The 40th edition of IITF was inaugurated today by Union Minister for Industries & Textiles, Piyush Goyal at Pragati Maidan New Delhi. Due to COVID pandemic the event was not held last year and this year the exhibition is being organized in newly constructed Expo Mart.This year the JK pavilion was jointly inaugurated by Director Handicrafts and Handloom Kashmir Mahmood Ahmad Shah and Director Handicrafts and handloom Jammu Vikas Gupta and the exhibition will continue till 27th of this month.IITF is a premier platform for holding such expos in the country and receives a huge number of footfall of visitors and buyers, as a result of which a lot of artisans from UT aspire to participate in IITF.This year UT of JK is participating on a 700 sq mtr area. Apart from showcasing the arts and crafts of the UT, the JK pavilion is also showcasing the Tourism, Horticulture and other fabrics that contribute in the economy of the UT.
The Exhibition space of the JK Pavilion has been designed to reflect the diversity, culture, heritage and tourism potential of the UT. The special focus this year has been the GI certified products that have been kept available in the JK Pavilion.The Department of Handicrafts and Handloom Kashmir is currently running a special campaign in Delhi through electronic media with regard to creating awareness of GI certified products from Kashmir.The special feature of the JK pavilion is the live demonstration of the Crafts from Kashmir through the master crafts men from School of Designs Kashmir.The special feature of the exhibition space is a prototype of a Shikara on Dal Lake that has been created as a selfie point so that the visitors to the JK pavilion carry their memories along.IITF is the first physical exhibition that the department is conducting outside the UT this year. The department is conscious of the fact that the inventory of the artisans has piled up due to COVID pandemic and platforms like this will be provided to the artisans so as to sell their products.The department has also lined up exhibitions at Noida Bazar, HGH India, Shilip Utsav, PITEX 21and DILI Haat. In addition the department is also participating at Suraj kund as a Theme State.