Over 20 lakh people to visit India International Trade Fair

New Delhi, Nov 7 (UNI) With over 7,500 exhibitors from India, along with overseas participation from 43 countries and more than two million people expected to visit the fair, the 27th edition of the India International Trade Fair (IITF) will kick off at the sprawling Pragati Maidan here from November 14.

IITF, a fortnight-long annual magnum opus, is being organised by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), mirroring the progress registered by India in diverse sectors of the economy.

President Pratibha Patil Devisingh will inaugurate the mega show and Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath will preside over the function.

Briefing reporters at the curtain-raiser press conference here today, Mrs Sheela Bhide, CMD, ITPO, said that the theme of this year's fair is 'Processed Food and Agro Industries', while Himachal Pradesh is the 'Partner State' and Meghalaya is the 'Focus State'.

Considering a pivotal role of the fair for strengthening bilateral trade relations of India with its neighbouring countries, the participating SAARC nations have been accorded the status of 'Partner Countries', she added.

About 450 business delegates from abroad and 3,000 to 4,000 domestic business delegates will attend the fair to have long-term business relations.

The overseas participations are from Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bhutan, Brazil, China, Egypt, Germany, Holland, Hong Kong, Iran, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Surinam, Spain, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Turkey, Thailand, UAE, JK. USA and Vietnam.

The fair will be more visitor-friendly for overseas delegations and businessmen as special Travel Desks have been set up at the venue as well as at the International Airport, which will be maintained by the Delhi Exporters Association (DEA).

DEA President S P Agarwal said, ''the fair is expected to generate an overall business of Rs 1,000 crore''.

Safety and security, as usual, will remain a prime concern of the authorities.

Mr Safdar H Khan, Senior General Manager, ITPO, said 50 CCTVs inside the ground and halls have ben set up while number of observation towers has been increased to 20 and a network of 13 touch screen kiosks are being installed at different locations inside Pragati Maidan to provide fair-related information to the visitors.

Tickets will be available at Delhi Metro Stations, DTC depots, Mother Dairy outlets and branches of Oriental Bank of Commerce for Rs five less than those purchased at the venue.

Parking facilities, to and from shuttle service and ticket counter will be located at Central Secretariat Metro Station, India Gate, Delhi Zoo and the Boat Club.

For the first time as a trial, the first two days of the fair are exclusively reserved for the business visitors and the general public will be allowed only from November 16 to 27 from 1000 hrs to 2000 hrs, Mrs Bhide said.

Moreover, with a view to control the crowds, the colour of entry tickets will be different for different days. One colour will allow entry from Monday to Friday and the different colour will be used for weekends and holidays. Ticket once bought would allow a single entry on any allotted day for that colour.

The multi-product show will highlight amazing strides of achievements in different exhibitors halls in the form of Special Displays of Techmart, Buildtech, SARAS and the ubiquitous Good Living sector. Set-up by ITPO and Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (Ministry of Science and Technology), 'India Tech 2007' will showcase available indigenous technologies for sourcing by developing third-world countries and joint-venture deals.

Seminars, conferences and workshops are also being organised focusing on subject related to business opportunities, special displays, theme and other aspects of contemporary relevance in the course of the mega business event.

UNI