"Paradoxically, the weakness of the US dollar has, in fact, increased our export value by some 21 percent although there has been a decline of two percent in quantity terms. This is because the weak dollar has forced Indian exporters to increase their prices which, in turn, have led to a decline in quantity," he explained.

However, Sarkar also pointed to other problems which are worrying Indian companies - the rising prices of steel attributed to increased demand for steel in China and the rising oil prices.

"I believe that there is a cartelisation (companies reaching an informal understanding among themselves to fix prices) effect right now. The EEPC tries to import steel on block-booking basis. We are also buying pig iron for steel production on the same lines. The EEPC has for the first time entered the energy sector; so far the EEPC was mainly involved in subcontracting business," he said.

The fact that even the organiser of the Hannover fair, Deutsche Messe AG, has expressed a willingness to launch trade shows in India underscores India's growing importance in the industrialised world.

Deutsche Messe AG is already organising four shows in India - the MDA (Motion, Drive and Automation), Industrial Automation, CeMAT (logistics material handling) and Energy India. These fairs will be held in Bangalore during Dec 10-13.