36th India International Trade Fair (IITF) kicks off on Monday in Delhi

New Delhi, November 13, 2016: President Pranab Mukherjee will on Monday inaugurate the 36th India International Trade Fair (IITF) to be held here between November 14-27, at which South Korea will be the "partner country" and Belarus the "focus country", an official statement said.

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Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will preside over the inaugural function in which as many as 7,000 participants are taking part this year, a Commerce Ministry statement said.

"The "partner states" are Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, while Haryana is participating as the "focus state". Over 280 companies from 24 countries are taking part in the fair," it said.

"This year, IITF and its 'Digital India' theme assumes special significance for highlighting country's persistent efforts to alleviate poverty through meaningful convergence of digital technologies and e-governance," it added.

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According to the organisers, over 7,000 firms from India and overseas are participating in the fair. The overseas participation is from Australia, Afghanistan, Belarus, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Britain, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Iran, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Netherlands, Sri Lanka, South Africa, South Korea, Tibet, Turkey, Thailand, and the UAE.

The first five days of the exposition have been reserved exclusively for business visitors. The public will be allowed to visit the fair from November 19 until its conclusion on November 27.

The fair will be open daily from 9.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. The public visitors will have to pay Rs 60 on week days and Rs 120 on weekends or holidays for admission. Senior citizens and the differently abled will be given free entry. Tickets can be purchased online for business days.

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Last year's event saw a footfall of over 1.7 million including about 37,000 business visitors, an increase over the 1.4 million attendance in 2014. About 283 overseas exhibitors from 26 countries displayed their exhibits in the fair, according to state-run India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO). (IANS)