTWEAR INDUSTRIES: A HERITAGE THAT CONTRIBUTES TO INDIA'S ECONOMY has increased many times during the last 12 years of its journey.

MEET AT AGRA is now in its 13th year. AFMEC has also created its own state of the art exhibition-cum-convention centre namely “AGRA TRADE CENTER” on the national highway, which has become a landmark in itself. As of now AFMEC represents more than 100 leading footwear manufacturer-exporters (Rs. 3000 crores of exports from the city of Agra) and aim is to take the export turnover to Rs. 10000 crores in near future.

AFMEC is serving the footwear industry in Agra in active association with Council for Leather Export (CLE) and other government departments.

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he Agra Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Chamber (AFMEC), was established in 1998 to promote footwear manufacturing and export within the periphery of Agra.

Main objective of the AFMEC has been to adopt modern technology as well as highest quality standards in footwear manufacturing so as to compete in the European/American and other markets outside India.

AFMEC started organizing “MEET AT AGRA”, an yearly exhibition-cum-fair, in the year 2007 to promote AGRA as an destination where the footwear machinery manufacturers /s uppliers and footwear components manufacturers/suppliers from across Asia / EUROPE / America etc. could come together at one place to showcase best of technology as well as latest products for the futuristic demand.

MEET AT AGRA has been the success story of AFMEC over the years as the number of participants as well as business at the fair

Agra is one of the biggest clusters in the footwear sector in India among Kolkata, Kanpur and Chennai. “There are around 10,000 micro-size units; 150 small-scale industry units; around 30 medium-scale units; and, around 15 large-scale units in the city”.

Agra's huge potential to impact the global footwear market has been recognized by the government, which released a special package for implementing its Indian Footwear, Leather & Accessories Development Programme. In tandem, MSME Development Institutes are working on imparting business and technical knowledge of the sector to already-existing entrepreneurs as well as those who want to work in this sector.

AFMEC work as a collective force and spread awareness regarding the opportunities available by organizing seminars, meetings from time to time for its members.

Though these and other similar efforts, AFMEC has started making a difference. Despite many government initiatives for the sector, footwear manufacturers and exporters think, that a lot still remains to be done and therefore the role of AFMEC.

A SINGLE WINDOW REFERENCE POINT FOR INDIAN AMUSEMENT & ENTERTAINMENT SECTOR

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he Indian Amusement & Theme Park industry is expected to grow at CAGR of more than 30% with the annual revenue of around INR 2261 crores (USD 315 million) in 2018 and is estimated to grow to at least INR 6250 crores (USD 884 million) by 2022. Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries (IAAPI) is an apex body representing the interests of Amusement Parks, Theme Parks, Water Parks and Family Entertainment Centre in India. IAAPI is a non-government, not-for-prot, industry-led and industry-managed organization, playing a proactive role in development of this sector. Founded in 1999, IAAPI is India's premier business association having 424 members from the private sectors including small and medium enterprises consisting of park operators and equipment manufacturers. IAAPI is also recognised and afliated by various international trade bodies operating in the Amusement sector.

IAAPI works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the development of Amusement sector in India, partnering industry, Government, and civil society, through advisory and consultative processes. Keeping the end users in mind, IAAPI is a body to inuence the decision of the policy makers, investors, the society and lead in an ever growing amusement industry in India.

Extending its agenda beyond business, IAAPI has been making conscious efforts in channelizing the entire industry under one umbrella and focus on promoting tourism, employment generation, safety, national integration and enabling potential investors to invest in this sunrise industry.

IAAPI has been at the forefront of organising safety seminars, training programs, trade shows etc. for the benet of its members to improve the quality and adapt best international practices both in manufacturing and amusement park operations.

IAAPI has its head ofce in Mumbai and has 4 regional chapter

and sector relevant committees headed by industry leaders. IAAPI serves as a reference point for Indian Amusement & Entertainment sector.

IAAPI's 19th “Amusement Expo” which was held from March 6-8, 2019 at Bombay Exhibition Centre, witnessed around 142 exhibitors from India & 20 countries, spread across an area of 10,000 sq. meters. Participating Countries are from Bulgaria, Canada, China, Dubai- UAE, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, The Netherlands, Turkey, UK, USA and India.The exhibition attracted over 4000 trade professionals comprising of decision makers from amusement industry, The Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries (IAAPI) is geared up to unveil the 20th IAAPI AMUSEMENT EXPO 2020 from 26 - 28 February 2020 at Hall 2, Bombay Exhibition Centre, NESCO Compound, Goregaon East, Mumbai.

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Q

. What is the structure of EPCH?

A. EPCH works as an autonomous body setup up by the trade in industry collectively along with the govt. where stake holders are the private sectors and the gov. is also supporting them for their activities. EPCH was setup way back in 1986 and since then we have been working for the promotion of the exports of handicrafts. The industry scale and size was very minuscule at that time. We had only 37 members when we started the functioning of EPCH. I am really very proud to be associated with the EPCH since its inception. Today we have grown by leaps and bonds and we are the largest export promotion council in the country having over 11000 members.

Q. What are the major activities which are undertaken by EPCH for the welfare of its members?

A. EPCH undertakes lot of activities for the promotion of the exports from the country. One of the major activities of the council is participation in the trade fairs in India and Abroad. EPCH is organising its participation of the members in about 40 overseas trade shows, beside that we organise two mega Trade Fairs in India, which are world’s leading shows on handicrafts and these are called IHGF Delhi fair Spring and Autumn. These shows are basically a Mecca for the handicraft sector where participants meet a large number of overseas buyers. It's like a KUMBH of the entire handicraft sector which takes place twice a year, once in October and another in April.

At the same time, we have a lot of backward integration which means we have a kind of a complete supply chain of the products. Backward integration starts with the craft person, which are over 7 million in the country today. A lot of skill programmes are also organised for them. We have our presence directly in 17 clusters,. With 17 ofces all over the country, we are present from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, we have our presence in all the 8 states in the north eastern region, Bangalore for the South, and even in the clusters like Moradabad, Saharanpur, Jodhpur.

We have a complete existence by way of setting up of the common facility centre, wood seasoning plant and also the trade facilitation centre. So these ways we have a backward integration for our members, for our exporters, as well as for the handicraft sector. We also run an academy which trains the budding exporters & people for the industry who can really work as a smart professionals for our industry. We have testing labs which are setup in Jaipur. We also have our own standard of the compliance of

LATEST NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

An Exclusive Interview With Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Executive Director, Export Promotion Council For Handicrafts, Excerpts; the wooden handicraft such as the Vriksh which is accepted by about 186 countries by the United Nation’s body called CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). CITES has accepted our standard on woods - Vriksh. Now any buyer who buys our product knows that the entire wooden handicraft coming from India is from the legal procurement so there is no illegal cutting of the tree.

is the one important aspect required.

Next, we can say about the design.

Design is also one of the most important aspect of any item because every time the buyer ask what is the novelty, what is new? We are basically in the market of the gift, market of the home, lifestyle, fashion, furniture etc. so the design is one of the most important aspects and that way sector still facing a challenge in regard to good designs.

We also help our members in marketing and promotion. We are also having seat in many committees of the government, and hence we act as a complete mouthpiece for the handicraft sector.

Next, its the packaging. Now we export our products from one warehouse to another, but it is required today that the product should be nally packed the way it is going to be sourced to the consumer , departmental store, shop, wherever they are ready to be sold.

Q. What is the size of Indian handicraft sector and what would be the statistics like?

A. The handicraft exports in 1987 when we started was nearly 286 crores and today we have reached exports of over 25000 crores which is around $4 billion.

The growth rate is approximately 1215% p.a. which is not to be witnessed in many sectors . At the same time the artisans number has also increased, their wages have increased, the exporters incomes have also increased, so i think that the entire size and scale of the handicraft sector has also grown in a big way.

Q. If we talk about the major export markets what would they be like top 3-4 countries where we export?

A. See handicraft products are basically exported to afuent countries. I would say that out of the total exports 36% of the export is goes to USA and Canada whereas another 37% of the export is to the European union so all together these two basket 73% of the total exports.

Q. If we talk about the major challenges which your industry is facing currently what would be the top 3 challenges which you are facing?

A. The most critical challenge is product development because so far we are still working largely on handmade procedures so lot technology upgradation is required in the sector. This

Lastly, the government should get more involved by suggesting the ways and means to promote the exports. I personally feel if these challenges are met in the coming years then we will denitely go a long way.

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th

th

13 - 15 June, 2019 India Expo Mart, Gr. Noida

CATALYSING INDIA’S ECONOMIC GROWTH International Conclave Of The Indian Exhibition Industry

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE As you would be aware Indian economy is the most promising economy in the world registering a consistent growth of over 7%. The rapid socio-economic growth of India is attracting investors from all over the world. Likewise, owing to its market attractiveness and progressive government support, the Indian exhibition industry is witnessing rapid growth over the past few years (growing by over 10.4% annually in the last 3 years), thus attracting exhibitions from all corners of the globe.

Over the last 8 successfully held editions, the IEIA Open Seminar has been a platform to facilitate the best of networking among the members and exhibition industry players from various countries.

The last edition of our event witnessed participation of stalwarts of our industry from 30 countries with heads of 33 international exhibition and conference industry bodies present at the event. This year, With “Catalysing India’s Economic Growth” as its theme, IEIA Open Seminar 2019 will be a platform to build business network, explore partnerships, share knowledge, discuss concerns, developments, and address industry challenges for building a stronger exhibition industry.

I invite you to come forward and experience the unmatched networking and learning at this premier event of the Indian Exhibition Industry.

With best regards, KV Nagendra Prasad CEM, President IEIA

IEIA OPEN SEMINAR 2019 - PROGRAM Day Zero - 13th June 2019

The day will witness many association level meetings and will conclude with Welcome Dinner Ceremony

Day One - 14th June 2019 09.00 AM – 10.00 AM

Registrations & Networking

10.00 AM – 11.00 AM

- Inaugural Session - Release of Indian Exhibition Industry Study 2019 - Signing of Reciprocity Agreements with International Industry Associations - Presentation of IEIA Lifetime Achievement Award 2019

11.05 AM - 11.20 AM

Tea / Coffee Break

11.20 PM - 12.00 PM

Keynote Address

12.00 PM - 01.00 PM

Panel Discussion - Asia & The Exhibition Industry

01.00 PM - 01.30 PM

“Indian Exhibition Industry Study 2019 – Highlights” by ASHISH KUMAR, Partner, EAC International Consulting

01.30 PM - 02.00 PM

Networking Lunch

02.00 PM - 02.30 PM

Panel Discussion - Future Of Exhibition Industry

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13 - 15 June, 2019 India Expo Mart, Gr. Noida

CATALYSING INDIA’S ECONOMIC GROWTH International Conclave Of The Indian Exhibition Industry 02.30 PM - 03.00 PM

“Global Exhibition Industry Trends and prospects for Indian Exhibition Industry” – Presentations by Mr. Kai Hattendorf, MD & CEO, UFI

03.00 PM - 03.30 PM

“Lessons for Independent Show Organisers” by DAVID AUDRAIN, Executive Director, Society for Independent Show Organisers (SISO)

03.30 PM - 04.00 PM

Role Of Venues In Building A Strong MICE Industry

04.00 PM - 05.30 PM

Tea / Coffee Break

05.30 PM - 06.15 PM

Meet-up programs

06.15 PM - 07.00 PM

Meet-up Sessions - IAEE Young Professionals Meet Up - Women’s Leadership Forum - UFI India Members Meet - IAEE India Chapter Members Meet

07.00 PM Onwards

Gala Dinner - CEM India 2018 - Graduation Ceremony - Indian Exhibition Industry Awards

Day Two - 15th June 2019 10.00 AM - 10.45 AM

Panel Discussion – Focus for future: Sqm vs visitors

10.45 AM - 11.30 AM

Panel Discussion : “Event Safety and Security is Now More Important than Ever”

11.30 AM - 11.45 AM

Tea / Coffee Break

11.45 AM - 12.00 AM

Industry Connect

12.00 AM - 12.45 PM

Panel Discussion : “All about Mergers & Acquisitions”

01.00 PM - 01.40 PM

Panel Discussion : “Women’s Leadership - Making it to the top in our industry”

01.40 PM - 02.15 PM

Networking Lunch

02.15 PM - 02.45 PM

“Why to Audit and Certify Trade Shows?” – by ANTONIO BRITO, CEM, CMP, International Exhibition & Events Consultant, UFI Certied Auditor, Member of IAEE Board of Directors

02.45 PM - 03.30 PM

Panel Discussion : “Moving Forward with Technology!!”

03.30 PM - 04.15 PM

Panel Discussion : “People, the primary resource – attracting and retaining talent”

04.15 PM - 04.30 PM

Tea / Coffee Break

04.30 PM - 05.15 PM

Panel Discussion : “What is on top of your mind” - CEOs Conclave

05.15 PM - 05.30 PM

“The Way Forward – focus plan for IEIA!” by PINKESH CHOKSEY, MD, Market Insight Consultants

05.30 PM - 05.45 PM

Valedictory

06.30 PM - 10.30 PM

International Lounge – Cocktails & Dinner (by invitation)

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Q

. What is the current state of Indian Exhibition Industry?

A. Indian exhibition industry grew by around 8 - 10% during 2018. The market size was approximately 75 million square metres and around 750 exhibitions were conducted during the year. The sector although a bit unorganized is making efforts to tap the enormous potential offered by its growing economy. As organizations build up new venues to hold international exhibitions we would see more exhibitions getting organized within India which will positively impact the country's growth in myriad ways.

Q. What is the contribution of exhibition in MICE (business Tourism)?

A. MICE business thrives on exhibitions.

Gone are the days when largescale events were held without exhibitions. A change is in the air in MICE industry.

Every conference is attached with an important exhibition. This is so as exhibitions have created an experiential marketing space for the MICE industry.

This has attracted visitors to MICE segment and increased the revenue and contribution to the economy of the country.

Q. Exhibition enable business opportunities and infrastructure development. Can you give some examples to sufce this statement?

A. Exhibitions create business opportunities and is a major source of revenue generation for government as well as private entities. With the increase in inbound corporate events, stakeholders are keen to invest in convention centres across the country. Ministry of Tourism has a policy sanctioning Rs.5 crores to every state government for building one convention centre through a publicprivate partnership model. Many private players are constructing hotels and convention centres with MICE facilities to cater to the emerging demands of corporate events. Unserved and underserved airports in partnership with state governments are undergoing an overhaul to make smaller cities accessible for business travellers. Also many airports are undergoing capacity improvements for better service.

Q. How have you seen the Indian Exhibition Industry evolve in last 3 years?

A. Indian exhibition industry has seen good growth in the last 2-3 years driven by economic growth and various initiatives by the government to promote infrastructure and policy reforms. The industry is on the cusp of undergoing further transformation with rapid scale globalisation and entry of international events which primarily focus on strengthening manufacturing and industrial consumption. The exhibition sector is also poised to grow with growth of existing events, organizing of new

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Ministry of Tourism has a policy sanctioning Rs.5 crores to every state government for building one convention centre through a public-private partnership model.

Many private players are coming up to cater to the emerging demands of corporate events.

V. ANBU, Director General, Indian Machine Tools Manufacturers' Association

events targeted at emerging sectors and entry of international rms and exhibition brands. Venues are bracing up to signicantly increase their infrastructure capacity. Stakeholders are realizing the importance of exhibitions and taking informed decisions. FDI inows have increased and we are seeing that foreign investors are condent of investing in India. Government's focus on ease of doing business helped India's ranking to improve. India is ranked 77th in World Bank's ease of doing business index.

With stronger reforms and policy push the country can move up further.

Q. What is the mind-set of youth/millennials towards this industry?

A. Events industry has opened up a large set of opportunities for the youth to consider working in exhibition industry as a serious profession. The changing dynamics of marketing with the advent of exhibitions has enabled the growth of exhibition industry in India. Many international exhibition organizers from other countries are entering the Indian market which are providing ample opportunities for Indian youth to work in this industry. Since exhibition industry is increasingly leaning towards using technology enabled marketing tools for event promotion educated youth are nding this as an avenue where their skills will be utilized.

Q. As an employer, how do you build the careers of your employees?

A. Employees have to align themselves to the broader vision of the organization. It is also important that employee skills are enhanced through proper training. This ensures that the workforce strictly adhere to the work culture and meet the organizational objectives. Companies also need to give adequate attention to the personal growth of their employees and provide them motivation through perks.

Q. What is going to be the game-changer for the industry in the coming time?

A. Engagement: Exhibitors' engagement with visitors is one of the key aspects where success of exhibitions lie.

Participation alone may not give the desired results. Organizers need to travel the extra mile in educating exhibitors and visitors to make an exhibition more successful and increase its relevance.

Technology: Social media and digital technologies are fast catching up and becoming major tools in garnering results across target markets. The days of personal visits to ofce, mailing, etc. are becoming obsolete. Today event organizers tap into their target audience through one-to-one crisp messaging. This is changing the dynamics of exhibition marketing.

Focus: Exhibitions tapping target markets and taking exhibitions closer to the user industries and user markets are creating the desired effect. This is a new trend in exhibition industry. We also see that exhibitions in India are no longer conned to metro cities but are held in Tier 2 cities and other smaller towns as well.

Skills: Education and skill development for exhibition professionals are gaining more traction as industry wants to employ workforce with skills rather than hire unskilled or semi-skilled workforce and retrain them. Exhibitions and MICE subjects are becoming a part and parcel of some of the courses offered in educational institutions that would infuse more professionals into the market and the exhibition industry will get a better facelift in the years to come.

Q. What are the major challenges which the industry must address to grow further?

A. Infrastructure development of exhibition venues will be a topmost concern to move to the next level.

Investments in this area will be crucial and government should take the lead for this as we see in Europe. Standards and codes for exhibition industry is a requisite. This would enhance quality of services for service providers. Theme protection to curb competition and move towards healthier growth of exhibitions is necessary. Industry should move towards becoming a more organized sector with every stakeholder of exhibition industry following the guidelines framed by exhibition industry associations in various areas including IT related services, HR, theme protection, and so on. This would give a direction to the growth of the industry and build a consensus.

Integrative growth of exhibition industry with city infrastructure and other allied support services is another area to look upon. Industry should work closely with other stakeholders and the government to get better attention and also press for attaining industry status.

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Q

. What is the current state of Indian Exhibition Industry?

A. There’s an amazing vibrancy which is reected in a growth unparalleled to any other country .

Q. What is the contribution of exhibition in MICE (business Tourism)?

A. According to a report 54% of the travelers to India are business/Mice Travelers. Business tourism is now becoming a major component of our industry today. In the same context , there’s also a big spurt in medical and religious tourism - two areas which get unnoticed in terms of their revenue contributions our industry.

Q. Exhibition enable business opportunities, can you give some examples to sufce this statement?

A. I can give you examples from our own logistics business . One such case is of machine tool exhibitions. Some years ago ,these shows majority exhibitors were foreign companies displaying machines .

Today, these companies are still exhibiting, but their machines on display are manufactured by their Indian established companies.

Q. How have you seen the Indian Exhibition Industry evolve in last 3 years in terms of Exhibitor and visitor participation, Venue enhancement, satisfaction of participants, mindset of the stakeholders towards the industry and participation and support of the Government toward the industry?

A. The Indian exhibition industry has matured immensely in the last few years .

There is now greater focus on quality , digitization , customer satisfaction , and related issues of sustainability and health & safety. Sadly , government support to our industry is still not upto our desired levels .

Q. What is the mindset of youth/millennials towards this industry?

A. The awareness is still lacking , thus a limited interest. I give credit to you for recently having a Youth Challenge competition revolving around our industry.

The IEIA also has this on its agenda. We already have a subsidized youth enrollment fee for young members . And we’ll also soon be initiating an awareness drive in many universities across India.

Q. As an employer, how do you build/grow the careers of your employees?

A. The rst step is to treat your employee

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as your family member . At the same time , enforce professionalism into your employee’s mindset . Once done, a mutual strong trust will get established on its own.

With a personal and professional relationship based on complete trust established, my employees careers grow on their own . This is the truth, not myth , at RE Rogers .

Q. How do you inspire your people in your team to give their best output?

A. Having full trust in them and genuinely believing they’re my family is enough to inspire them . Again, this is the truth, not myth, at RE Rogers.

Q. What is going to be the game-changer for the industry in the coming time.

A. Greatly enhanced venue capacities is the major game-changer in the coming times . The ‘new’ Pragati Maidan , Dwarka , enlarged BIEC/IEML/HITEX , renovated BEC, Reliance, etc. will give a new life to our industry.

Q. What are the major challenges which the industry must address to grow further?

A. Ease to do business’ in India is still the biggest challenge for our industry .

The government has already done a lot and I’m condent the newly re-elected ‘strong’ government will move on a much faster pace on this front .

Q. . What is the watchword for the future?

A. One word, ‘digitalization’, is the mantra of success for our future .

The time for India has come!

Since a long time now we were seen as a potential destination for MICE, especially exhibitions. But the scene has changed now. The exhibition industry is growing exponentially in India. India is today in the center of world’s attention and I dare say that the things will only get even more better with time.

RAVINDER SETHI, Managing Director, R.E.Rogers India Pvt. Ltd & Vice President, Indian Exhibition Industry Association

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Q

. What is the current state of Indian Exhibition Industry?

A. With the signicant growth and progress of the Indian economy, the Indian Exhibition industry has been growing as well. The Indian exhibition Industry is the biggest it has ever been and has been hosting top-class exhibitions one after the other. As the years pass by, the industry has seen business relationships being formed, new technologies being introduced in the market, bigger venues and providing innumerable countries to be part of bilateral trade in India. The 'Make In India' campaign has been beneted by the exhibition Industry largely. Various countries have been coming to India and introducing Indian businesses too new concepts, products and technologies. I can say this from personal experience as during China Homelifeand China Machinex India 2019, we were introduced to the concept of 'Buy Factory from China'. The company provides an end to end solution for setting up a factory in India. They will set up machineries, provide manpower training and any requirement to set up a factory in India.

Q. What is the contribution of exhibition in MICE (business Tourism)? According to a report 54% of the travelers to India are business/Mice Travelers. What according to you is the contribution of exhibitions here?

A. I think exhibitions play a minor role when it comes to travelling to India for a business. Only in exhibitions with pavilions of different countries or solo country shows, we see thousands of exhibitors ying down to India to showcase their product and nd the correct importer.

Exhibitions act as a multi-purpose platform for both exhibitors and visitors.

International companies can meet a plethora of Indian businesses and companies and vice versa.

Currently majority of Indian tradefairs in India are domestic with very low percentage of International visitors coming to the country for sourcing. Most of our neighboring countries prefer visiting European or other destination exhibitions to source or fulll their needs.

The visa-on-arrival opening up for several nations is a step in the right direction. Only the Conference sector is currently successful for getting International delegates. Stronger tourism policy, open internet information infrastructre for tourists, higher safety and security, easier foreign currency rules and regulations as well as large number of currency exchange centres, wider variety and availability of affordable hotels, are some of the things that could boost the International visitors to India.

Q. Exhibition enable business opportunities,

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The new Millennial's will change the exhibition business, they value the requirement to visit exhibitions and make contacts there. This will ensure the continuity of tradefair business and its further evolution for growth.

ASHISH GUPTA, Director – MCO Winmark business, they value the requirement to visit exhibitions and make contacts there.

This will ensure the continuity of tradefair business. The Indian government has now opened its eyes and started acknowledging the existence of trade fairs. But policy changes to ourish this business from Government rules and regulations are still not available. There needs to be a nodal agency or ofcer dedicated to tradefair enhancement.

Plethora of statutory agencies who are all not synchronized with each other deny exhibition organisers to interface quickly and effectively with compliance issues. can you give some examples to sufce this statement?

A. Since the past few years, exhibitions have been hosting Matched B2B meetings between an exhibitor and a visitor. An exhibitor sends in requirements of what are they looking in a potential buyer, and then is matched with the correct buyer at the exhibition. There are special areas in the exhibition constructed, allotted only to these meetings. The timings and days are pre-xed well in advance, so that exhibitor knows what he can expect from the exhibition.

Other than that, there are also VIP Buyer Programs organized, wherein exact matching suppliers were found for exhibitors six months in advance. They are top importers in the sector asked by the exhibitor, thus the targeted marketing and promotion is done well in advance to achieve optimum results.

Q. How have you seen the Indian Exhibition Industry evolve in last 3 years in terms of Exhibitor and visitor participation, Venue enhancement, satisfaction of participants, mindset of the stakeholders towards the industry and participation and support of the Government toward the industry?

A. In the last 3 years, I have only seen bigger exhibitor and visitor participation, as the number of exhibitors increases so does the number of visitors. Venues have become better and bigger and more hospitable.

Participants are happier and satised with the product range as qualities and innovations are increasing year by year.

There has been a shakedown of the industry, lot of small exhibitions have sold their shows or amalgamated with the large MNC exhibition organizers. The new Millennial's will change the exhibition

Q. What is the mindset of youth/millennials towards this industry?

A. Youth/Millennials are very welcoming towards this industry. They are seen at the exhibitions exploring new innovations and building up their contacts for further business relationships.

Q. As an employer, how do you build/grow the careers of your employees?

A. As an employer, I believe in giving the foreground to my employees. I believe that leadership and ownership of work cannot be taught but has to be instilled.

Thus, I let them take reins of the show and take care of the bigger responsibilities and tasks whichtake place in a show. But at the same time, I also am there to guide and support them.

I think, providing them with responsibilities, helps them understand the workings of the industry on their own and makes them more capable individuals. Continuous training programs, both in-house and external are a regular regimen in my organization.

Q. How do you inspire your people in your team to give their best output?

A. I inspire the people in my team, by telling them about my experiences in the industry and my failures, so that they know that anything can go wrong at any time, but at the same time I don't interfere in their work processes. The task is given to them and they nish and get back to me. They have their own freedom, but are always welcome for my assistance.

I believe that instead of they being at my service, actually I am a resource available at their service. This increases their condence and helps hem become more responsible. Further, whilst we may have disagreements internally from time to time, in front of the outsiders, I take the nal

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responsibility for things that sometime do go wrong and never pass the buck or avoid the issue by allowing team members to become a scapegoat. If they made the mistake, then it was due to low level of training imparted by me. All team members are empowered to take decisions and this keeps on increasing related to their constantly showing the correct approach in handling issues to a time where the work almost independently.

Q. What is going to be the game-changer for the industry in the coming time. Please state 4-5 critical points here and elaborate on the same.

A. After SMS, the telecom industry was yet to come up with the next killer application. Whatsapp, Skype and Google changed all this. So there are limitless developments that are going on just now in the world, some of them I think will be: AI will be a game-changer for the industry. AI will help getting rid of manual registration and the registration processes will be handled by a robot than a human. AI will also be used to guide a visitor around the show and help them meet the exact exhibitor they want to.

Q. How have you seen the Indian Exhibition Industry evolve in last 3 years in terms of Exhibitor and visitor participation, Venue enhancement, satisfaction of participants, mindset of the stakeholders towards the industry and participation and support of the Government toward the industry?

A. Evolution is a continuous process and Indian Exhibition Industry is no exception to the same. Keeping in tune with the recent modernizations happening in all elds and particularly in the IT sector, the industry is fast changing to offer better products to its clients. The value adds for the visitors and the exhibitors are very high in exhibitions taking place now-adays. Filtration of the available vast database to identify right kind of visitors, easy and fast access to them through internet and arranging on-line, off-line as well as on-site meetings between interested parties has now become a common feature of a good exhibition.

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IVR services with top asked questions and answers will be the future.

Similar technologies that reduce human intervention at the same time deliver knowledge on demand will take precedence.

On the cloud apps – no need to download apps in your handheld cluttering with the phone memory and clogging the home page.

Behaviour tagging for target audiences will become more and more relvant.

Data management and data mining will become more important.

Q. What are the major challenges which the industry must address to grow further?

Please also highlight those challenges which you believe can come up in near future?

A. Its difcult to forecast the challenges that will come up in future, please see some that I forsee, but this list is not exhaustive: a. Security and ensuring safety of attendees will remain a priority with no compromise for all events taking place now and future. b. Adoption of emerging technologies like Articial Intelligence will become mandatory. c. Content will remain king – exhibition

organizers will have to strive to make their events meaningful for both exhibitors and visitors. d. People – hiring right team members and retaining talent will remain a strong challenge across the board for all companies. e. Data acquisition, management will become priority. f. Marketing will have to continuously evolve to retain top of the mind recall in this densely and over communicated world.

Q. What innovations, technology enhancement can industry integrate to engage the participants and increase the efciency of Exhibitions?

A. The industry can have a more integrated system for visitor and exhibitor guidance. I think, systems which let visitors print their own badges can be of a great advantage. Digital maps to take a visitor around the show, an integrated system for managing B2B meeting can be benecial to a visitor.

Business matching software is still evolving and a perfect t has still not been achieved. RFID for tracking hotspots in exhibitions and tracking visits in individual stalls will be required.

The exhibition industry is an economic enabler.

It is the harbinger of business growth.

However, it is time now that the government understands the signicance of this industry and gives it its due recognition.

SUNIL MORE, Founder & CEO – FairAct, Incoming President, IESA With the help of technology such as visitor tracking, an exhibitor is able to reach a right customer. The tracking technology also helps Organizers in planning their future exhibitions more efciently.

Venue enhancement is unfortunately an issue, which remains to be tackled. We, in India, still feel that an exhibition ground and structures thereof should be architectural wonders! Organizers, on the other hand, need a functional, uncumbersome and comfortable venue with state-of-the-art facilities such as planned vehicle and material movement, properly laid down utilities, multi-level catering, latest security features etc.

Perhaps, we as an Industry, have so far has not been able to convince the Government to give us an industry status though this Industry has a multiple effect on the economy of the city where such exhibition venue is situated. Take the case of a small city like Hannover in Germany, which thrives only on the exhibition

infrastructure managed by Hannover Messe. This city gets revenue through taxes, hotels and apartments are nearly booked, services industry thrives and people get employment. Given an Industry Status, an all-inclusive policy can be formed to give a boost to the industry.

Q. As an employer, how do you build the careers of your employees?

A. Though we are a small company, we believe exposing our people to the latest trends and technologies in the industry and ensure that our people get training through various seminars, conferences and particularly through training programmes such as “CEM Course” organized by the Industry.

Q. How do you inspire your people in your team to give their best output?

A. We use multiple ways to inspire our people such monthly meetings, participation in industry programmes, social causes as well as out-station education and fun events.

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Q

. What is the current state of Indian Exhibition Industry?

A. The real essences of the industry have been the same all through but yes the medium and communication has changed for good. With the advent of technology the reach to the Target Group (TG) is becoming easier day on day. The resources and its skill set too have seen a sea of change. In earlier days organizing an exhibition was more like hosting a marriage and it was a cohesive effort of the entire team to make it successful, hospitable and an experience for its stakeholders. In the run up to the show it was great fun to work day and night with the team. But now things are more systematic, fast and organized. Exhibition still works of the touch and feel fundamentals braving the virtual marketplace.

Q. What is the contribution of exhibition in MICE (business Tourism)?

A. M.I.C.E. tourism has seen a spurt of growth in the last ten years all over the globe. Automobile industry, IT sector, Pharmaceutical companies, Textile, IT, Publishing House, Doctors, Engineering companies, jewellery, education, meditation, yoga, and garments etc. are major user of the convention and conference facilities. Business tourism offers many benets to its participants; it stimulates the economy, promotes local development, and through this touristic activity, travellers to get to visit the most beautiful places. It directly benets the entrepreneurs in the tourism sector, it creates new jobs, such as the professionals hired to host the event and it benets professionals such as taxi drivers, hoteliers, small business owners, and boosts cultural tourism. Travellers visiting the city go to places such as galleries, museums, shows, theatres, etc.

Out of 54% I believe exhibition contributes 30-35% of the travellers to India.

Q. Exhibition enable business opportunities, can you give some examples to sufce this statement?

A. Exhibition provides a great platform for the exhibitors to showcase a product to a wide audience with a similar interest.

One is not only able to generate new leads but also get the advantage of delivering as per the competition in the market. It is a great source for a comparative study as to what is available with us and how can one outrun the competition with new business strategies.

For Example: A company X is selling Air Coolers in the market. They are almost equivalent or slightly better in terms of quality and features of the product. As soon as X plans to enter in an exhibition catering to HVAC segment, he will have

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To be a game changer in the event industry, running unique events to impress your attendees is a must. However, this is made more difcult, if all of your time goes to solving logistic issues, constantly updating spreadsheets, or trying to gure out how to set up a good event web-page.

NAVEEN SETH, Director, Exhibitions – PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry

all the visitors coming with a need for HVAC and are potential buyers for X. X also gets an opportunity to see the new branding and aggressive pricing strategies adopted by his fellow competition which will further allow him to gain a reasonable share in the market.

This way X can do his networking by circulating the information through Flyers, Stand branding, promotional gifts etc to educate his customers with the uniqueness of his product and will get better ROI for his product.

Q. How have you seen the Indian Exhibition Industry evolve in last few years?

A. Exhibition in its own has been a very forward looking industry, considering that it has always served as a platform to showcase the latest innovation and allied technologies. The digital advent has now helped the stakeholders to reach the desired domain and in turn has facilitated a more effective communication. The sheer dissemination of information was not enough but reaching out to desired domain of exhibitor and visitor was of utmost importance. If I look at it from the time frame of last 3 years, the reach has certainly been easier, effective and has cost to its advantage. It has helped the organizers deliver more meaningful exhibitors and visitors to the show thus, ensuring a clear ROI for both exhibitors and visitors.

As I mentioned above it’s a big business opportunity for all the stakeholders in the industry and thus everyone associated are putting their best foot forward. We can clearly see the change. The infrastructure is being revamped with the modern facilities and the Government is pro-actively supporting the resources and identifying the new ones.

In the excerpt from the Ministry of Commerce report 2018 the impetus can

be clearly seen - “The Commerce Minister has identied 15 strategic overseas locations where the Trade Promotion Organisations (TPOs) are proposed to be created. India has great potential to generate greater volumes of export with these countries but at present trade with them stands as single digit numbers. The locations where TPOs are proposed: Astana (Kazakhstan), Beijing (China) Cape town (South Africa), Dubai (UAE), Frankfurt (Germany), Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Jakarta (Indonesia) Lima (Peru), London (U.K.), Melbourne (Australia), Mexico City (Mexico), Moscow (Russia), New York (USA), Sao Paulo (Brazil) and Tokyo (Japan).” The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister approved the proposal of the Department of Commerce to give focused attention to 12 identied Champion Services Sectors for promoting their development, and realizing their potential. As the Services sector contributes signicantly to India's GDP, exports and job creation, increased productivity and competitiveness of the Champion Services Sectors will further boost exports of various services from India.

Q. What is the mindset of youth/millennials towards this industry?

A. The mindset of youth/millennials is in conjunction to their habits. They are full of energy, new ideas, innovative and don’t hesitate to take risk. They are aware of the pulse of the market situation and showcase better understanding. At large, they are capable to deliver and are not afraid to go against the wind to prove their mark in the industry. Many young people are turning in to entrepreneurs and running startups in the exhibition sector. This really make it more promising for the growth of event industry at large.

Q. As an employer, how do you build/grow the careers of your employees?

A. As an employer, I let my subordinates free to try and test the market. I always guide them in terms of the market knowledge which I possess and also motivate them to do their homework before they actually start planning for any particular event. I keep telling my employees to keep exploring new industry and not stick to only one as this will make the jack of all trades which is the need of the hour.

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Q. How do you inspire your people in your team to give their best output?

A. I am always open for new ideas and innovative marketing strategies since the market is volatile and the marketing plan need lots of improvement when it comes to ROI. I show full condence in their decision and appreciate their response for new practices. I welcome their suggestions and make sure they are implemented. This make the teams equally responsible and motivated which further leads to better results.

Q. What is going to be the game-changer for the industry in the coming time? Ÿ Marketing Mix & Digital FatigueDespite the industry is in an era of change, the sector is ourishing. The main reason behind a raising number of marketing teams deciding to push larger portions of the marketing budget towards event engagement is due to digital marketing exhaustion.

Whilst the digital marketing space is overowing with closely targeted marketing, it is now increasingly difcult to separate yourself from your competition. Ÿ

Ÿ

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Keep up with the competition- With so many players, offers, and requirements, the event industry is a complex game to play. To keep up with the competition, attract new clients, and add incredible value to your attendees, it’s necessary to nd new ways to enhance your event management services. Luckily, the only step is simply, to “equip” yourself with the best event online platform and work on rening how you plan and run events.

Quality of Networking- No longer is time spent on networking in random and often meaningless interactions acceptable. Attending an event is often a substantial investment from an attendee and especially for the sponsor. Event analysis and aftermath needs to be based on proven ROI through the connections you where able to establish. Networking is now the underlining reason why attendees

go to conferences year after year. Ÿ

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Ÿ

Safety & Security- Safety and security were sitting lowest on the priority list of event organisers until now. But times have changed. India has been a soft target for terrorist and anti-social elements. There has been a rise in communal riots, general gun attacks etc. Events are more prone to such happenings, as large gatherings become easy targets. Event organisers will have to be more cautious.

Ÿ

Strict Compliance and Laws- There are different laws that apply for every industry. Fortunately, event industry was not under the scrutiny of any major law till 2018. GDPR has been a game changer where all organisers have to be extra careful in using the data of event attendees, sponsors, and other involved parties. It may have started and implemented in EU but will soon be a practice in India as well.

Gain time for creativity and innovation- To be a game changer in the event industry, running unique events to impress your attendees is a must. However, this is made more difcult, if all of your time goes to solving logistic issues, constantly updating spreadsheets, or trying to gure out how to set up a good event web-page.

Q. What are the major challenges which the industry must address to grow further?

A. The event industry has come a long way with exponential growth in the past couple of years. The main reasons for this growth are: cutting-edge technology, innovation in communication, and the creative genius of event planners. However, there are many challenges in event industry that lie ahead this year. Ÿ Increased Focus on Audience Engagement- People look for different experiences every time. They don’t pay for an event just to develop business but crave for an overall experience. You have to provide more creative solutions to engage your audience. Ÿ

Extremely Tight Budgets- There are simple hacks that you should be using to make the most from a limited budget. One, look for volunteers than hiring temporary staff; two, ditch expensive budgeting software and shift to basic excel; three, use local talent to save lodging and travel costs; and four, seek sponsorship from local business rather than global business players.

Ÿ

Reluctance for Sponsorships & Partnerships- While sponsoring an event, the only motive of a sponsor is a multiple fold ROI on their spend.

After all, it is their money that you’ll be using to make your event a success.

The question is how to ensure and develop a trust in their minds for a successful and ROI proof event.

Challenges which we can expect in near future are:

Q. What innovations can industry integrate to engage the participants and increase the efciency of Exhibitions?

A. First and foremost helping exhibitors and sponsors create more interactive experiences for attendees, providing a mobile experience that allows them to be connected across the event in real-time and deliver an outlet for keynotes, breakouts, and other speakers a certain stickiness by connecting with social media and other lasting networking opportunities. Exhibition businesses can do a lot to help exhibitors implement these new practices and better leverage them for improved results. This could include Showing products or tours in virtual reality, Provide real-time access to demo's or broadcast special promotions on Periscope in real-time and Digital information that only attendees can take with them. Pre-event we should provide a better digital platform or website which acts as a medium for the exhibitors for advertising opportunities, and a way to stay connected to attendees. On ground we need to make sure to provide Better Wi-Fi and Mobile Connectivity and appropriate mobile software which provide realtime information about the event with the oor plan.

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Q

What is the current state of Indian Exhibition Industry?

A. Indian Exhibition Industry is in a very vibrant stage with increased interest from multinational & overseas organisers and also an expanding venue infrastructure across India. Also, the new stable government bodes well for Indian economy which in turn also will be good for exhibition industry.

Q. What is the contribution of exhibition in MICE (business Tourism)?

A. With increasing number of exhibitions also having conferences as their intrinsic part, the contribution is continuously expanding. Also, exhibitions are making a major contribution through domestic travel and participation.

Q. Exhibition enable business opportunities, can you give some examples to sufce this statement?

A. Exhibitions provide face to face interactive opportunities as also product introduction. With technology up gradation happening at such a fast pace, exhibitors introduce their new products or models. While this is also being done through online options, but face to face continues to be the preferred option by far - and then using these face to face connections helps in ultimately closing the purchase / sale.

Q. What is the mindset of youth/millennials towards this industry?

A. Youth and millenials are obviously attracted to all online versions of interaction. However, when B2B interface happens for business development, face to face interaction prevails. Not to mean that they do not nd ways to avoid it, but still in many domains this bye pass cannot happen.

Q. As an employer, how do you build/grow

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Making quality an inherent and intrinsic nature of a team comes from Values.

The best way to inspire your team is to get into action and set an example in front of them - and to show that there is nothing that an individual cannot do.

H S BEDI, CEO, PS Bedi Logistics Chairman, International Exhibition Logistics Association the careers of your employees?

A. As an individual I am committed to developing and promoting new leadership and within that ,Women Leadership. I continuously endeavour to provide opportunities and urge all to take them without fear. While doing this we also make a strong pitch for skill enhancement and for this motivate team members to go in for educational and training programs, both in house as well as external.

Q. How do you inspire your people in your team to give their best output?

A. Making quality an inherent and intrinsic nature of a team comes from Values. The best way to inspire is to set an example - and to show that there is nothing that an individual cannot do. I am proud that our customers have sent us plaques mentioning "Thank you for making the impossible possible". And nally, once people get into the habit of winning, then there is no going back from giving the best possible in everything they do.

Q. What is going to be the game-changer for the industry in the coming time.

A. Well, 'Pragati Maidan 2.0' and IICC Dwarka are being spoken as a game changers of Indian Exhibition Industry. To

a certain extent they indeed will catalyse many a change through increased focus of Central and State Governments towards building Exhibition Infrastructure.

Increased world class venue capacities will be available for expanded shows and an attraction for overseas organisers.

Consolidation will happen in the industry.

All these will offer opportunities but delivering promises & quality; unstinted commitment to providing customer value; using multi channel approach; exibility & adaptability to technology landscape; and synergising efforts towards safety, security & sustainability would play an important role for success.

Q. What are the major challenges which the industry must address to grow further?

Please also highlight those challenges which you believe can come up in near future?

A. As consolidation happens, trust decit is always a challenge in any growing market. Audited and validated numbers are not available. And so the evolution from an owner entrepreneur driven organisation to the mindset of well structured multinational management and culture can be a challenge. It is imperative that overseas investors succeed in India.

INDIA'S SMART CITIES PROGRAMME 'FASTEST IMPLEMENTED PROGRAMME' IN THE WORLD: HARDEEP SINGH PURI littering and by maintaining the products and services offered by the state. People are the essence of all Smart Cities!" he noted. The Minister was addressing The Growth Net Summit 7.0, organized by Ananta Centre, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and Smadja&Smadja in New Delhi.

A

ccording to Mr Hardeep Singh Puri, Hon'ble Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Housing and Urban Affairs; Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Civil Aviation and Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, India can develop smart cities by keeping smart people at the center of policies. "It is the people who ensure that a Smart City remains smart, by not

People voted for their aspirations and development in the recent elections, he added. Many housing programmes were launched and are still ongoing. 10 million homes have been provided and 8.3 million more were sanctioned. The Minister mentioned that the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is for behavioral change.

He stated that in 2002 the Delhi metro was just started but today India has the

5th largest metro network in the world.

“It is a matter of pride to have the 5th largest metro network in the world.

Spanning a network of 300km in Delhi NCR, we are now aiming at expanding it to almost 500km,” he said. Further, Mr Puri stressed that India must participate in trade negotiations to challenge the global economic slowdown.

About India's civil aviation, the Minister stated that there is a massive growth in this eld. He said, “We are determined to resolve the problem of civil aviation in India.” Mr Tarun Das, Chairman, Institute of Economic Growth, chaired the closing plenary of The Growth Net 7.0 after two days of intensive discussions.

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