Yekaterinburg hosted INNOPROM, an international exhibition of industry and innovations, between July 10 and 14, the seventh such exhibition and the first one with such large-scale Indian participation.
A total of 638 companies from 17 countries attended the exhibition. The Indian representation was the largest, because it was the INNOPROM partner country this year. India’s delegation included members of the government, the Engineering Exports Promotion Council (EEPC India), the Association of Machine Tool India (AMTI), the Indian Embassy in Russia, and representatives of five leading industrial states (Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh). Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, headed the Indian delegation.
As part of their international exposure 112 companies showcased their products. The largest stands belonged to the SUN Group, SRB-International, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, Heavy Engineering Corporation Ltd, Power Grid Corporation of India and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC). 70% of the exhibitors were small and medium-sized enterprises.
“We are pleased to participate in this magnificent exhibition, to become an INNOPROM partner country. For India, it is a great honour,” said Sitharaman. “My colleagues and I are here to develop our long-term economic and commercial ties with Russia, based on a long-standing friendship. In particular, we are ready to cooperate in the field of hydrocarbons, production of mineral fertilizers, the creation of transport corridors, and construction of ‘smart cities’”, she said.
Sitharaman pointed out that Russia and India have pledged to raise the bilateral trade turnover from 9.5 to 30 billion dollars by 2025, and mutual investments from 11 to 15 billion dollars. Judging by the current structure of imports and exports, Russian business still prefers to supply industrial products to India rather than implement the technology here. The governments hope to break this trend.
Russia has become the first foreign country included in the ‘Make in India’ programme. The first such project was a joint venture between the state-owned corporation Rostec and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the assembly of the Ka-226 combat helicopters.
Denis Manturov, head of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, said the Soviet Union built a large number of enterprises in India in the field of transport engineering, power engineering, metallurgy, nuclear industry, and Russia today is ready to participate in their modernization. The horizon for cooperation in high-tech sectors is even wider, he said. Russia hopes to place the production of components of vessels for civil aviation in India, in particular, for the MS-21. It is possible that the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) aircraft will also appear in the Indian market.
Another promising area of cooperation is the regional link. At this level, opportunities for cooperation between small and medium-sized businesses are the widest, and there are successful examples of such cooperation. At INNOPROM, Maharashtra concluded an agreement with the Sverdlovsk region to cooperate in the trade, economic and humanitarian spheres. Special emphasis will be placed on mining, exploration and engineering.
“We have many projects in the mining industry, and Russian engineering companies are going to help realize the full potential of the region in this area”, said Davendra Fadnavis, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra state.
The Chief Minister of Rajasthan state, Vasundhara Raje, admiring the quality of the Ural forests, said that she was keen to exchange experiences in forest products and forest reproduction. The Sverdlovsk region will also join in work on the problem of providing drinking water to Rajasthan.
The total value of the agreements signed is yet to be calculated.
Uralvagonzavod and the Kalyani Group have agreed on joint production of self-propelled artillery within the framework of the ‘Make in India’ programme. SRB-International has signed a memorandum with several Russian producers. The first one of these involves delivery of drilling equipment to India, the second involves delivery of industrial fans for mines and the underground, and the third involves joint participation of SRB and the Ural Plant of Chemical Engineering (Uralkhimmash) in Engineers India Limited Oil and Gas Group tenders.
SRB will open an authorized service centre in India in 2017 with another partner, Ural Heavy Machinery Plant (Uralmash), which will provide customers with spare parts for mining and metallurgical machinery.
Russian Railways plans to be part of the large-scale modernization of India’s rail network to increase the speed of movement to 250 kilometres per hour. The Railways have already joined the ‘Make in India’ programme, the formation of freight and passenger corridors, introduction of modern management systems and security based on satellite navigation.