Greater Noida – 31th MARCH 2022 – Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Govt. of India, on Thursday visited the IHGF Delhi fair and congratulated EPCH on their impressive showcasing of the handicraft sector’s strengths at the IHGF Delhi Fair. Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State for Tourism and Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Govt. of India also graced the fair. The Ministers interacted with the exhibitors and appreciated their wide range of products on display. Rajendra Gehlot, Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan also visited the fair and encouraged participants.
“Buyers in good numbers visited the fair during the first two days and shared their interest in placing orders with their regular and new suppliers at the fair. They have expressed their happiness at being able to visit this show in physical format after a hiatus of nearly two years,” said Raj K Malhotra, Chairman, EPCH.
Julia Camprubi Vernis, leading overseas buyer from Spain said she missed visiting the physical fair during the pandemic. She is happy to reconnect back, touch & feel the products and discuss sourcing. “The work from home trend brought home décor into the limelight and demand has grown in lifestyle products. We are here to work with our suppliers on that,” she said. Agostina Di Stefano, leading regular overseas buyer from Argentina while visiting the IHGF Delhi Fair Spring 2022 said that she was so excited to be back in India and thanked the organizer, the Indian Government and specifically the exhibitors of the fair. “It’s beautiful to make connections again. I think more things, different things, the things that New India is making – all have good scope in our market,” she said.
Collective displays depicting North Eastern Handicrafts; cluster exclusive products from Barmer, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, Rajasthan; and intricate needlecrafts and regional hand skills of J&K and Ladakh, as well as artisans under the ‘E-nurture’ program are among major attractions for the visiting overseas buying community at the 53rd edition of IHGF Delhi Fair besides the exhibitor booths in 15 halls and 900 Marts at the India Expo Centre & Mart.
“As part of its design intervention, hand holding and confidence building initiatives, EPCH has successfully brought several artisans and crafts persons into its fold and gradually introduced them into the mainstream handicrafts industry. Many artisans have benefited from opportunities to fine-tune their craft products and transition into entrepreneurs and exporters, thereafter. This way the industry and buyers too have gained from new assortments and innovations involving resources & skills from grassroots artisans from far flung craft pockets and villages in India,” informed Dr. Rakesh Kumar, Director General, EPCH & Chairman, IEML.
“Visitors to this fair have shared that regional Indian crafts with indigenous skills have lot of potential to grow in world markets,” added Mr. R K Verma, Executive Director, EPCH.
The North Eastern Region display area offers cane & bamboo products, home decor, textile crafts, cushion covers, table mats, runners, baskets and bins, home utility products, pottery crafts, lamps, terracotta toys, wall hangings, handmade paper products, stoles, scarves, bags, jewellery, etc. Sustainable and eco-friendly decor items adorn various stalls while the bamboo products, unique in design and technique are extremely impressive. The region’s embrace of modernity with tradition is evident in its products. Visitors have plenty of choice from — exhibitor stalls here. Rajasthan is represented by crafts from Barmer, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur. Leather craft cluster of Barmer, hand embroidery craft cluster of Jaisalmer and art metal craft cluster of Jodhpur have come together to represent the best of Rajasthan.
A regional collective display of J&K and Ladakh crafts brings together entrepreneurs and artisans from this extreme northern states of India to IHGF Delhi Fair. Visitors are delighting in a display of rugs, carpets, shawls & stoles, artisanal apparel, home furnishings, stone crafts, wicker ware, woodcrafts and papier machie products.
Informative seminars today on Cyber Security & Proactive Measures; The Evolution of Cross-Border B2B e-Commerce; and Problem Solving & Decision Making, were well attended. Ramp Shows taking place in daily sequences are vibrantly bringing visual merchandising live.
This 53rd edition of IHGF-Delhi Fair, spread across 15 halls and 900 Permanent Showrooms at the India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida Expressway, brings together more than 2500 exhibitors for home, lifestyle, fashion, textiles and furniture. On display is a comprehensive selection of over 2000 new products and more than 300 design expressions spanning across 14 product categories such as houseware, home furnishing, furniture, gifts and decoratives, lamps and lighting, Christmas & festive décor, fashion jewellery & accessories, spa & wellness, carpets and rugs, bathroom accessories, garden accessories, educational toys & games, handmade paper products & stationery and leather bags.
15th edition of IFJAS – the Indian Fashion Jewellery & Accessories Show, also organized by EPCH is co-located and held concurrently.
EPCH is a nodal agency for promoting exports of handicrafts from the Country to various destinations of the world and projecting India’s image abroad as reliable supplier of high quality of handicrafts goods & services. Handicrafts exports during the year 2020-21 was Rs. 25679.98 (US $ 3459.75 Million) and the estimated exports during April-February 2021-22 is Rs. 29626.96 Crores (US $ 3981.72 Million) during eleven months of 2021-22 informed by Dr. Rakesh Kumar, Director General, EPCH.
