World News | Indian clubs celebrate India Day in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG, 14th August (PTI) More than 10,000 people turned out for India Day, hosted by the South African Club of India, at the iconic Rangers Cricket Stadium to celebrate India’s Independence Day.

Indian clubs host the event every year but have had to suspend it for the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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“Covid has actually given us an opportunity to recharge and spend more time planning our flagship event to make it even better,” Indian club president Manish Gupta said on Saturday.

“The grounds have been moved to Rangers as it continues to expand every year and we used to use the Zoo Lake and Rugby Ground in Johannesburg,” he said.

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Gupta said the 45 Indian companies participating in the event ranged from established companies to the State Bank of India, which celebrated its Silver Jubilee in South Africa, as well as startups.

“We are very passionate about providing opportunities for SMEs to showcase their products to thousands of expats and South African-born Indians and other South African communities attending the conference,” Gupta said.

12 hours of non-stop entertainment featuring various organisations representing different Indian states as well as cultural programmes by local entertainers. Food stalls offer a variety of Indian delicacies.

“India Day aims to unite the cultures of our two countries by bringing together cultures, food, language and people. We have a group from Soweto participating and even a Turkish food stall,” Gupta added.

The Indian Business Forum (IBF) is participating in India Day for the first time with the aim of recruiting more members from Indian companies investing in India and South African companies interested in doing business with India.

“Our main interest in becoming a sponsor and doing business here is to raise awareness and make people aware of what IBF is all about,” said IBF chairman Praveer Tripathi, adding that the organisation plans to move away from Johannesburg-centred in Durban and Open Cape Town and other South African economic centers opened branches.

Mahindra presented its latest model to the public for the first time on India Day. Rajesh Gupta, CEO of Mahindra SA, said: “For us, as a brand from India, celebrating the 75th anniversary of Independence Day is the perfect time to present our new generation SUV to people for the first time in South Africa.” .

“By the time we plan to launch at the end of October, we hope there will be enough interest in this new collection,” Gupta said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)