MR JK AGARWAL

ELECRAMA is the flagship showcase of the Indian Electrical & Allied electronics Industry ecosystem and the largest congregation of power sector ecosystem in the geography.ELECRAMA brings together the complete spectrum of solutions that powers the planet from source to socket and everything in between. Featuring not just equipment & technology, but peerless thought leadership platforms for everything electric – from technical conclaves to industry summits.

1.Overall, how do you see a growth in the sheer number of exhibitors in ELECRAMA 2023?

Yes, last time, which is ELECRAMA 2020, we had around 1,300 exhibitors. For the upcoming 15^th Edition, ELECRAMA 2023, we are expecting well over 1,500 exhibitors.

2.How do you gauge the RBSM phenomenon in the upcoming ELECRAMA?

The Reverse Buyer Seller Meet (RBSM) has generally been very successful. Till the last edition (ELECRAMA 2020), Central government support was limited to developing countries, and developed countries such as the USA, European nations, etc were not included.However, this time we will have buyers from all over the globe. In this RBSM, we are expecting over 700 buyers from across the globe – South East Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America, Europe, etc.We will now be in a position to cover the whole world!

3.Can you please share details of your new initiative known as Start Up Challenge?

IEEMA Start-up Challenge is a platform for some of the most promising ones to showcase their innovations at ELECRAMA 2023. While only the top 10-12 will get a chance to showcase at ELECRAMA, we will enable you to have a look at all the participating ones too. Do leverage this opportunity and provide a platform for these start-ups to pilot/scale-up their ideas at your plants and perhaps invest in relevant ones to help them scale

4.How is IEEMA faring with respect to extending the popularity of ELECRAMA?

We have always done domestic road shows to spread the message of ELECRAMA. However, this time, we not just targeting the larger cities but also smaller cities and towns that have industrial clusters relating to electrical equipment. We are doing road shows in such places even if there are just about 500 industrial units in the cluster.We want that IEEMA and ELECRAMA should be known to all connected to the electrical equipment and allied industries.

5.Are there countries that would be participating in ELECRAMA for the first time?

As far as I can recall, US, Canada, Portugal, are some of the countries, which if they set up a country pavilion at ELECRAMA 2023, it would be their first time.

6.How is ELECRAMA becoming a platform for budding engineers and technology startups?

Like it has always been, this edition of ELECRAMA will also feature an Innovation Hub. This will be supported by Fraunhofer Society, Germany. We are also in talks with the Ministry of Commerce whereby grants could be given to startups to finance up to 95 per cent of the expenses incurred in showcasing their innovations. This tie-up with the ministry is still in progress. We are very close to getting the deal finalized. Once this is done, you can expect a lot of startups to participate in the Innovation Hub of ELECRAMA 2023.

7.How is ELECRAMA 2023 tackling new and emerging areas like energy storage, renewable energy, etc?

ELECRAMA 2023 will have a co-located event “eTECH nxt” that will be addressing only emerging areas like e-mobility, energy storage systems, etc. This will be a specific sub-event, within ELECRAMA 2023, focusing only on emerging areas. In fact, the brochure of this event was launched at the IEEMA Annual Convention.

8.What is your broad vision for this mega event?

My personal vision as Chairman, ELECRAMA 2023 is that wherever we are today, after 10 years, ELECRAMA should be four to five times bigger. It should be like the Canton Fair, for electricity, at the global level. If you need anything in electrical or electricity under one roof, ELECRAMA is the place. That is the vision that I have. And as I have been saying, with ELECRAMA, it only gets bigger and better!