Commerce and Industry Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman has said that services sector will facilitate knowledge based economy. Addressing the plenary session of the third edition of Global Exhibtion on Services 2017 in New Delhi today she said the Exhibition has moved from strength to strength with focus on twenty services this time from ten in the first edition. Smt. Sitharaman highlighted the importance of E-visas for promotion of tourism and other services. The Minister said that there would be servicification of manufacturing due to which manufacturing will be dominated by services.

The third edition of the Global Exhibition of Services is being organized by Ministry of Commerce and Industry together with CII and SEPC. Six Ministers from different countries are participating at the GES. GES 2017 brings together 550 exhibitors from 70-plus countries. More than 20,000 visitors are expected to attend the exhibition. The Exhibition will see over 5,000 business meetings and deliberations at more than 30 seminars.

Shri Pranab Mukherjee, President of India, is slated to inaugurate the Global Exhibition on Services (GES) in the evening today for the second consecutive year.

Shri Arun Jaitley, Minister of Finance, Defence and Corporate Affairs, would also address the inaugural session to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Services sector as driver of a knowledge economy, with e visa facilitation and servicification advancing cross border services trade. Promotion of the services sector as a facilitator of a knowledge based economy, emphasizing e visas to promote tourism and cross border services and the trend of servicification of manufacturing. The Government supported these priorities through the Global Exhibition on Services, a large trade event organized to showcase services, foster international cooperation, and facilitate business meetings and seminars.