The Hindu : Business : EEPC to start operations in Chicago

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jan 22, 2005

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Business

EEPC to start operations in Chicago

By Our Staff Reporter

COIMBATORE, JAN. 21. The Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) plans to commence operations of the India Engineering Centre in Chicago by the end of March.

Its Executive Director, C. S. Shukla, told presspersons here on Wednesday that the area for the centre had been identified and it would have about 50 Indian companies displaying their products. "So far we have received 15 to 20 applications," he said.

Further, four buyer-seller meetings would be organised a year as part of this project. The companies that display products at the centre would also be assisted by the EEPC to participate in specialised exhibitions in the U.S. They would be provided stalls in these exhibitions at a subsidised rate, he said.

The total cost of this pilot project was about Rs. 3 crores. "Depending on its success we will set up a similar centre in South Africa," he added.

The U.S. was one of the main markets for engineering exports from the country and this project would help increase the exports further, he added.

Mr. Shukla said that the total engineering exports target for 2004-05 was fixed at $11.5 billion earlier and it had been revised to $12.75 billion now. By 2008-09, it was expected to touch $30 billion.

With regard to the export promotion activities, he said that the council organised 20 to 25 programmes a year and during March this year nearly 125 exporters from the country would participate in the "Indiatech" to be held in Jakarta.

With regard to engineering exports from Coimbatore, he said that some of the main products made here were pumps, castings, electrical motors and textile machinery.

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