Exhibitions are accepted today as important methods of brand building and boosting of product sales. The participation in State and national level exhibitions is a costly affair. SSIs cannot afford to participate without Government support. Therefore, VITC organises exhibitions at the State / National levels, so that SSIs could participate in such exhibitions. In addition to organising exhibitions, it also arranges group participation of SSIs in exhibitions / trade fairs organised by India Trade Promotion Organsiation (ITPO), Export Promotion Councils and other reputed organisations.

1. INDIA INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIR 2001

The India International Trade Fair 2001, which is scheduled to be held from 14th -27th Nov. 2001 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, is a multi product fair providing business opportunities for a wide range of products, technologies and services in diverse areas. The fair covers capital goods, consumer electronics, textiles, clothing and handicrafts. The fair will project the technological advancements achieved by the country in various sectors, viz., Industry, Agriculture, Telecommunications, Electronics, Services etc.

Over 1.5 lakh business visitors including foreign visitors will convene at IITF 2001. About 30 lakh general visitors are expected to attend. This single largest forum in the Country will provide excellent opportunity for direct interaction with prospective local / overseas clients and to gain maximum global exposure which may fructify into joint ventures, updation of technology, export / import as well as exchange of ideas.

The IITF 2001 will thus be a very opportune ground for test marketing new products/ services and for consolidation of business exchanges.

THE KARNATAKA PAVILION AT IITF 2001

The KARNATAKA PAVILION at IITF 2001 will be organised by Visvesvaraya Industrial Trade Centre (VITC) of the Directorate of Industries and Commerce, Govt. of Karnataka.

Since this fair is an ideal platform for showcasing products / services of the State at both the National and International Levels, VITC invites participation from industries of the State in Display & Sales Areas of the Karnataka Pavilion.

2. PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES

Participation in international exhibitions is one of the very effective and important means to establish trade contacts with foreign buyers and to penetrate the foreign markets. The WTO accord has opened up many foreign markets for our products, wherein we have strength in terms of price and quality compared to many other countries. Further, with over all liberalisation and economic reform process started in Indian economy the local industries are facing a two fold challenge. Firstly, competition from the presence of foreign goods in the domestic markets and secondly the need to explore the international markets. Therefore, there is a great need to assist the small scale industries to participate in international fairs / exhibitions. Such participation not only helps in broadening the country's technological and manufacturing capabilities, but also helps the participants to identify foreign partners for financial and technological collaborations. There are other possibilities of technology transfer to other countries wherever we have a better technology. It also helps to gauge our products vis -a -vis other international competitors and helps the entrepreneurs to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Such exhibitions help the participants to gain entry into the international market.

A large number of exhibitions / fairs are organised all over the world. Some of these are organised by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO). VITC organises for bulk space booking in selected such exhibitions and arranges for the participation of Small Scale Industries of the State at reduced costs.