As a run up to the 15th Edition of ELECRAMA, Indian Electrical & Electronics Manufacturers' Association (IEEMA) hosted road shows in multiple cities (like Nashik, Jaipur, Hyderabad, etc) to promote the expo - a key event of the domestic power sector. The theme of ELECRAMA 2023 - to be held from February 18 to 22 at India Expo Mart (Greater Noida) - is 'Reimagine Energy - For Sustainable Future'. The trade fair will showcase innovation and future technologies in many areas including green hydrogen, fuel cells, artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT).

Speaking at a road show in Nashik (Maharashtra) in January 2023, Sunil Singhvi, Vice President, IEEMA, said, "With initiatives like 'Make in Maharashtra' for boosting industrial output, large investments have been planned for improving the power infrastructure of the state. Clean energy and electricity will be at the core of this transition. We expect about $2 trillion investment in the sector over the next 25 years, with the share of our sector doubling as a percentage of India's GDP and a 10X growth in exports by the sector. India has a golden opportunity to shift from a heavily energy importing nation to an energy neutral/exporting nation.

Before Nashik, IEEMA organised a press conference at Jaipur in Rajasthan - which has emerged as the country’s solar hub after developing 10 GW (Gigawatt) capacity solar power. IEEMA also hosted an interactive session with senior officials of Rajasthan’s power sector along with a road show. Hamza Ariswala, President-elect of IEEMA, said, "The state is attracting new investments in the field of renewable energy. Indian industry has an important role to play as India accelerates towards Net Zero (with green and renewable energy as the primary source of energy) and enhances the quality of life of its citizens.

According to Jitendra Agarwal, Chairman, ELECRAMA 2023, the expo aims to secure business inquiries worth $6 billion from exhibitors and visitors from over 70 countries including pavilions form Canada, France, Germany, Romania, Taiwan and UK. "For the industry’s growth and success, certain areas present unlimited business opportunities in the future including start- ups and new business where massive capital investment are being made i.e. railways, metro, airport, defense, smart cities, buildings, and the EV ecosystem, small, medium and micro- business should be able to participate in the global supply chain as well,” said Agarwal.

At a road show in Hyderabad in November last year, Hamza Ariswala, said, “Through ELECRAMA, we aim to showcase India’s strength to engage more deeply with the rest of the world. We will be focusing on connecting the equipment manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers to the key decision makers and end customers like utilities, EPCs, and private power producers and adding our MSME units to global value chains.

Telangana has a base of big companies and small & medium enterprises, who were engaged in manufacturing transformers, switchgear, and batteries among other equipment. The exhibition will focus on showcasing innovation and future technologies. There were several growth opportunities for start-ups and other businesses as investments are being made sectors such as in the railways, defence, and the electric vehicle eco-system, stated Jitendra Agarwal.

ELECRAMA is the single largest exhibition in transmission and distribution (T&D) sector globally. With around 2000 exhibitors, five concurrent conferences, 500,000 visitors from 70 countries generate billions of dollars of revenue for Indian electrical manufacturing industry.

Speaking at a Chandigarh road show, Vinamra Agarwal, Chairman, IEEMA Northern Region, cited, “The energy transition currently underway is propelling electricity as a dominant form of energy so much so that very shortly energy will be synonymous with electricity. There is a huge business potential riding on the increasing relevance of EVs, Charging Infra, RE and Green Hydrogen, and Energy Storage. The transition of the transportation sector from the fossil fuel-driven sector to the clean energy-driven sector would be a key to the energy goals of the country. The upcoming 15th edition of ELECRAMA 2023 will mainly focus on such opportunities and position India as the fulcrum of futuristic technologies and solutions required for achieving sustainable growth.”

The Northern region comprises many manufacturers of LV, MV T&D equipment like Switchgears Transformers, Panels, Meters, etc. "Through ELECRAMA, we aim to showcase India’s strength to engage more deeply with the rest of the world. We will be focusing on connecting the equipment manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers to the key decision makers and end customers like utilities, EPCs, private power producers and adding our MSME units to global value chains," said Charu Mathur, Director General, IEEMA.

As part of Mission 2030, the industry aims to reach $65 billion output with export of $25 billion.

With a focus on energy storage, energy efficiency, EVs, Industry 4.0, digitization, etc, companies are looking at investing in India to make the country self-reliant and global manufacturing hub. ELECRAMA will play an enabler role to achieve this goal.