July 8, 2020
Strengthening entrepreneurship and improving overall connectivity throughout the region are two key focus areas of the plan.
Encouraging activities related to Horticulture, Piggery, Sericulture, Tourism and the cultivation of bamboo and tea are on the anvil.
Self-help groups that are often the cornerstone of grassroots empowerment and indigenous innovation are to be actively supported.
Incentives for the increase of domestic travel to the northeast as well as turning the states into a bamboo export hub are priority areas.
The Government of India is putting a special focus on the country’s northeast region to boost the confidence of stakeholders, both national and international, in the potential of the seven states. The northeastern region, viewed as the launchpad for the Government’s Act East policy, has seen several programmes to strengthen connectivity as well as to strengthen entrepreneurship. Additionally, the e-Symposia 2020 organized by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Centre for Policy Research & Analysis and IIM Shillong and inaugurated on June 5 discussed the means to develop the northeast as a business destination.
Inaugurating the event, Union Minister of State (I/C) for Development of North Eastern Region, Dr. Jitendra Singh elaborated on the Government’s vision to create an environment conducive to entrepreneurship in the northEast and improve overall connectivity throughout the region. The Minister also announced the launch of the North East Road Sector Development Schemes (NERSDS) with a focus on improving inter-state road connectivity.
To promote the northeast as an emerging business destination, it has become imperative to support scientific research, trade, and the local entrepreneurship ecosystem for breakthroughs in the post-COVID-19 world. Herein the Minister emphasised on strengthening local economies through support to self-help groups as well as to activities in the domains of Horticulture, Piggery, Sericulture, Tourism, and the cultivation of bamboo and tea.
The export of bamboo from the NorthEast as well as the promotion of domestic tourism is key focus areas for the Ministry of Development of the North East Region (DONER). These endeavors are in line with the Government of India’s aims of making the northeastern states a gateway to the ASEAN nations under the ‘Act East policy’.
A US$30 billion investment package has been directed towards the enhancement of the railway, roadway, and aviation sectors in the northeastern states. Efforts are also underway to provide 100 per cent teledensity in the northeastern region through BharatNet. The Central Government has also allotted US$2.5 billion under the North East Industrial Development Scheme. With continued support from the Central Government and the Ministry of Development of the North East Region (DONER), the northeastern states of India can expect to become an important tourism and manufacturing hub.