President Mukherjee inaugurates India International trade fair

New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday inaugurated the India International Trade Fair (IITF) organised by the India Trade Promotion Organisation on the theme of 'Digital India' at Pragati Maidan, in which as many as 7,000 participants are expected to partake. Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presided over the inaugural function which was held at Hamsadhwani Theatre. Over 150 companies from 27 countries including Australia, Afghanistan, Belarus, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Iran, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Netherlands, Oman, Sri Lanka, South Africa, South Korea, Singapore, Tibet, Turkey, Thailand, the UAE and the U.K. are taking part in the fair. This year, the 'Partner Country' is South Korea and the 'Focus Country' is Belarus. Similarly, the 'Partner States' are Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, while Haryana is participating as the 'Focus State'. This year, IITF's theme is ' India’, which assumes special significance for highlighting country's persistent efforts to alleviate poverty through meaningful convergence of digital technologies and e-governance. Extending India's global appeal for investment in diverse sectors, the fair also manifests a multi-pronged strategy of the Indian economy, which is driven by 'Make in India' initiative and reforms to transform trade and industry into an engine of socio-economic growth. The fair also provides a glimpse with updated information on various missions, schemes and initiatives, launched by the Government, 'Swachh Bharat' Campaign, Clean Ganga Mission, 'Jan Dhan Yojana', Skill India, 'Adhar', 175 Solar Mission, Farmer Corp Insurance, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Start up and Stand up Campaign, Smart Cities, Model Villages, etc. These programmes will be demonstrated prominently in the display profile of the pavilions of the States and Union Territories as well as standalone pavilions. It also provides first hand information of the policies, progressive reforms and the new schemes launched by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India under the Foreign Trade Policy (2015-2020). These schemes are the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and Services Exports from India Scheme (SEIS). Under these schemes incentives are available for SEZs and 'e-Biz' for promotion of diverse sectors. Apart from featuring the state-of-the-art technologies, products, services and innovations along-with CSR initiatives, the fair showcases immense variety and kaleidoscopic repertoire of India's handicrafts and handlooms with their multifarious hues, designs, motifs and techniques with diversity in both medium and method. The fair provides a reliable and tested platform to SMEs exporters, entrepreneurs and investors. Some of the new initiatives at IITF include introduction of transparent online space booking; online ticket booking for all days; arrangement of Wi-Fi at halls 7-12A, 14 and 18 and at 10 prime locations; ground installation of seven telecom towers for better network connectivity inside the fair complex; 'Mobile App' on Android and iOS platforms; Round-Robin bus services etc.