Zhong Yukai, who is in his early twenties, is a computer science student at a leading Shanghai university. On a recent afternoon, Zhong patiently queued outside India's expansive bamboo pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo, with at least a thousand of his compatriots for company. It took Zhong a little over three and a half hours to enter the 4,000 square-metre pavilion, which is inspired by the Sanchi Stupa. “I'm here for the IT [Information Technology],” he said grinning. “In China, everyone knows India is the best in the world at IT, and all Indians are good at mathematics and computers. That's why I'm here.”
But as he walked past the pavilion's intricately-designed gates, he was greeted by a row of handicraft shops. There was no sign of IT. Zhong made his way to the centrepiece of the Indian pavilion, a towering bamboo dome, expecting to see a vision of India's future — or at least, even a glimpse into its present. Instead, he found a haphazard rendering of Indian history. The walls of the dome carried a series of printed posters, in English, depicting figures from India's past and present, from Aryabhata to Ashoka. Just about the only technology on display was a hologram projection, which briefly mentioned the software boom. Zhong spent all of 10 minutes inside the pavilion. “It was very disappointing,” he said, as he left. “Chinese know about India's past and its culture. We want to know what modern India is like.”
This Thursday, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scindia is scheduled to hold a frank, closed-door meeting with China-based Indian executives at a plush Shanghai hotel. Indian officials will discuss how they can help push Indian business in the tough China market, and address a record trade imbalance. Yet, halfway across town, at the sprawling site of the World Expo, the biggest platform in decades for countries to showcase innovation and enterprise to the growing Chinese market — and the world — the might of Indian industry is conspicuously absent.
“The Expo is not the place to promote trade, this is about culture,” Subas Pani, the chairman and managing director of the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), which is part of the Ministry of Commerce and in charge of the Expo campaign, told visiting reporters in May. The ITPO was given a sizeable budget of $10 million (around Rs. 46 crore) for the pavilion. Much of this budget has gone towards building what is the world's biggest bamboo structure. The rest of the pavilion is low-tech – essentially, an exhibition of photographs. The ITPO decided early on that the Expo was not an occasion to showcase technology or businesses. It decided to focus on ancient India's “cities of harmony.”
Biggest fair
The Shanghai Expo isn't just another world's fair — it's the biggest fair in history. The six month-long Expo, which opened on May 1, will receive an estimated 70 million visitors from all of China's provinces and more than 200 countries. In the midst of the recession, many countries have seized the chance to use their national pavilions to promote their best companies to tap a robust Chinese market that has come through the downturn largely unscathed. The United Kingdom, Japan and Germany have interactive and high-tech displays, combining culture and business, and suggesting innovative ways of building sustainable communities. Countries are displaying their best companies, particularly those based in China, in an effort to attract investment.
Looking at other pavilions, it is evident that India is in the minority in its approach to give the private sector little space. The ITPO's approach has been unpopular with the Indian business community here. “There is no question, this is a huge missed opportunity,” said one Indian executive, who is a prominent figure in the Indian business community in China. “We understand this is not the place for selling businesses. But this is about brand-building, which every country seems to be doing. We are doing nothing. How then can we expect to penetrate the China market?”
A week after the Expo's opening, Indian organisers belatedly realised that their pavilion was perhaps the only one of a major economy that had nothing to display in terms of technology or manufacturing expertise. The 12 stalls of the Indian Pavilion are all either handicraft shops or food stalls. The ITPO has rented out each stall at Rs. 75 lakh. After the Expo's opening, the ITPO asked the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to “urgently” find companies to take up stalls. At first, there were no takers. The CII eventually cobbled together a group of eight China-based companies to pool in the rent and set up a stall. The companies include Infosys, Thermax, the State Bank of India, the Adani Group and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories. The end result is a hastily put together stall, which is essentially a room of eight printed posters and brochures (all in English). On a weekend in May, when the Indian pavilion hosted in excess of 30,000 visitors, there were no volunteers manning the empty stall.
Many questions
India's participation at the Shanghai Expo has raised questions over the government's handling of such fairs, especially as such large sums of public money are involved. Is the government justified in spending Rs. 46 crore on an investment with few tangible returns, particularly when much of it went towards a bamboo dome that will be torn down in six months' time? It also makes little sense for the Ministry of Commerce to entrust complete responsibility to an organisation which has little on-the-ground understanding of different foreign markets. The ITPO did not take into account the views of the dozens of Indian businessmen who have spent decades in China and understand the China market. Even at the Shanghai Expo, there are other models that India would do well to learn from. The German pavilion, for example, was a collaboration between government and private enterprise. It devotes one section to showcase how German companies are engaged in the China market in different ways. And, unlike the Indian pavilion, it has 200 Chinese-speaking German staff on hand to guide visitors.
Indian officials have defended the pavilion, citing daily footfalls of 30,000-odd visitors. Their defence doesn't hold water – most are first-time visitors, and dozens of pavilions of smaller countries have attracted similar numbers. A glance through Chinese newspapers is more revealing — the underwhelming Indian pavilion finds little mention. Zhong, the computer science student, was hardly alone in his verdict. This correspondent interviewed at least 30 visitors to the pavilion over two days. Most appreciated the cultural aspects of the pavilion and enjoyed the dance shows, which reinforced their notions of India's rich cultural past. Yet they all agreed on one thing: they left the giant bamboo dome with little understanding of modern India.
