GES 2017 to open new doors for services sector
by Kanchi Batra
The 3rd edition of Global Exhibition of Services (GES) was off to a bright start on Monday with ‘best of the global services” on display at the India Expo Mart & Centre in Greater Noida. Intensifying in its scale and scope by bringing three new services areas – environmental services, space, and sports services – and more exhibitors to its fold, GES 2017 is set to open new doors for services sector in India and prove to be a real game changer.
The services sector of India is not only the leading sector contributing to India’s GDP, it has also garnered momentous foreign investment flows and contributed to exports. This sector contributed about 61% to India's GDP, rising strongly at around 10% per annum in 2015-16. IT and software services contribute around 48% of India’s overall services exports.
President Pranab Mukherjee while formally inaugurating the four-day mega event at the Rashtrapati Bhawan said, “At a time when global merchandise trade is slowing down, trade in services can bring new benefits to the global economy”.
Having grown from strength to strength over the past three years, the flagship event of Indian services industry has emerged as a major platform to highlight, engage, and collaborate on a global scale. “India’s service exports can help global businesses build their productivity and support jobs across the world. Exchange of services represents the way forward for global trade”, added the President
Make in India, Digital India, Startup India and Skill India will further drive services growth as manufacturing is progressively entrenched with services, the President said. He was referring to the contribution of the service sector to the GDP which has been increasing over a period of time. Equally significant is the fact that Indian share in the global services export was 3.3% in 2015.
From e-commerce companies to handicraft makers and smart home solution providers from foreign shores, the exhibition is providing an international platform to these firms to help them tap the services potential of India. It’s a win-win situation for Indian companies who stand to benefit with the global exposure and learnings they will get by developing partnerships with global firms and expand their competitiveness on the global scale.
The 3rd edition of GES is witnessing participation from as many as 24 Indian states, the largest so far, 550 exhibitors from 73 countries with China as the Focus Country.
India–China: Towards a Strategic Partnership in Services
China is India’s largest trading partner with more than US$ 70 billion worth of goods traded last year and, is now concentrating on reconstructing its economy, shifting from an export oriented approach to a more inclusive business strategy. Also, India’s trade deficit with China mounted to a whopping $46.56 billion in 2016, which is of concern and hence, there is a need to look beyond the trading of goods.
With the incessant up-gradation of technology and rising economic standards of the huge middle class in both India and China, the demands of the masses are changing to better provision of services. Sectors like E–Commerce, Healthcare, Media & Entertainment, Tourism, and IT are some of the key service sectors where both the neighbours can work in partnership and benefit from each other.
In order to better understand the shifting trends, there was a session focused on “India–China: Towards a Strategic Partnership in Services”. The panelists discussed in detail, the areas where partnership can be reinforced.
Sudhanshu Pandey, Joint Secretary – Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry started the discussion by highlighting the priority sectors for support and extension between the services and private sector of India and China. He noted that India-China bilateral relations are poised to play a defining role in 21st century in Asia and indeed, globally.
In the same session, Dr. Vineet Arora, Manger – International Business, Apollo Hospitals Group, stressed on the need to develop a vibrant relation in the sphere of public health, medical education, and traditional medicine.
In an exclusive interview with The Dollar Business, Alen Wang, Managing Director, China Telecom India, shared his opinion on the telecom industry. “The telecom industry is one of the few which accurately reflects the present development and state of the world. Changes in the telecom industry have an impact on an entire society. It changes not only their way of thinking, but their day-to-day living too. It reflects a society, a country and the world”, said Wang.
to success.