India International Trade Fair begins with a focus on rural enterprises

iitf-2018 The 38th edition of India International Trade Fair was inaugurated by MoS for Commerce & Industry C.R. Chaudhary at Pragati Maidan

India is one among the very few nations who confer a unique identity to their small and medium industries. In India, the sector is called micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and the priority given to the sector allows the smallest enterprises to gain a global outreach.

This year, owing to ongoing redevelopment work in the Pragati Maidan complex, the much-awaited India International Trade Fair (IITF) is on a smaller scale due to space constraints. The theme of this year's fair is 'Rural Enterprises in India'.

The 38th edition of the 14-day long IITF was unveiled on Wednesday by Minister of State for Commerce and Industries, C.R. Choudhary.

“After all these years, IITF has become an awaited event for our exporters and importers in Delhi. The time has now come for the government to take care of more than 40 per cent manufacturers in the MSME sector, who hail from rural India,” Chaudhary said in his address.

More than 800 trade participants from 48 countries and all Indian states have assembled in Delhi to take part in this year's mega fair. Among the main countries represented in the fair were China, Italy, Germany, Mongolia, Thailand, South Korea, Tunisia, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar among others.

To mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, special significance was given to rural products and produce in the trade fair. More than 350 domestic traders will participate this year.

Attending the inaugural session, Mahesh Sharma, Union minister of culture and tourism, said that the IITF this year is also adhering to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's development theme of 'sabka saath sabka vikas' (development for everyone).

The fair also showcased various initiatives of the Modi administration, including Startup India, Make in India, Digital India, Skill India and Swachh Bharat. The partner country for this year's fair is Afghanistan, with a contingent of 80 traders.

The focus country this year is Nepal and the focus state is Jharkhand. The hill nation and India's tribal state are taking part with considerable participation of rural artisans, craftsmen and SME entrepreneurs.

India Trade Promotion Organisation has earmarked initial four days (November 14-17) for the business visitors. The fair will be open for public from November 18-27.