Date:10/10/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/10/10/stories/2005101008560400.htm

New Delhi

1,800 exhibitors for handicrafts and gift fair

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: More than 7,500 buyers are expected to attend the Indian Handicrafts and Gift Fair [IHGF] which opens at the Pragati Maidan here this coming Thursday. This five-day fair, started in 1994, has grown over the years in terms of exhibitors, overseas buyers and the product range. The 20th edition of this fair will have 1,800 exhibitors spread over 80,000 sq. m. space in 16 halls.

At a press conference here this past week, the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) chairman, Navratan Samdria, said IHGF was now one of the most important marketing medium in the Asian continent for handicrafts and gifts business. "Overseas buyers regard this fair as "one stop sourcing event'' and wait for the fair to source their requirement,'' he added.

The executive director, EPCH, Rakesh Kumar, said one of the highlights will be the display of eco-friendly utility products from the North-Eastern States