International trade fair begins today

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, along with Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, is scheduled to inaugurate the 14-day event to be organised at Pragati Maidan, the country's largest fair and exhibition venue.

IITF is organised by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), under the commerce ministry. It is the largest integrated trade fair in the country with both B2B (business to business) and B2C (business to consumer) components.

The first five days of the fair (Nov 14-18) will be reserved for business visitors only. The fair will open for general public from Nov 19-27.

According to ITPO chairman and managing director Rajeev Kher, this year the organisation has not partnered with any country but with four Indian states -- West Bengal and Jharkhand as partner states and Bihar and Orissa as focus states.

"There is a huge participation from various states and abroad. This year even the number of outlets have been increased," Kher said.

The theme for this year's event is 'Indian handicrafts - The magic of the gifted hands'.

The fair will host products from 230 exhibitors from 26 countries, in addition to 27 Indian states, 31 central government ministries and around 260 private companies.

The visitors can also expect a wide-variety of Indian and international cuisines.

International participants too seem excited about the event and business prospects, with South Africa's Department of Trade and Industry setting up about 19 stalls.

The IITF is one of the largest trade fairs in the world in terms of exhibitors and visitor participation.



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