India International Trade Fair 2017 to be held on lower scale from Nov 14

The ongoing construction of the centre at Pragati Maidan has forced the ministry's ITPO to cut down the scale of the fair

The commerce ministry's flagship India International Trade Fair (IITF) at Pragati Maidan this year will be held on a subdued note as a new international exhibition centre is still under construction.

The 14-day long fair, to be inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind, will kick off on November 14.

The ongoing construction of the centre at Pragati Maidan has forced the ministry's Indian Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) to cut down the scale of the fair.

"Because of the development of the project, exhibition space and circulation areas have obviously come down this year. Gate No 2 and 7 of the venue will not be available this time," ITPO CMD L C Goyal told PTI.
 
From over 1 lakh square metres, the area has been reduced to about 55,000 sq m this time. Nearly 3,000 exhibitors will showcase their products compared to 6,000 last year.

Over 220 foreign participants and 300 domestic companies are slated to participate in the mega event.

Goyal said that despite this, "we are not excluding any segment of the fair. We are maintaining its essence and flavour. But yes, the format will be different".

For crowd management, Goyal said the ITPO is taking several steps, including increasing the number of days for the general public to 10 from the nine earlier, advance ticket sale and cap on the number of ticket sale per day.

"This year, we are expecting 6-7 lakh footfall from over 14 lakh last year. Depending on the crowd, we would cap per day entry to 60,000-70,000," he added.

Some buildings, including the Hall of Nations and all state pavilions, have been demolished for the construction of modern international exhibition-cum-convention centre. This has squeezed the space for the fair.

Space has been given to all states and union territories besides ministries, departments and public sector units, he added.

"Number of security personnel has not been reduced. We have installed more CCTVs," the CMD said further.

About foreign participation, he said Pakistan is not participating this year too. Due to heightened tensions between the two nations, Pakistan backed out last year.

This year, partner country for the fair is Vietnam while Kyrgyzstan is the focus country.

The world-class Integrated Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC) is coming up at Pragati Maidan at a cost of Rs 2,254 crore. The redevelopment of the ground as a modern, up- to-date centre for holding global conferences and exhibitions is being planned in two phases.