The 22nd IETF 2017 (International Engineering & Technology Fair), the biennial flagship event of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organized since 1975, was held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, during February 2-4. The fair was structured as a comprehensive B2B event, segmented into well-defined relevant sections of the engineering & manufacturing industry. These sections were branded and represented by concurrent focused business fairs such as Green Mobility, Industrial Automation, Global, Logistics, Metal & Metallurgy, Real Estate & Building Technology, Water, Waste & Recycling, Welding & Joining Technology, etc.
This flagship event of CII is spread over 40,000 sq. mtrs with Japan being the Partner Country. Some of the other participating countries were Korea, the US, the UK, China, Russia, Germany, Poland, Israel, Turkey and Latvia. Mr. Anant Geete, Union Minister for Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, was the Chief Guest at the inaugural ceremony of this event with the theme “Technologies for the future”.
Speaking at the inaugural session, Mr. Geete noted: “The Government of India and DHI is committed to extend their earnest support for the ‘Make in India’ campaign. Capital goods and engineering sectors will be a key growth driver, and in this endeavour our department has come up with a Capital Goods Policy and is working towards the successful implementation of the same to promote the sector.”
A directory on IETF was also released by Mr. Geete on the occasion.
Mr. Kenji Hiramatsu, Ambassador of Japan, maintained that it was a matter of immense pride to be a strategic partner in IETF for the fifth time and praised efforts of the Indian Government in successfully implementing the economic reforms. “The increase in the number of Japanese companies in India reflects their interest in the country. Japan is earnestly trying for doubling its target of FDI in India as well as the total number of companies operating here, and we look forward to more enabling steps on ease of doing business,” he stated.
Welcoming the gathering earlier at the inaugural session, Mr. Deep Kapuria, Chairman, CII Trade Fair Council, said that the IETF marked its 42 years and has achieved new heights. It has now proved a new critical driving force and a key enabler for boosting growth and creating jobs. He affirmed that the current edition has been encouraging with more than 4,500 overseas participants including Japan as the Partner Country.
Mr. Sumit Majumdar, immediate past President, CII, remarked that in the context of global competition in the engineering sector and rapid transition of manufacturing to industry 4.0, innovation, technological intensity and R&D remained central to the growth of engineering sector in India. A special fund on R&D and innovation could assist in encouraging technology infusion.
Presenting her vote of thanks, Ms. Rumjhum Chatterjee, Chairperson, CII Northern Region, said the 22nd IETF 2017 would showcase the latest technologies and strength of the industry from around the globe on the special sectors like Sustainable Mobility.
The highlight of the fair was the ‘International Green Mobility Xpo’, which was essentially a three-day event supported by the Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA), Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), and the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA). This event showcased products like electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, accessories for vehicles, electric vehicles chargers, electric vehicles infrastructure, etc.
Some of the key players like Tata Motors, BMW, Mahindra and Mahindra, JBM Auto, Maruti Suzuki, Hero Electric, Bajaj Auto, Bosch, Continental, amongst others displayed their products at this event ranging from CNG buses, electric and hybrid cars, electric bikes/scooters, e-rickshaws, etc.
As more and more people are becoming interested in greater mobility, innovative and sustainable solutions are the order of the day. Green mobility is the only solution to minimize the environmental impact caused by the transportation sector without impacting the growth momentum.
Furthermore, the e-Vehicle market in India has huge potential for growth as the Government’s vision is to produce nearly six to seven million electric four-wheelers and two-wheelers by 2020. As part of this, the Government has decided to offer incentives to all vehicles. This way, the fossil fuel import bill of the country will be reduced and the environment will be cleaned.