Pragati Maidan IITF to begin from Nov 14; lesser availability of space this year

As Pragati Maidan is undergoing a makeover, exhibitors will be facing the issue of lesser availability of space at the fourteen-day India International Trade Fair (IITF), starting November 14.

"This year, the available exhibition space is almost one-fourth of the previous IITF editions due to implementation of the IECC (integrated exhibition cum convention centre) project at Pragati Maidan," the commerce ministry said Friday.

It said although it is extremely difficult to reduce the size of the fair and maintain a regular format of the event, the organiser India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) has made extensive efforts to ensure representation of all important sectors as well as foreign participants in the available space.

Nearly all states and union territories have continued their presence in the fair.

The partner country is Afghanistan and the focus country is Nepal. The focus state this time is Jharkhand. Theme of the fair is 'Rural Enterprises in India'.

The redevelopment of Pragati Maidan into a state-of-the-art IECC shall be completed by August next year.

The ITPO is the nodal agency under the administrative control of the Commerce Ministry entrusted with the redevelopment of Pragati Maidan.

Around 800 participants from states/government departments, domestic and international companies are taking part with considerable participation of rural artisans, craftsmen and SME entrepreneurs.

Foreign participation includes businesses from Afghanistan, China, Hong Kong, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, Tunisia, Vietnam and UAE.

This year, entry of the visitors will be facilitated through only three gates -- Gate No. 1 (on Bhairon Road), Gate No. 8 (on Mathura Road) and Gate No. 10 (Pragati Maidan Metro Station).

Entry to the fairground will be allowed from 9.30 am to 5.00 pm. It will end at 7.30 pm.

ITPO has earmarked initial four days (November 14-17) for the business visitors.

Entry rates for business days per person will be Rs 500 and season ticket Rs 1800. For all the visitors during public days (November 18-27), ticket charges on Saturday/Sunday/Public Holiday per adult will be Rs 120 and Rs 60 for children.

For working days, the ticket cost will be Rs 60 for adult and Rs 40 for children.

Ticket booking as well as sale of tickets will be carried out at 66 select metro stations except Pragati Maidan Metro Station (no sale of entry tickets at Pragati Maidan Gates).

"This year, several initiatives are being taken to ensure hassle-free entry of the visitors. Apart from dedicated post office, banks and ATMs, other facilities include media centre, protocol, and international business centre.