"The decision to withdraw from the cabinet was taken by the union cabinet. So to rejoin the organisation, the final decision has to be taken by the cabinet itself," the sources said. India, one of the five jute producing members, pulled out of IJO in January last year, when its candidate DP Bagchi, a senior textiles ministry official, failed to get himself elected to the post of chief executive director. Officially, India said IJO, which also has 20 jute consuming nations as members, had failed to achieve its goals.

Following New Delhi's withdrawal, IJO practically lost its relevance as India is not only the largest producer of the goldenfibre, but its research activities in this field are also the most extensive. IJO received another blow when Thailand, another jute producing nation, opted out of the organisation in March last year. Union textiles secretary Shyamal Ghosh agreed that they have received a proposal from the members of IJO requesting India to rejoin the body.

"All the member nations of IJO feel that India must rejoin the organisation. A delegation from Bangladesh also visited our country and requested us to go back to the organisation. We are considering their proposal," Ghosh told The Financial Express. In the last week of April, an official of IJO-formed under the United Nations Conference on Trade & Development in 1984 -- said that both India and Thailand have agreed to rejoin the body. In late January, IJO's International Jute Council decided at a meeting in Dhaka to woo back countries like India which had given up their membership. As a follow-up to this meeting, IJO officials held discussions with the top bureaucrats ofthe Indian textile ministry.

Sources said the meeting between IJO and government officials tried to find a way for bringing India back into the organisation. "Both parties have worked out a solution for a `graceful return' of India," the sources said. At present, IJO is left with only three producing members-Bangladesh, China and Nepal. Apart from the producing nations, 20 jute consuming nations, including the European Union, are also IJO members. Union textile ministry sources also said that Prime Minister Vajpayee is against an immediate return to the international organisation. "He even asked the ministry officials as to why they are returning to the body from which they had walked just a year back. In fact, it was after his instructions that the matter got delayed," sources added.

During last year elections for the post of executive director, India's Bagchi was pitted against Henri L Jason, a French official, who was working as a director at IJO. Jason won the elections after a successful campaignamong the 20 jute consumer nations. Jason did not take up the post subsequently and has been functioning as a director with additional responsibility as officer-in-charge. The sources said that India, which had so far been determined to have the top post all to itself, has agreed to share the executive director's post with Jason.

"The tenure of an executive director in IJO is four years. It has been decided that Jason and Bagchi will function in this top post for two years each. But who will be first is yet to be worked out," the sources clarified. At the moment, India is trying to make a face-saving re-entry. "India is in an awkward position. Just 15 months back it pulled out of IJO stating that the organisation has failed to achieve its goals. And now it has an open offer, when its candidate is offered the top post, despite losing the election," the sources said. Making matters worse is the fact that the file is now with cabinet secretary Prabhat Kumar -- and it was during Kumar's tenure as textilesecretary that India quit the IJO.

Moreover, Bagchi has been recently transferred from the ministry of textiles to Planning Commission. "Under the present circumstances it has not been decided whether to bring back Bagchi from the Planning Commission or to send a new representative. It is also not known whether the member nations of IJO will accept anyone apart from Bagchi," sources said.