NEWS: International fair to promote integration of old and new economy

[Frederick Noronha <fred@bytesforall.org>]

International fair to promote integration of old and new economy
from India Abroad News Service

New Delhi, Feb 11 - An international engineering fair in the capital next
week will focus on ways to better integrate the old brick and mortar
industry with the world of Internet commerce, the fair organizers have said.

The fair called the International Engineering, Manufacturing and Technology
Fair (IETF) 2001, being organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry
(CII), would begin February 15.

"With a view to integrate the new as well as the old economy sectors, IETF
2001 will be clearly segmented into specialized and focused groups brought
together under one roof and provide a comprehensive collection of
engineering and manufacturing capabilities," a CII statement said.

Over 50 countries are expected to participate in the fair and Spain will be
the partner country, the statement said.

Nine specialized fairs would be held consecutively with IETF 2001. Besides
these, several seminars, workshops and conferences would also be organized.

"The focused fairs will concurrently address the new as well as old economy
sectors and would facilitate the specific industry sectors to achieve their
potential," the statement said.

Among the specialized fairs being organized concurrently with IETF 2001 'The
strategic IT-Engineering Connect Fair' will serve as a platform for
information technology (IT) companies to profitably engage in offering users
exposure to IT enabled business techniques, the statement said.

The event will highlight the importance of IT in the manufacturing sector,
and present successful case studies, it added. "It will also address the
concerns of entrepreneurs intending to integrate IT in manufacturing
processes, and showcase inter-enterprise software solutions."

As part of IETF, an international conference 'Refricon 2001: Vision for the
New Millennium' is being organized Friday. This will focus on new
technologies in both equipment and components of air-conditioning and
refrigeration sector.

"The conference would not only provide a unique opportunity for the
air-conditioning and refrigeration industry to deliberate on the latest
trends in the industry, but would also provide an excellent forum for the
Indian domestic and commercial appliance manufacturers to cooperate with the
research partners," it said.

There will also be a separate fair especially for the automobile sector that
will showcase automotive parts and accessories, car care products, software
services for automotive trade and auto portals.

Other specialized fairs include Enterprise 2001, Foundry and Metallurgy
India 2001 and Weld India International 2001, the statement said.

The event will cater to the business needs of the small businessmen,
facilitate joint ventures, collaborations and assist them in identifying
potential vendors for sub-contracting, it added. "It will provide a perfect
platform for small entrepreneurs to interact on a one-to-one basis with
their counterparts."

EmPower India 2001, a focused business fair during IETF 2001, will showcase
the capabilities and potentialities of the power industry. In order to
facilitate better networking, an international conference 'Powertech 2001 -
A Conclave on Power Sector' would also be organized as part of the show.

"The deliberations would explore avenues to make power accessible, available
and affordable. The conference would also present an overview and
opportunities existing in the Power Sector in India," the statement said.