Second fortnight of November witnesses India International Trade Fair (IITF) in Delhi. It’s almost three decades since this mega event is taking place. Any international trade fair by a country intends to address the world with its trade & commerce capabilities, technological advancements, research & development, new products, investment potential, viable opportunities, availability of resources and corporate strength. There could be numerous examples like IFA in Germany, Canton in China, IPTV in Hong Kong and many others.
But when it comes to us, I am ashamed to say that we present ourselves as a churan-chatni maker in front of the whole world.I term it sheer nonsense that is happening in the name of IITF. A large portion of the trade fair is occupied by the small time vendors who are selling their churans, hazme ki goliyan, aam paparh, chatni, achars, kurkure type of material and what not? Is it what India all about? Are we selling our potential to the world in these items? Let’s take a further walk. There are so many shops which are shouting loud about controlling diabetes and blood pressure and are selling small massagers. Haridarshan dhoop & agarbatti is the most impressive stall I found to be there. Other than the eatables, melamine dinner sets, fashion jewellery, blankets & linens, toys & apparels were attracting huge crowd everywhere. Rest was all about handicrafts showcased in hundreds of small stalls across the width and breadth in the area? It was nothing more than a village-haat which was extrapolated on a bigger platform. We showcased ourselves as a country engulfed in the ramshackle of me-too products. There was absolutely no product differentiation, value addition or reflection of any cutting edge technology.
There were huge state pavilions of all the states selling the crafts, sarees, chunris, lenhgas, cholies, kurtas, linen, furnishing materials and various ladies items. I would like to know their order book from foreigners? There were huge pavilions by some of the government establishments and ministries like agriculture, small scale industries, supplies & food grains, hathkargha, water conservation, ministry of social justice & empowerment, ministry of steel, highway authority of India, ONGC, NTPC, Airforce and what not. I don’t want to say that it’s totally irrelevant for them to be there but these alone can not justify its presence? What is the message we are giving to the world? With none of the top Indian corporate houses being there can we show the world our face in an Indian International Fair? Don’t we need Ambani, Tata, Birla, Mahindra, Munjal, Bajaj, Singhania, Wadia, Godrej, Mittal, Biyani etc. to be there? Who is the face of Indian business in the fair? What do we do with Infosys, Wipro, Ashok Leyland, Maruti, Onida, Piramal, Jay Pee, Videocon and many more? I think it’s irrational for them not to be there and total inability of the government to persuade them for the same. Showcasing government ministries and establishment is because we didn’t had any thing else to display earlier when the fair started but now time has changed. Thirty years down the line we have the right to move on.
Let’s move to the international pavilion. We had participation from some 20 countries approximately like Afganistan, Thailand, China, Pakistan, Turkey, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and some western countries for name sake. Let’s see the focus here. It was again full of crafts, fashion jewelry, artificial flowers, bags, stone items and similar stuff. Afgans were selling us pomegranates and dry fruits! Pakistanis were selling Lahori Silk and marble like stone items. Nepalese were selling pashmina. Bangladeshis again with silk. I wonder why Chinese had put stalls there after spending such huge money? Their stalls are readily available in every nook and corner of our country. Their C class businessmen were there to sell cheap stuff as always. Though, some of the serious players from China were there representing themselves in heavy machineries, chemicals, drugs & pharma, power etc. But whats noteworthy is that they packed their stalls immediately after business days were over on 18th November. I treat this as a slap on our face because they knew whats going to happen in next ten days. A maddening crowd and that’s all! Foot massage was the highlight in the Thai pavilion. Next time, I hope the girls from Pattaya will be there for full body massage. These foreigners understand us so well. They have found the right place for their products & services. Does Canton or IFA offer this?
I want to say it loud and clear that everything in the fair was aimed at exploiting impulsive buying behaviour and nothing else. No international trade, simply of-the-shelf sales and dealer enquiries in North? Quick return for that lac rupee stall. I tried my best to find out how are we going to generate international trade out of it?. Where was the desk from government to assure hassle free export and import? Who was there to showcase about a country who has a vision to be a developed nation by 2020? These state pavilions are supposed to sell lenhnga-cholies or the investment potential and resources in their respective states? Couldn’t we convince our corporate houses to be there? Isn’t it relevant to organize a seminar and call some top CEOs of the country to give their perspective? FICCI, ASSOCHAM and CII find no place for themselves here? Are we addressing the world or the Delhi crowd? Why are we putting in so much time, money, energy and manpower?
Or may be we don’t have anything else to show to the world? Till when we will keep blowing our trumpet in the name of a rich culture and heritage? No wonder, world still thinks that we are a nation of snake-charmers and MADARIs!! Let’s stop fooling around. We should understand that our GDP is simply the outcome of our consumption-led economy. We were not having food, cloth and shelter and when computerization pushed us up, our people got the taste of money and what they did first? They fulfilled their requirement of roti, kapra aur makan. None of us have heard anything on R & D front or about any technological breakthrough that would have improved our lifestyle & economy.
Its time to put our perspective in place. We should present ourselves in the most appropriate manner in front of the world or there should not be any 30th IITF. Its so sad to realize that the nations who were at par with us till a couple of decades ago have gone much ahead! Let’s wear some business attire and be ready to shake hand with the world and yes please do not forget to wear that thinking cap which is in the junkyard since the 1st IITF. Fresh thinking is required to avert staling.
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