The Tata Group participated in the ‘Made in India’ show, in Colombo, Sri Lanka from May 27-31, 2003. The show was organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka. The exhibition had the support of the ministry of industries and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka.

The exhibition was inaugurated on May 27, 2003 by Professor GL Peiris, minister of enterprise development, industrial policy and investment promotion and constitutional affairs, who saw the event as "another significant milestone in the development of our [India – Sri Lankan] relationship". He was accompanied by the minister of housing and plantation infrastructure, Arumugan Thondaman and the minister of industries, Rohitha Bogollagama, who requested business houses in both the countries to fully utilise the US$ 100-million line of credit. All three of them can be seen in the picture on right in the Tata stall, interacting with Sudhir Deoras, managing director, Tata International.

As the international face of the Tata Group, Tata International coordinated the participation of the Tata Group companies. Besides Tata International, the other Tata companies that participated in the Tata stall were Tata Steel, Tata Engineering, Tata Power, Voltas and Taj Hotels. Representatives from most of the participating companies were present. The Tata stall was a 200 sq.m. octagon, advantageously placed in the centre of the Bandaranayake Memorial International Conference Hall.

The Indica which was on a pre-launch display in Sri Lanka generated a tremendous amount of interest. Enquiries were also generated for steel, Telcon products, Voltas air conditioners, chemicals, fertilisers, and investment opportunities were explored for power plants, hotels, and manufacturing facilities for shoe uppers.

The exhibition was visited by a number of Sri Lankan and Indian ministers, MPs and state representatives, businessmen, families and the high commissioner of India in Sri Lanka, Nirupam Sen. 

Mr Deoras, who attended as part of the CEO delegation, addressed the CII-organised ‘India-Sri Lanka – unleashing the growth potential’ conference on the topic ‘WTO – The journey to Cancun’.

The Tata presence received coverage in the press and on television. It was a valuable brand building exercise for the Tata Group in Sri Lanka.