The Bengal Chamber of Commerce organized a Mega Trade Fair in collaboration with the Ministry of MSME, Govt. of India, at Kharagpur from 14th December to 18th December 2023. The five days program’s focal point was B2B vendor development and facilitate industrial networking, was attended by companies and executives from Eastern India region as well as significant presence of executives from across India. The trade fair attracted participation from 50 companies across industries, who set up their stalls in an exhibition format along with many other companies who sent their delegates to attend the trade fair for vendor development and to explore market linkages.

India is a rapidly developing market and at present world’s 5th largest economy, the nation of 1.4 billion people is also striding towards becoming USD 5 Trillion economy by 2028. It is important to ensure an equitable distribution of industrial development and economic mobility across Indian geography. So conducting a trade fair in district level at Kharagpur was a step towards being economically inclusive and offering local MSMEs a platform to showcase themselves and connect with industry leaders. Kharagpur, already being a place of thriving businesses, production units and entrepreneurial spirit was an ideal location for this trade fair.

The trade fair also attracted large corporates and PSUs from sectors such as engineering, machinery, tools, equipment, defense, plastics and polymer, power and energy, transport, logistics and shipping, agro, rural development and food processing, etc.

Some of the companies who supported us and set up their stalls are – The Supreme Industries Ltd, L&T Sufin, Girish Chandra Ghosh & G.G.S, Datre Corporation Ltd, JAIPSO, Webel Fujisoft, Tata Ezyfit, Hindusthan Tractor Machineries, Tata Steel, Protect Fire, Techo Enterprise, LIC of India, Indobell Insulations Ltd, Tally Solutions Pvt Ltd, UCO Bank, ASL Plastics Pvt Ltd, Intech Safety Pvt Ltd, Tata AIA Life Insurance, Megatherm Induction Ltd, United Engitech Ltd, MSME DFO, Dynamic Elevator Pvt Ltd, Yes Tecno Ltd, BEML, GRSE, Exide and many more.

We are pleased to inform that Shri Manas Bhunia, Minister of Water resources investigation and development was present for the inaugural session of the trade fair and it was extensively covered by both print and digital media, further highlighting the BCC&I’s attempt to promote trade and businesses in West Bengal and the eastern region of India at large.

Key takeaways from the event

• The five days trade fair was accompanied by panels and knowledge sessions attended by founders, policy makers and industry leaders who talked about strategies for business development, market analysis and scope of expanding businesses in West Bengal.
• Fostering vendor development and partnerships between business to promote ‘Make in India’ and ‘Vocal for local’ initiatives and to explore ways to increase local manufacturing output.
• Sectoral analysis of industries to understand business needs and highlighting how challenges can be solved through innovation and partnerships with an emphasize on capacity building and infrastructural development.
• Exchange of industry experiences and information resources to strengthen and encourage research and development initiatives by companies.
• Discussion on up and coming technologies and industry trends with special emphasize on sustainability and green energy to promote responsible businesses that will have greater social impact.

Apart from the interest expressed by the business community for this trade fair, it also generated great excitement from the locals who enthusiastically supported the trade fair by attending it and learning much about regional businesses and trade relations in India. It was also excellent opportunity for local businesses and startups to interact directly with large corporates and discuss about business requirements and help the local economy.