President Pranab Mukherjee expressed the hope that the 36th edition of the India International Trade Fair (IITF) would reinforce  Indian   brands -  brands  that  can,  in  the  first  instance, compete  and  win  against  the  dominant  international  players  in  Indian market before  venturing  overseas. Inaugurating the fair on Monday, he said the fair will be meaningful in attracting investment and business opportunities and promote domestic jobs. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister of Electronics and IT, Law and Justice presided over the colorful inaugural function held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, today. Among the high dignitaries  present on the occasion were Nirmala Sitharaman, MoS for Commerce and Industry; Manohar Lal Khattar, CM of Haryana (Focus State); Chandreshwar Prasad, Minister of Urban Development, Housing and Transport Department, Govt of Jharkhand (Partner State); Uma Shanker Gupta, Minister for MSME, Govt of MP (Partner State), Dr Cho Hyun, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea (Partner Country) and Vitaly a Prima, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus (Focus Country). The other  dignitaries were Rita Teaotia (Union Commerce Secretary); L C Goyal (CMD, ITPO); Shubhra Singh (ED, ITPO); Members of the Diplomatic Corps, delegates, technocrats and officials, participants from India and overseas.