EDEC 2026领袖圆桌会议在孟买世界贸易中心举行，共议印度展览业的未来变革

The EDEC 2026 Leadership Roundtable, held on 9^th October 2026 at World Trade Centre, Mumbai, examined what must change for India’s exhibition industry to grow with greater capacity, coordination and credibility. Participants from organisers, venues, associations, government-facing institutions, tourism, technology and exhibition services connected practical challenges with a wider question: how can exhibitions deliver stronger value for businesses, cities, workers and visitors? The account below follows the participants’ interventions and the issues they brought into focus.

1. Infrastructure: plan destinations, not just halls

Vijay Kalantri  |  President | World Trade Center Mumbai
Mr. Kalantri noted that the industry’s demand for suitable exhibition land and infrastructure has persisted for years. He urged stakeholders to unite around a practical proposal and make the case in terms of connectivity, employment and wider economic activity. He also encouraged consideration of collaborative investment and ownership models.

Joji George  |  Chief Operating Officer | Times Group
Mr. George argued that exhibition infrastructure must be considered early in urban planning. Roads, metro access and other city systems are difficult and expensive to retrofit after a venue is built. He emphasised coordinated planning and a clear mechanism for aligning the departments responsible for transport and city services.

Milind Dixit  |  Managing Director | Koelnmesse India
Mr. Dixit’s contribution reinforced the importance of looking beyond the exhibition hall to the wider visitor environment. His observations on venue development pointed to the value of advance planning, connectivity and supporting infrastructure being considered together.

Mayur Gujar  |  Senior General Manager | Jio World Convention Centre
Mr. Gujar called for a data-led assessment of demand before decisions are made about a new venue’s size or location. A proper project report, he suggested, should establish how many exhibitions need space, what scale they require and what level of utilisation can realistically be expected.

Jayesh Khimji Rambhia  |  Chairman | Plastivision / All India Plastic Manufacturers Association
Mr. Rambhia stressed that any new venue must remain connected to the city’s economic and service networks. A remote site without adequate roads, hotels, healthcare and transport, he cautioned, risks undermining the value of the facility itself.

Max Fernandes  |  Sr. Group Director – Operations,  Informa Markets in India
Mr. Fernandes highlighted the shortage of venues in Maharashtra capable of accommodating large exhibitions. He described the pressure this creates when organisers must look beyond the state for suitable space and called for faster action and stronger public-sector support.

Priya Pansare  |  Senior Director | World Trade Centre Mumbai
Ms. Pansare brought the perspective of a major venue and business-destination institution to the roundtable’s wider examination of capacity and coordination. The discussion’s central implication for destination stakeholders was that venue planning must be assessed alongside access, services and the needs of organisers and visitors.

The Mumbai question was therefore framed as more than a real-estate decision. Parking, traffic, drop-off points, public transport, freight movement and loading arrangements all affect the event experience. A new venue, phased development or improvements to existing sites should be assessed against verified demand, access, cost and long-term operating requirements.

2. A stronger, evidence-led case to government

Nabjeet Ganguli  |  Chief Marketing Officer | Informa Markets in India
Mr. Ganguli called for a stronger and more unified industry position when engaging policymakers. A credible strategy, he argued, cannot be assembled overnight: it requires collective introspection, agreed priorities and evidence demonstrating the sector’s economic contribution and the policy changes that could strengthen India’s position as an exhibition destination.

Debasish Majumder  |  Former Senior Director | Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM)
Mr. Majumder talked about the experience associated with large-scale events, emphasising that government support need not always take the form of a grant. Coordinated permissions, traffic management, parking and visitor access can be equally consequential in enabling an event to operate effectively.

Tanuja Pandey  |  Advisor, Maharashtra Tourism and MICE | Department of Tourism, Maharashtra
Ms. Pandey’s contribution underscored the importance of presenting proposals in terms that government can evaluate: measurable economic activity, employment, destination benefits, visitor movement and clearly defined policy requests. This points to the need for a concise, evidence-led industry submission rather than a list of general aspirations.

Raghav Khosla  | Group Editor | Exhibition Showcase
Mr. Khosla was the cornerstone of the leadership roundtable that framed the discussion around the question of what needs to change in the exhibition industry. The exchange brought together operational concerns and longer-term priorities, creating a basis for a more coordinated industry agenda.

3. Policy, permissions and the cost of doing business

Sanyal Desai  |  Founder and CEO | Radeecal Communications
Mr. Desai described the pressure that event-related charges and compliance requirements can place on organisers, particularly smaller exhibitions with less room to absorb additional costs. Areas raised included pollution-related charges, fire-safety requirements and traffic management. He also suggested that Pune could play a greater role as an exhibition hub while Mumbai’s capacity constraints persist.

Ravi Boratkar  |  Managing Director | MM Activ Sci-Tech/ CIDCO Exhibition & Convention Centre
Mr. Boratkar raised concerns about infrastructure delivery, delayed MSME subsidy payments and differences in electricity costs between states. He also discussed the move towards online permissions, while highlighting that digitisation alone cannot resolve underlying cost and policy questions. His intervention pointed to the need for predictable rules and more competitive operating conditions.

Jayesh Khimji Rambhia  |  Chairman | Plastivision / All India Plastic Manufacturers Association
Mr. On policy and taxation, Rambhia raised GST and input-tax-credit concerns affecting associations that organise periodic exhibitions. His intervention suggested that the operating model and event cycle of such exhibitions merit careful consideration when assessing tax treatment and compliance requirements.

A practical reform agenda would map approvals, responsible departments, documentation, charges and processing timelines. Better coordination and transparent procedures could reduce avoidable duplication while preserving essential safety and environmental standards.

4. MSME participation: make support usable

Poornima Shirishkar  |  Consultant | Department of Industries (MSME), Gov. of Maharashtra
Ms. Shirishkar drew attention to MSME Sarthi and existing channels through which businesses may seek information on finance, subsidies and raw-material assistance. Her intervention highlighted that schemes create value only when businesses can identify, understand and access them. Clear guidance, transparent documentation and updates on claim status would make support easier to use.

5. Workforce dignity and professional delivery

Amarr Devani  |  Vice President | AESDAC
Mr. Devani shifted attention to the workers who build, maintain and dismantle exhibitions. He highlighted sanitation, dignified treatment, training, logistics planning and stronger standard operating procedures. Coordination among organisers, venues, contractors, supervisors and ground teams, he stressed, is essential to safer and more respectful delivery.

6. Sustainability through reuse

Amit Kanodia  |  Founder | The Kanodia Company
Mr. Kanodia advocated reusable modular aluminium-frame systems that can be dismantled, stored and redeployed. Such systems offer a practical way to reduce repeated material consumption and waste while potentially improving build-up and dismantling efficiency. His intervention pointed to the need for organisers, venues, exhibitors and stand-builders to make reuse operationally and commercially viable.

7. Technology and measurable business value

Utkarsh Roy  |  Founder | Introbot AI
Mr. Roy argued that exhibitions must demonstrate return on investment more clearly to the companies that participate. He identified attribution, intelligence and data as connected priorities, with measures such as lead capture, repeat participation, visitor and exhibitor retention, and cost per acquisition. Technology, in this view, should help decision-makers understand what an exhibition delivered.

Bhupendra Thakur  |  General Manager – Administration | India ITME Society
Mr. Thakur highlighted the potential of RFID and NFC tools to improve access, reduce queues, support visitor movement and capture data more efficiently. He also stressed that these systems must be affordable and suited to the event’s actual needs; technology adds value when it solves a clear operational problem without creating disproportionate cost.

8. Global competitiveness and new exhibition models

Matthias Tesi Baur  |  Founder | MBB Consulting Group
Mr. Baur pointed to international destinations such as Hong Kong, Las Vegas and Thailand to illustrate the importance of coordination among venues, organisers, authorities and the wider destination. He also encouraged the industry to consider new and potentially iconic exhibition concepts whose value may derive from delegate participation, innovation and destination profile—not solely from floor-space sales.

Looking ahead: from interventions to implementation

The roundtable’s interventions point towards a future in which exhibition competitiveness is measured by more than hall capacity. It will depend on destinations planned around real demand, predictable and coordinated public processes, accessible participation for smaller businesses, dignified working conditions, practical sustainability and technology that proves its value. The next step is to turn these contributions into a shared agenda, supported by evidence, clear responsibilities and measurable progress. India’s exhibition ecosystem will be stronger when its stakeholders move from isolated concerns to coordinated decisions—and from ambition to outcomes that businesses, cities, workers and visitors can see.