India Carpet Expo: Progressing carpet exports

The 35th edition of India Carpet Expo, an exclusive trade fair for Handmade carpets and other floor-coverings, organized by Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC) was inaugurated on March 8 with lamp lighting by Minister of State for Textiles, Ajay Tamta at the NSIC Exhibition Ground, Okhla, New Delhi in the gracious presence of Shantmanu, IAS, Development Commissioner (Handicrafts). Mahavir Pratap Sharma, Chairman, CEPC along with members of the Committee of Administration, Exhibitors and Media were also present. The four-day expo will remain open for business till March 11.

The expo is organized under the aegis of Govt. of India with an aim to promote the cultural heritage and weaving skills of Indian hand-made Carpets and other floor coverings amongst the visiting overseas carpet buyers.

"We are very glad that CEPC organizes this expo twice every year to promote Indian weavers worldwide. Every year, this expo generates a huge amount of business. We have everything handmade and hand weaved here, which is the major attraction to the foreign buyers," said Ajay Tamta, Minister of State for Textiles in a statement.

Mahavir Pratap Sharma, Chairman, CEPC said, "India carpet expo is an ideal platform for International carpet buyers, buying houses, agents, architects and Indian carpet manufacturers and exporters to meet and establish a long-term business relationship. This exhibition is a crucial step towards taking Indian exports of Handmade carpet to much greater and newer heights. He further added, "there are tremendous business opportunities for participating manufacturers and exporters as various prominent buyers of Handmade Carpets from all over the world will be attending the show and orders worth over thousand crores are expected to be executed in near future."

Smriti Zubin Irani, Minister of Textiles, Information and Broadcasting is launching the following initiatives of the Council:

China warehouse – China is a focus country for this trade and Indian exporters want more access to various parts of China. Looking to this demand, CEPC has initiated a project to open a warehouse in China. CEPC has registered a company in China and is looking for commercial space in the country for a warehouse both in and outside the custom bonded areas. The intent is to take this trade from 13 million to 40 million USD in the next two years.

New website – CEPC has created a new website which will also contain separate B2B and B2C pages, online payment facilities and exhibitions for members. B2C pages will focus on imparting knowledge about the history of Indian handmade carpets, their techniques and variety. Through these pages, a consumer will develop the understanding of the differences in a machine made carpet and a Handmade carpet. B2B pages will make internal functioning strong by making communication and coordination with members faster.

Carbon footprint – CEPC believes that their handmade carpet manufacturing processes are labour intensive and environment-friendly. CEPC has conducted an environmental study – Carbon Foot Print (CFP) Study and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study for its product to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with the products and its processes. This study can be used to reduce environmental impact and waste, reduce costs, focus product development, support marketing claims, improve product/corporate image and/or identify appropriate performance indicators. Further, doing this study creates common metrics that can be compared and shared across the member exporters or with their suppliers and partners.

Women weaver's training program – 1956 weavers were trained under the Mega Cluster scheme of DC(H) where 96% trainees were women. The project was completely run by CEPC and it was a great enabler in generating skilled workforce in the state of Uttar Pradesh. This project helped the women artisans to be able to share the responsibility of livelihood for the family. CEPC intends to train more women in the next year with the support of the Ministry of Textiles.

Rugs of India initiative – CEPC is also intending to launch a 'Rugs of India Label', wherein they will have all the benefits of the Kaleen label, but also add the element of Intellectual property and having one's own design, original designs, and not copy other designers or labels. This will take brand India and its credibility in the eyes of the world at a much higher level.

India Carpet Expo is one of the largest Handmade Carpet Fairs in Asia with a unique platform for the buyers to source the best handmade carpets, Rugs and other floor coverings under one roof. With the participation of over 260 exhibitors, it has become a popular destination worldwide on Handmade Carpets. Organizers are extremely happy with the results until today and hope that more buyer will come and make this expo a successful one.