Lok Sabha Question No. 1258 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-05-02
Subject: Agreement for Promotion of Tourism
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: ADVOCATE NARENDRA KESHAV SAWAIKAR, RAMESH BIDHURI, DUSHYANT SINGH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1258 ANSWERED ON 02.05.2016

## AGREEMENT FOR PROMOTION OF TOURISM

## 1258. ADV. NARENDRA KESHAV SAWAIKAR:

SHRI RAMESH BIDHURI:

SHRI DUSHYANT SINGH:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a) whether India has recently signed any MoU/Agreement with some countries for the promotion of tourism;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  of  the  various  MoUs  signed  with  international bodies/countries including Maldives for the promotion of tourism;
- (c) whether  tourism  destinations  in  India  like  Goa  are  likely  to  be benefited as a result of this agreement;
- (d)
- if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether the Government has received any external assistance for the development  of tourism infrastructure  and other related activities and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR TOURISM (INDEPENDENT CHARGE)

(DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

(a) and (b): The  Ministry  of  Tourism,  Government  of  India  has signed 55 Agreements/MoUs/Letter of Intent (LoI) (bilateral/trilateral and Multilateral)  in  the  field  of  Tourism  cooperation.    The  details  of  the MoU's/Agreements/LoI  signed  with  various  countries  may  be  seen  at Annexure I.

- (c) and (d): The main objectives of such MoUs/Agreements/LoI signed include:
- i)
- Exchange of information and data related to tourism.
- ii) Cooperation between  tourism  stakeholders  including  Hotels & Tour Operators.
- iii) Exchange  programmes  for  cooperation  in  Human  Resource Development.
- iv) Investment in the Tourism and Hospitality sector. v) Exchange  of  visits  of  Tour  Operators/Media/Opinion  Makers for promotion of two way tourism. vi) Exchange of experience in the areas of promotion, marketing, destination development and management. other's
- vii) Participation in travel fairs/exhibitions in each country.

(e):    Details  of  External  Assistance  received  for  the  development  of tourism  infrastructure  and  other  related  activities  may  be  seen  at Annexure II.

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## ANNEXURE-I

STATEMENT  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a) AND (b)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1258 ANSWERED ON 02.05.2016 REGARDING AGREEMENT FOR PROMOTION OF TOURISM.

Agreements/Memorandum of Understanding Signed with foreign countries by the Ministry of Tourism

## 1. MOUs currently valid

|   Sl. No | Name of the country with whom MoU/ Agreement/Protocols singed   | Date of signature   |
|----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|
|        1 | Iraq (Protocol)                                                 | 25.10.1986          |
|        2 | Portugal (Agreement)                                            | 29.07.1991          |
|        3 | Syria (Agreement)                                               | 08.10.1991          |
|        4 | Hungary (Agreement)                                             | 16.10.1992          |
|        5 | Belarus (Agreement)                                             | 14.05.1993          |
|        6 | Israel (Agreement)                                              | 18.05.1993          |
|        7 | Republic of Korea (South) (Agreement)                           | 10.09.1993          |
|        8 | Singapore (Agreement)                                           | 24.01.1994          |
|        9 | Russia (Agreement)                                              | 30.06.1994          |
|       10 | Turkey (Agreement)                                              | 31.01.1995          |
|       11 | Iran (MoU)                                                      | 18.04.1995          |
|       12 | Mexico (Agreement)                                              | 28.03.1996          |
|       13 | Seychelles (Agreement)                                          | 03.10.1996          |
|       14 | Cyprus (Agreement)                                              | 07.11.1996          |
|       15 | Greece (Agreement)                                              | 13.01.1998          |
|       16 | Mongolia (Agreement)                                            | 01.12.1998          |
|       17 | Morocco (Agreement)                                             | 13.02.1999          |
|       18 | Indonesia (MOU)                                                 | 08.02.2000          |
|       19 | Italy (Agreement)                                               | 26.06.2000          |
|       20 | Tunisia (Agreement)                                             | 08.12.2000          |
|       21 | Sri Lanka (MOU)                                                 | 23.01.2004          |
|       22 | Brazil (Agreement)                                              | 25.01.2004          |
|       23 | Serbia (MOU)                                                    | 02.11.2004          |
|       24 | Afghanistan (Agreement)                                         | 06.12.2005          |
|       25 | Jordan (Agreement)                                              | 01.12.2006          |
|       26 | IBSA Tripartite Agreement                                       | 15.10.2008          |
|       27 | Spain (MOU)                                                     | 22.04.2009          |
|       28 | Poland (Agreement)                                              | 25.04.2009          |
|       29 | Malaysia (MOU)                                                  | 27.10.2010          |
|       30 | ASEAN (MOU)                                                     | 12.01.2012          |
|       31 | Mauritius (MOU)                                                 | 12.03.2013          |

|   32. | Japan (Memorandum)     | 22.01.2014   |
|-------|------------------------|--------------|
|    33 | Australia MoU          | 18.11.2014   |
|    34 | Nepal (MoU)            | 25.11.2014   |
|    35 | France (LoI)           | 09.04.2015   |
|    36 | China (Agreement)      | 15.05.2015   |
|    37 | Tanzania (MoU)         | 19.06.2015   |
|    38 | Uzbekistan (Agreement) | 06.07.2015   |
|    39 | Turkmenistan (MoU)     | 11.07.2015   |
|    40 | Egypt (MoU)            | 24.08.2015   |
|    41 | U.A.E.                 | 03.09.2015   |
|    42 | Cambodia (MoU)         | 16.09.2015   |
|    43 | Maldives (MoU)         | 10.04.2016*  |

## * Ex Post Facto Approval from Cabinet Secretariat to be obtained

## 2. MoU's Which have expired

|   Sl. No | Name of the country with whom MoU/ Agreement/Protocols singed   | Date of signature   |
|----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|
|        1 | Bulgaria (Agreement)                                            | 26.05.1994          |
|        2 | Romania (Agreement)                                             | 02.06.1994          |
|        3 | Kyrgyzstan (Agreement)                                          | 22.09.1995          |
|        4 | Peru (Agreement)                                                | 26.05.1997          |
|        5 | South Africa (Agreement)                                        | 07.10.1997          |
|        6 | Vietnam (Agreement)                                             | 08.01.2001          |
|        7 | Kazakhstan (Agreement)                                          | 03.06.2002          |
|        8 | Ukraine (Agreement)                                             | 12.08.2003          |
|        9 | Thailand (Agreement)                                            | 09.10.2003          |
|       10 | Tajikistan (Agreement)                                          | 14.11.2003          |
|       11 | Fiji (Agreement)                                                | 10.10.2005          |
|       12 | Philippines (Agreement)                                         | 04.02.2006          |

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ANNEXURE-II

STATEMENT  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (e)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1258 ANSWERED ON 02.05.2016 REGARDING AGREEMENT FOR PROMOTION OF TOURISM.

The Details of Foreign Assistance Received For development of tourism infrastructure and other related activities -

- i. Buddhist  Circuits  in Uttar  Pradesh  and  Bihar  (Phase-I)  (19881998): The Government of India and Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) entered into loan agreement for 9244 JPY million in  1988  for  Development  of  Buddhist  Circuits  in  Uttar Pradesh and Bihar (Phase-I). This project covered Buddhist Centres of  Sarnath, Kushinagar, Piprawaha, Srawasti in Uttar Pradesh and Bodhgaya, Nalanda, Rajgir, Vaishali in Bihar.  The above project was completed in December 1988. The total expenditure incurred on the project was Rs.250.95 crore (appox).
- ii. AjantaEllora Conservation and Tourism Development Project (Phase-I) (1992-2002): The Government of India and Japan Bank for International  Cooperation  (JBIC)  entered  into  loan  agreement  for 3745 JPY million in 1992 for Ajanta -Ellora Conservation and Tourism Development Project (Phase I).  The places covered under the project were Ajanta and Ellora in Maharashtra. The project was completed in 2002 and the total expenditure incurred was Rs.127.50 crore in March 2002.
- iii.   A loan agreement for an amount equivalent to Japanese Yen 7331 million  was  signed  with  Japan  International  Cooperation  Agency (JICA) in the year 2003 for Phase II of Ajanta Ellora  Conservation and Tourism  Development Project.  The  validity  of  above  loan has ended on 31 st  July 2014.
- iv.   An agreement for Rs. 450 lakhs was signed between the Ministry of Tourism,  Government of  India,  the  Departments  of Tourism of  the Governments of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) in 2013 to cooperate in upgrading the  quality  of  services  and  goods  provided  for  tourists  along  the 'Buddhist Circuit' in India. The project has been completed and the strategy for integrated tourism development of the Buddhist Circuit in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh 'INVESTING IN BUDDHIST CIRCUIT' was launched on 17 th  July 2014.
- v. South  Asia  Tourism  Infrastructure  Development  project  (SATIDP)India: SATIDP-India with an ADB loan of $20 million was approved by ADB  on  16  November  2009,  signed  on  4  October  2010  and  made effective on 25 January 2011, focuses on the state of Sikkim. The project  components  included  (i)  connectivity  enhancement.  (ii) nature and culture based tourism destination improvements, and (iii)
6. support  to  community  participation,  capacity  building  and  project management. The closing date for the project is 15 September 2016. vi. Infrastructure Development Investment Program for Tourism (IDIPT): IDIPT was approved by ADB on 4 October 2010 as a Multitranche Financing Facility (MFF) for $250 Million. The loan allocations are $ 66.61  million  to  the  State  of  Himachal  Pradesh,  $61.98  million  to State of Punjab, $55.79 million to State of Tamil Nadu and $61.62 million  to  State  of  Uttarakhand.  The  Program  targets  enhanced economic growth and provision of livelihood opportunities for local communities  through  tourism  infrastructure  development  with  a focus on preservation and development of built, natural and cultural heritage  and  incidental  services.  The  Program  consists  of  five components  viz.  (i)  urban  infrastructure  and  service  improvement; (ii)  connectivity  improvement;  (iii)  quality  enhancement  of  natural and  cultural  attractions:  (iv)  community  -based  activities;  and  (v) capacity development, community participation and project management.

| Loan No.   | Loan Name                                                            | State(s)                                 | Loan Amount (in $ million)                                           | Completion date   |
|------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------|
| 2676 IND   | Infrastructure Development Investment Program for Tourism, Project 1 | Punjab and Himachal Pradesh              | Total- 43.42 Punjab-20.32 Himachal Pradesh-23.10                     | 30 June 2017      |
| 2833- IND  | Infrastructure Development Investment Program for Tourism, Project 2 | Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand               | Total -43.84* Tamil Nadu- 20.56 Uttarakhand - 23.28                  | 31 December 2017  |
| 3223- IND  | Infrastructure Development Investment Program for Tourism, Project 3 | Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand | Total-123.51 Punjab-41.66 Himachal Pradesh- 43.51 Uttarakhand- 38.34 | 30 June 2020      |
| 2578- IND  | South Asia Tourism infrastructure Development Project -India         | Sikkim                                   | Total -20.00**                                                       | 15 September 2016 |

*Net  loan  amount  is  $42.54  after  partial  loan  cancellation  of  $1.3 million from Tamil Nadu component. The net loan amount for Tamil

Nadu upon cancellation is $19.26 million. **Net loan amount is $12.0 after two partial loan cancellations of $ 6.0 million and $2.0 million.

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