GUWAHATI:
Union Minister of Law and Justice, Kiren Rijiju, on December 15 said that the North East is well on course to become a major economic hub of South Asian countries.
Addressing the third NER Dialogue and Interactive session with Members of Parliament and ministers from the Northeast in New Delhi, Rijiju said the central government is fully committed to creating a robust infrastructure in the region.
Rijiju, who is also the chairman of North East MP Forum, said he understands the growing need for new and better policies and how they can impact the growth and development of the North East.
The Union minister further assured full commitment and support of the MP Forum to push for a better policy and other development agenda for the region.
The programme was organized to discuss the policy dispensation; the need of attractive policies and investments in the Northeast, the start-up ecosystem in the Northeast and other development imperatives required for the region to catapult the region to a higher growth trajectory.
In his address, Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Rameswar Teli, said that the central government has released the Hydrocarbon Vision Document 2030 for North East to prepare a roadmap for the next 15 years to increase the production of oil and gas in the region.
Teli mentioned that FINER’s opinions and suggestions are very important for industrial policy.
Speaking on the occasion, NEDFi chairman-cum-managing director, PVSLN Murty, gave a brief presentation on NEDFI’s role in the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the Northeast.
Many MPs of Northeast cutting across party lines were present including former Tripura chief minister Biplab Deb, who graced the occasion.
Union secretary for DoNER Lok Ranjan, Union secretary for Technology Development Board (TDB), Rajesh Kumar Pathak, Union joint secretary for Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Rajendra Ratnoo, were also present in the programme.
Senior representatives from foremost departments and ministries like Invest India, Ministry of DONER, and Ministry of Food Processing eminent bankers like former chairman of SBI, Rajneesh Kumar were also present.
Earlier welcoming all the dignitaries and MPs, FINER president Bajrang Lohia referred to Northeast as “Asta Laxmi” and mentioned that the key objective of this interactive meet was to revisit the challenges & amp; opportunities of Northeast and to join hands across party lines, brainstorm and resolve, so that the developmental agenda for the North East is jointly pursued.
The meeting delved into and discussed creating a consensus to urge for a new industrial policy with enhanced incentives for a minimum of 10 years, additional incentives for the MSME sector and ease out transportation bottlenecks increasing and developing of waterways to spur trade with South Asia and South East Asia.
FINER vice president Rajeev Agarwal gave a brief presentation on the need for attractive policies and investments in the region. He presented the views of the industry capturing the enablers to build a robust ecosystem to spur industrial growth and highlighted the sectors with a competitive advantage.
The programme was organized by the Federation of Industry and Commerce of North Eastern Region (FINER) under the aegis of North East MP Forum in association with North East Development Finance Corporation Limited (NEDFi) at Leela Palace, New Delhi.