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New Delhi : Union Minister of State (I/C) for Development of North Eastern Region and Minister of State in Prime Minister’s office Dr Jitendra Singh on June 5, 2020, said here that North Eastern Region of the country is slowly but firmly coming up as new business destination of India. New paradigms will emerge post-COVID with a potential for new breakthroughs in economy, trade, scientific research, and several other diverse areas, catapulting North East as the economic hub of the country and a preferred destination for Startups, Dr Singh said.
Inaugurating e-Symposia 2020 organised by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Centre for Policy Research& Analysis and IIM Shillong as Chief Guest through Video conference, Dr. Singh said that in the last six years, under Modi government, the North Eastern Region had made up for several lapses of the past because for the first time the region received equal attention at par with the other regions of the country.
Lamenting the lack of interest of the successive governments towards the comprehensive development of region in the past, Dr Singh highlighted the initiatives taken by this government for the comprehensive and holistic development of this region. As can be seen, in the last six years, there has been a significant development in terms of Road, Rail and Air connectivity, helping facilitate the movement of goods and persons not only across the region but also across the country.
States like Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, which had not seen Railways hitherto, are now connected with Railways, the Minister said. Similary States like Sikkim has seen an Airport for the first time, he added. Other States are also witnessing the opening of new ports or augmenting the facilities and capacities of the existing ones. He further said that the Indo-Bangladesh treaty for exchange of enclaves, which was accomplished under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, has cleared the decks for ease of business, ease of movement and ease of commuting, according to a PIB release.
“Very soon we are also going to have a train to Bangladesh from Tripura heralding a new chapter and opening new vistas in the development of this region by providing the entire region access to the seaports. The Government has also come up with a new scheme called “North East Road Sector Development Schemes” (NERSDS) for development and proper maintenance of inter- states roads within the region,” he said.
Desired impetus has also been accorded to the projects in areas like Horticulture, Tea, Bamboo, Piggery, Sericulture, Tourism etc. In the emerging scenario, Dr. Singh said, Bamboo from the North East is going to be an important vehicle of trade not only for India but also for the entire subcontinent. Sensing this opportunity, the Government has amended the century old Forest Act by taking home grown bamboo out of the purview of the Forest Act.
In the present scenario, Tourism in the region is going to get a major boost because of its picturesque location and landscape, attracting tourist hitherto going to European destination. The Government has also encouraged local entrepreneurship by providing venture funds to the prospective entrepreneurs.