The Hindu Business Line : Curtains come down on trade fair

PORTERS CARRYING the goods bought by customers on the last day of the 26th India International Trade Fair in New Delhi on Monday. — Shanker Chakravarty

New Delhi , Nov. 27

The curtains on the two-week long India International Trade Fair (IITF) came down on Monday with the Minister of State for Commerce, Mr Jairam Ramesh, hailing the event as business to public (B2P) and not B2B or B2C (business to customer) as is the wont.

Delivering the valedictory address at the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) here, Mr Ramesh said that the Government had drawn up a plan to bring about a world-class trade fair centre in the present venue at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore through public-private partnership (PPP) as it was not proper to hold "first class fair with third-class infrastructure".

He said the existing infrastructure was over-stretched and, hence, the plan for sprucing up the whole complex with top-notch infrastructure amenities to attract more investors and visitors.

Underscoring the need for modernisation and upgradation of this prime exhibition venue, Mr Ramesh hoped that the Cabinet would soon arrive at a decision on this issue so that modern exhibition-cum-convention centre facilities at Pragati Maidan could be ushered in within the next three years.

He said that besides Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai where the ITPO had established centres for holding trade exhibitions and fairs, facilities were in the final stages of completion in Guwahati, which would host a trade fair next year, drawing overseas customers and companies focused on South-East Asian economies. He said that the IITF saw 2.5 million people visiting the event with as many as seven lakh people using metro rail inaugurated recently to the trade fair complex. He added that the fair focused on small and medium enterprises, which exhibited their business skills.

Stating that China has been the partner-country during the current fair, he said such participation would strengthen the bilateral trade and help in achieving the $40-billion trade target within the stipulated three-year period.

In his welcome address, the Chairman and Managing Director, ITPO, Mr N.N. Khanna, said that the fair saw the transaction of good business among companies and convergence of 2.5 million visitors, including about three lakh trade and business visitors.

Over 700 overseas commercially important persons, including business delegation from Brazil, China, Fiji, Japan, Korea, Poland, Sri Lanka and Thailand visited the fair.

Medals bagged

Kerala bagged the gold medal, Gujarat the silver, while Chhattisgarh got the bronze and Rajasthan a commendation medal, among the State pavilions. China and Myanmar bagged the gold and silver medal, respectively, with the bronze medal being claimed by Brazil, an ITPO release said.

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