President bats for vocational training at IITF launch

President Pranab Mukherjee Thursday said there is an "urgent need to incorporate skill development and vocational training in the process of economic growth".

"The vision of inclusiveness is not just removal of poverty but it encompasses equality of opportunity, as well as economic and social mobility for all sections of society. This must be accompanied by an improvement in the opportunities for economic and social advancement," said the president while inaugurating the 33rd India International Trade Fair (IITF) at Pragati Maidan in the national capital.

The theme of IITF 2013 is "Inclusive Growth".

"Empowerment of the disadvantaged and marginalized groups is an essential part of inclusive growth... In order to keep pace with the rapid global changes, we need to constantly fine-tune the skills of our workforce," the president said.

Talking about the trade fair and its benefits, he said trade fair is a reflection of the strength of Indian entrepreneurship and mirrors the progress made by the small and micro enterprises, which form the backbone of our economy and are perhaps the most crucial link between India's economic growth and social economic transformation.

"Our MSME units can prosper only if there is a concerted effort at widening the market for their products."

The president said thrust should also be placed on meeting objectives like employment generation and regional development.

Overall, there are about 6,000 exhibitors from India and abroad participating in the fair, showcasing a wide range from electronics and decorative items to fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and accessories.

This year, Bihar is the partner state and Odisha is the focus state, while South Africa is the focus country.

There are around 260 foreign exhibitors from 21 countries. The participant countries include Japan, Thailand, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Canada, Italy and the UAE.

The first five days of the fair are only for business-to-business meetings. However, to reap the benefit of the fair on day one many people with special entry passes have thronged stalls.

Many of them ensure that they visit the fair every year because nowhere else do they think they could get garments and various other products from so many diffe"ent countries.

"It is the variety of stuff that attracts us. Nowhere we will get such varieties from so many different countries. We look for household stuff, garments, jewellery an" many more things," Mona, who has come to shop at the stalls with her friends, told IANS.

People queued up in front of Thailand stalls to buy bags and brooches. Some people were seen haggling at a stall displaying goods from Afghanistan over the price of a carpet.

The attraction of the fair is so much that people were even hopping from one stall to the other with infants in parambulators.

Apart from the stalls from foreign countries, people were also visiting various state pavilions like Uttarakhand and Odisha.

The security system has been beefed up in and around the fair ground. "There are around 2,500 policemen deployed now. If it is needed, more force will be requisitioned," said a Delhi Police officer.