Asked to attract more companies to participate in its trade fairs, state-run ITPO came up with a strange suggestion of funding air travel and hotel stay of foreign exhibitors, shows a Parliamentary panel report.
The panel, however, trashed this suggestion and asked the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) to rather carry out "structural reforms" to make its fairs and exhibitions attractive enough for the foreign exhibitors.
"The Committee is perturbed to note that the number of foreign exhibitors in India International Trade Fair 2013 and India International Leather Fair 2014 has gone for a steep downslide," the Parliamentary Committee, headed by Rajya Sabha MP Chandan Mitra, said in its report.
The panel "does not find any merit in ITPO's plan to earmark adequate budget to buy to and fro air tickets and accommodation for foreign buyers to increase their footfalls," the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce in its report on action taken by government on observations on activities and functioning of ITPO said.
The Committee would rather like that structural reforms be carried out in respect of various key processes of ITPO to enable it to discharge its mandate of promoting fairs effectively, it said.
The panel, earlier, had observed that ITPO should make sincere efforts to increase foreigner footfalls in their international fairs.
The ITPO had suggested earmarking adequate budget on account of hospitality to foreign buyers in terms of to and fro air tickets and accommodation for increasing footfall.
The panel has also expressed serious concern over ITPO loosing grip over its primary responsibility of trade promotion and recommended the body to reorient its services to encourage trade with better in-house research and incisive analysis.
The panel has also suggested that the trade portal hosted by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) needs revamp and upgradation.
It has called upon the Department of Commerce to undertake detailed examination of the ITPO's trade promotion efforts and redefine its role so that the Organisation does not remain merely confined to conduct a few premium trade exhibitions and fairs in the country.
"The Committee expresses disappointment over the listless approach of ITPO towards strengthening the consultations process for promoting trade.
"The Committee is of the view that ITPO should position itself in such a way so as to become the leading platform for consultation/interaction among the industry especially for the small and medium sectors," the report which was tabled in the Rajya Sabha today said
Pointing out that the ITPO has been losing grip over trade promotion in the face of its overlapping mandate with Export Promotion Councils and Chambers of Commerce, the panel said: "This is amply evident in the fact that the contribution of ITPO in the country's exports has been less than desired".
