EEPC chairman Rakesh Shah in Calcutta on Monday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta, April 17: Around 319 domestic companies and associations, including 147 small and medium enterprises (SMEs), will participate in the industrial trade fair at Hannover in Germany. India is the partner country for the Hannover Messe 2006, which will be held from April 24 to April 28.

Eleven companies and three states from the east, including an eight-member delegation from West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC), are headed for Hanover. Around five to six states will participate in the fair for the first time.

The government is also encouraging SME participation through a host of initiatives.

“Karnataka is offering SMEs a subsidy of Rs 50,000 for participating in Hannover Messe. The Centre already has a similar amount of subsidy in place for units with a turnover of below Rs 10 crore. This ceiling under the market development access scheme is expected to go up to Rs 15 crore,” said Rakesh Shah, chairman of Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC).

SME exporters could also avail of the marketing access initiative scheme, which would subsidise the cost by up to 60 per cent of what they would have paid by direct participation.

WBIDC and the Jharkhand government have taken up a space of 100 sq metre each at the exhibition and Orissa 102 sq metre.

While other fairs usually generate around six to seven business contacts per participating exporter, Hannover Messe is set to generate 10 to 12 business contacts, Shah said.