Riding on the success of last year?s fair, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has increased the size and scope of Consumer 2004, which the state industries and commerce minister Nirupam Sen will inaugurate on Thursday.

?We decided to organise Consumer 2004 on a larger scale and broad-base the kind of participants,? explained Amitabh Khosla, regional director, CII eastern region.

So, the size of the fair ? the second since it moved out of Netaji Indoor Stadium ? has grown to 10,000 sq m with over 150 participants setting up stalls in four air-conditioned hangars for the five-day fair.

And the list of participants boasts names like Maruti, Tata Motors, Yamaha, Life Insurance Corporation, UCO Bank, New India Assurance IBM, Intel, Hutch, Reliance, Sony, Samsung, Emami, and Eveready.

The industry segments to be represented in the fair include automobile, information technology, banking, telecom, electronic appliances and white goods, home d?cor and furniture, healthcare, and even cottage industry.

With an impressive line up in place, the CII officials are bullish about the turnout. ?The timing of the fair, between Durga puja and Diwali, will help in drawing more people. Last year, we had around 1.5 lakh visitors. and we are expecting it to go up to 2 lakh this time,? said Khosla.