Union Minister Piyush Goyal inaugurates 41st edition of India International Trade Fair

Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday called for more trade fairs at national and state levels to strengthen the trade fair ecosystem and to promote the industry, entrepreneurship as well as local arts and crafts, said a press release.

He was addressing the gathering after inaugurating the 41st Edition of the India International Trade Fair (IITF) in New Delhi today, added the press release.

The Minister suggested that the Trade Fair could be held twice a year with the second one focussing on the theme of 'Athmanitbhar Bharat', showcasing India's swadeshi capabilities and its emerging strength. "This swadeshi fair must encourage the participation of women, MSMEs, small entrepreneurs, exhibitors from the service sector and new exhibitors. It must also be affordable to ensure wider participation", he said.

Shri Goyal opined that local fairs must also be organized all over the country, especially in connection with festivals and tourist seasons so that traditional and local handicrafts and handlooms receive a boost. These local fairs must also focus on improving packaging and design elements, he added.

Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Shri Som Parkash, Minister of State for Commerce, Ms. Anupriya Patel, Ministers from Focus states, senior officials and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

The Minister said that quality and professionalism had to be areas of focus at the IITF. He observed that IIFT was not only a matter of pride for Indians but had successfully made a name for itself all over the world. To further strengthen the fair, we must ensure that only high-quality products are sold and that exhibitors must compulsorily be quality certified, he added.

Shri Goyal opined that IITF had been successful in taking the endless possibilities that India has to offer to the world. It is a powerful platform to showcase the diversity of the nation, he observed.

The Minister suggested that efforts could be made to drive all financial transactions at the fair to digital platforms and said that India's fintech sector was one of the strongest in the world. Around 600 crore digital transactions took place in India last month, the Minister mentioned. He also said that conducting virtual fairs could be considered.

Quoting Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Minister said that "speed is an ambition and scale is our strength. The new India that we are envisaging will engage with speed and scale". Scale, the Minister said, had a bearing on the impact and the importance of such fairs.

Shri Goyal proposed that ITPO and IIFT consider jointly developing some courses in the physical, hybrid or virtual mode, to prepare professionals who will help us make such fairs cutting-edge, post-modern and much more attractive to businesses and common people.

The Minister said that the ecosystem of trade fairs needs to be given both 'gati' and 'shakti'. He said that the PM GatiShakti Master Plan may be utilised to plan fairs and exhibitions throughout the country.

Shri Goyal asked that the Centre and states work together in the spirit of cooperative and competitive federalism and compete and collaborate to conceive and implement initiatives like the IITF to take India forward on the road to becoming a developed nation. India will be the growth engine of the world in the time to come, he added.

( With inputs from ANI )