Students throng trade fair, ‘clients’ yet to show up

As the Global Trade Show at Gandhinagar entered the second day on Wednesday, students thronged the pre-Vibrant Gujarat event while companies from India and abroad continued to wait for their target clientele — businessmen and delegates.

College and school students, many of them in uniform, visited the show spread over one lakh square metre area at Town Hall, where 1,000 stalls showcasing over 25,000 products in 14 exclusive pavilions and 30 domes have been erected.

Total 195 companies, 100 from India and 95 from abroad, are participating in the six-day long exhibition, which is part of sixth edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit beginning January 11.

While education and gems and jewellery domes had maximum queries by the students, other domes dedicated to foreign countries, Indian states, mines and minerals, plastic industries, banking and finance, agro and food were waiting for business groups and delegates.

However, the fact that students are visiting the exhibition has served one of the purposes of the state government — to give a world-class exposure to young minds. Even Chief Minister Narendra Modi had said in his inaugural speech that one of the reasons "for such a large exhibition is that young mind should see things from all over the world and get an exposure".

"The first day was bit lean. Today, the second day, we have a very big crowd, but it is only students, housewives and laymen," said a representative of a multinational bank headquartered in the UK. "We are still waiting for visitors with business prospects. So far, the ratio of genuine clients and common visitors is like 2:100."

Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, which has put up a stall in the same dome, echoed the views. "There are a lot of visitors, but no business persons," said a representative.

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