23rd National Industrial Expo kicks off

KATHMANDU, MAR 22 -

The 23rd National Industrial Exhibition kicked off here on Wednesday with an aim to promote the products from micro enterprises. The five-day fair, being organised by Cottage and Small Industries Development Board (CSIDB), features products of 325 small entrepreneurs from 71 districts.

The items like bamboo products, leather shoes, handicraft, edibles, organic tea and coffee, woolen products, dhaka and other goods made out of various natural fibers are on display at 210 stalls. Inaugurating the fair, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai said the cottage and small industries, apart from being a business, are the identity of the Nepali culture. “They even help at the grass-root level of the economy as they use the local resources from both the agriculture and non-agriculture sectors,” said Bhattarai.

Bhattarai said that the government has adopted a policy to promote the small investors, purchasing the domestic products whose prices are up to 15 percent higher than those of the similar imported goods.

Stressing on the need to promote the cottage and small industries, FNCCI Senior Vice-president Bhaskar Raj Karnikar said that the sector was providing 80 percent of the industrial employment. Mahendra Regmi, acting executive director of the CSIDB, expressed belief that the event will help expand the market for the products from the small investors. The board, which has been organising the similar event in public-private participation each year, will also honour 15 outstanding entrepreneurs during the fair. An interaction programme will be held during the fair to discuss on various problems facing the sector, according to the organisers. The exhibition is expected to draw more than half a million visitors and to make transaction worth Rs 40 million.

Source: Kantipur