President to inaugurate IITF

It is that time of the year when people, from all over the country as well as from abroad, gather in large numbers to explore the opportunities the national Capital has to offer.

In that context, the 35th edition of India International Trade, the annual flagship event of the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), will be inaugurated by Pranab Mukherjee, President of India on November 14 at Hamsadhwani Theatre, Pragati Maidan.

Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of State (I/C) Commerce & Industry will preside over the inaugural function. The theme of the fair for this year will be ‘Make in India’. Regarding the same, LC Goyal, IAS, Chairman and Managing Director, said, “This year, IITF and its ‘Make in India’ theme will project its deep commitment to fulfill the vision of the Prime Minister of India. Extending India’s global appeal for investment in diverse sectors, ‘Smart Cities’, Digital India, Model Villages, Clean Ganga Mission and ‘Jan Dhan Yojna’ will be depicted in the Central and State pavilions, which have also been encouraged to dedicate themselves to ‘Swachh Bharat’.” 

IITF is the ultimate manifestation of India’s size, progress, diverse culture and achievements attained in core and sunrise sectors. It is a unique point for coming together of modern technology and traditional skills. It has tremendous significance for the business community as they have to play a critical role in sustainable, inclusive and job-led growth and development. The fair provides a reliable and tested platform to SME exporters, entrepreneurs and investors. 

This year, the partner country is Afghanistan with the focus country being Bangladesh. The partner states are Goa and Jharkhand and the focus state is Madhya Pradesh.

The fair will provide various facilities including discount to new start-ups and young entrepreneurs. Over 7000 firms from India and overseas are participating in the fair with overseas participation from countries namely Afghanistan, Arab Republic of Egypt, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Cuba, Germany, Guyana, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tibet, Turkey, UAE, Uganda and Vietnam. 

Tickets can be purchased online for five days. Also, the entry of school children will be free during the business days as applicable. ITPO will also introduce circular bus services inside Pragati Maidan with the colour code green, red and violet, for the convenience of the visitors. This will ensure easy accessibility to visit pavilions from one corner to the other within a frequency of ten minutes. The Bus service which is free of cost is primarily for senior citizens and differently abled persons.

The theme in IITF is ‘Make in India’ which aims to publicize the infrastructure of every state. ITPO is installing 50 KVA solar energy panel plant on the roof of the Administrative Block. IITF 2015 will be supplemented with several conferences, seminars, workshops, State Day celebrations and cultural programmes. The diversity of Indian ethnic cuisines will also be available at specified outlets. Besides, a large number of groups and individual craftsperson from all corners of the country are participating in the ‘Saras’ projection.