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India International Trade Fair begins

     New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday inaugurated the 25th annual trade fair - India International Trade Fair (IITF) - one of the largest in Asia, in the capital amid heavy security arrangements. Security forces have been deployed in the wake of recent blasts that rocked the capital as hundreds of thousands of people are expected to visit the fortnight-long fair. Nearly 30 countries are participating in the India International Trade Fair (IITF), 2005, showcasing achievements over a broad canvas. This year, Thailand is the focus country. Singh, while inaugurating it said India has to become a part of the emerging globalised world. "India has to be once again, a major trading nation. For that we need a competitive economy that works on the frontiers of scientific, technological and managerial knowledge. The trend of globalisation is an irreversible one. We cannot and we should not shy away from it. We must prepare ourselves for greater integration with the evolving world economy, he said. Singh also reaffirmed the decision of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) leaders to implement the free trade agreement, SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Agreement) from January 1, 2006.

      Along with the Prime Minister, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath, Chief Minister of Uttaranchal Narayan Datt Tiwari, Chief Minister of West Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry E.V.K.S. Elangovan were also present on the occasion. Projecting India in its totality with 'India Brand Consciousness', this multi-product event of ITPO will mirror the progress made by India in diverse sectors of the economy. Almost all the Indian states and Union Territories, besides a number of Ministries, Government Departments and Institutions are represented at IITF. Several leading Public Sector Undertakings, large corporate houses, multi-nationals, FMCG companies and private limited companies showcase their attributes to the business persons as well as disseminated information to the visitors about their respective area of expertise.

    The IITF will showcase the achievements of India and other countries over a broad pectoral canvas. There is a fairly large overseas response this year with Thailand, China and Pakistan on a significance scale. Overseas participation covers Afghanistan, Brazil, Bhutan, Hong Kong, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Poland, Russia, Syria, Sudan, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Taiwan, UK, USA, Venezuela and Vietnam. Around 7500 firms from India and overseas are expected to participate in the fair. And around 50 trade delegations are expected to visit IITF. Confirmation has been received from China, Russia, Japan, Brazil, Republic of Congo, Mexico, the USA, Panama, Palestine and Philippines. This year, Thailand is the 'Focus Country' and Uttarancahal is the 'Partner State' while West Bengal features as the 'Focus State'. To mark its 25 profitable years, ITPO this time will be having 'Power & Communication' as special theme. In fact, companies from all business avenues will be encouraged to participate to represent India in its totality and open fresh avenues for major business expansion. Therefore, the fair will have a highly representative display in diverse sectors covering products, machinery and equipment, technologies and services in engineering goods, electronics, agriculture and automobile sectors, besides a wide range of consumer goods and handicrafts. Besides trade and commerce, the fair also depicts diverse cultures, traditions, cuisines and handicrafts from all over India with each state celebrating its 'State Day'. Some of the other special displays this year is Saras, Techmart, Good living, and India Tech.

    Other major attraction for the visitors is the Shankuntalam Theatre an ideal venue for classical Indian dance and music and others staging puppet shows, folk dances. Seminars, conferences and workshops are also organised focusing on subjects related to business opportunities. Meanwhile, special arrangements have been done for the visitors to have the easy availability of tickets. Tickets will be available at all mother Diary/Safal outlets, select Metro stations, Bharat Petroleum outlets and designated branches of the Central Bank of India, Canara Bank, Allahabad Bank, J&K Bank and Federal Bank as well as at all DTC depots, including in Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad. Even the entry tickets available at other outlets will be cheaper by Rs.5. IITF 2004 attracted more than 7,400 Indian companies with overseas participation from 28 countries with 327 companies. The magnanimity of the event is evident from the fact that 2,65,000 business visitors & over 3 million general visitors visited this 14 day event. These amazing figures have encouraged and provided a chance to the Indian industry to reach out in search of varied business avenues. This year too with the mark of completing 25 glorious years, IITF once again expects even a larger response from the participants as well as the visitors.

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