5-Aug-2021: Infrastructure development in NE Region
Various Central Sector Schemes/ Centrally Sponsored Schemes are implemented by Central Ministries/Departments under 10% Gross Budgetary Support (GBS). Besides, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region in coordination with Central Ministries/Departments is focusing on the development of physical and social infrastructure in order to improve connectivity and socio economic development in North Eastern Region.
Some of the new infrastructure schemes/projects approved during the last five years for the development of North Eastern States under the Central Sector Scheme of Government inter-alia include new Greenfield Airport at Holongi, Arunachal Pradesh; Dibrugarh Airport in Assam; Imphal Airport in Manipur; Barapani Airport in Meghalaya; New Rail line in Assam such as Sibsagar – Jorhat (62 Km); Salona- Khumtai (99Km); Tezpur- Silghat (25 Km); Mahisasan (India)- Zero Point (Bangladesh) New Line (3 Km); Doubling Rail line in Assam such as Saraighat Bridge doubling line (7 Km); Kamakhya-New Guwahati Quadruppling (21 Km); Doubling of Lumding- Tinsukia Jn-Dibrugarh (381 Km); Mobile connectivity in Arunachal Pradesh and 2 Districts of Assam; Mobile Connectivity in Uncovered villages in Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh (National Highways only) of North Eastern Region and seamless coverage along National Highway; Mobile connectivity in Meghalaya and along National Highways on 2G+4G Technology; Bharat Net and Wi-Fi Connectivity for Village Panchayats in North Eastern Region; Development of National Waterway-2 (River Brahmaputra, 891 Km) Sadia to Bangladesh Border and National Waterway-16 (River Barak, 121 Km) Bhanga-Lakhipur Stretch Including Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route; Indradhanush Gas Grid Project covering all North Eastern Region States; North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project (NERPSIP) in six North Eastern Region States of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura and Comprehensive Scheme for Strengthening Transmission and Distribution System in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.
The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, through its schemes of Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR), schemes of North Eastern Council (NEC), North East Road Sector Development Scheme (NERSDS) has also taken steps to bridge the social and physical infrastructure gaps in North Eastern Region (NER). During the last five years, 76 projects worth Rs. 1878.36 crore were sanctioned under Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) to North Eastern Region States. Under the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS), Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region provides financial assistance for physical infrastructure projects relating to water supply, power and connectivity. During the last five years, 99 projects worth of Rs. 2452.62 crore has already been sanctioned till March, 2021 against which an amount of Rs. 1112.98 crore have been released under North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme for the development of North East Region States. During the last five years (FY 2016-17 to FY 2020-21), North Eastern Council, Shillong has sanctioned 215 infrastructure projects costing Rs.1267.48 crore under Central Sector Scheme/Projects for development of North Eastern States.
5-Aug-2021: Development of North Eastern Region
Several initiatives have been undertaken by the Union Government to develop North Eastern Region holistically, especially Assam, for improving basic infrastructure and providing road, rail, water, telecom and air connectivity in the region. These initiatives include new Greenfield Airport at Holongi, Arunachal Pradesh; Dibrugarh Airport, Assam; Imphal Airport, Manipur; Barapani Airport, Meghalaya; New Rail line in Assam such as Sibsagar – Jorhat (length- 62 km); Salona- Khumtai (length- 99 km); Tezpur- Silghat (length- 25 km); Mahisasan (India)- Zero Point (Bangladesh) New Line (length-3 km); New Doubling Rail line in Assam such as Saraighat Bridge doubling line (length- 7 km); Kamakhya-New Guwahati Quadrupling (length-21 km); Doubling of Lumding- Tinsukia Jn-Dibrugarh (length-381 km); Mobile connectivity in Arunachal Pradesh and 2 Districts of Assam at revised cost of Rs. 2029 crore; Mobile Connectivity in uncovered villages in Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh and seamless coverage along National Highways; Mobile connectivity in Meghalaya and along National Highways on 2G+4G Technology; Bharat Net and Wi-Fi Connectivity for Village Panchayats in NER; Development of National Waterway-2 (River Brahmaputra, length: 891 km) Sadia to Bangladesh Border and National Waterway-16 (River Barak, length: 121 km); Indradhanush Gas Grid Project covering all NER States; Bio Refinery Plant, Numaligarh, Assam; AIIMS at Guwahati; North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project (NERPSIP) in six NER States of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura; Comprehensive Scheme for Strengthening Transmission and Distribution System in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, etc.
Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) has sanctioned 804 projects worth Rs 8504.23 crore till date for development of Assam.
Ministry of DoNER has commissioned the Sector Specific, State specific holistic development plans in sectors like (a) Bamboo (b) Oil Palm (c) Horticulture (d) Handicrafts and Handlooms. These studies have been finalised by NEDFI/IIM Shillong and were circulated to the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Textiles, Concerned NER States and other stakeholders for implementation of the recommendations.
27 DPRs with estimated cost of Rs. 172.36 crore were received in NEC from Assam during the last three years for consideration under Schemes of NEC. All proposals submitted by state governments of NER and other agencies during the last three years (FY 2018-19 to FY 2020-21) could not be sanctioned due to ceiling on normative allocation of the states, budget constraints, etc. As per scheme guidelines of NLCPR, NESIDS, Special Packages, and Natural Calamity, projects are considered by the State Level Empowered Committee (SLEC). Thereafter, Inter Ministerial Committee/ NESIDS Committee/Project Approval Committee considers the recommendations of the SLEC for selection/ sanction of the project.
4-Oct-2017: Government constitutes a High Level Committee for proper management of water resources in North Eastern Region
The Government has constituted a high-level committee for proper management of the water resources in the North Eastern Region (NER) under the Chairmanship of Vice-Chairman, Niti Aayog. This is a sequel to the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s visit to Guwahati in August this year to review the flood situation and relief work in the North Eastern States.
The Committee would facilitate optimising benefits of appropriate water management in the form of hydro-electric power, agriculture, bio-diversity conservation, reduced flood damage erosion, inland water transport, forestry, fishery and eco-tourism. Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) will serve as the coordinating point. The Committee will submit its report, including Plan of Action, by June, 2018.
During the review of the flood situation with the Chief Ministers of Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, the Prime Minister had announced constitution of a High-Level Committee for holistic management of water resources in the NER. The meeting noted that the optimum management of water resources is a cross-cutting task which requires multi-sectoral interventions and concerted strategy, including management of catchment areas in upper reaches involving concerned Central Ministries and State Governments.
The Brahmaputra and Barak river systems which account for one-third of India’s run off, are highly prone to floods. Brahmaputra is one of the largest river systems in the world and causes considerable distress and costs on the region through frequent flooding and erosion.
The terms of reference of the Committee include:
- Appraisal of existing mechanism/institutional arrangements for management of water resources of the North Eastern Region.
- Identification of gaps in the existing mechanism/institutional arrangements for optimal management of water resources of the NER.
- Suggest policy interventions required for optimally harnessing the water resources for accelerating development in the NER
- Spelling out of actionable measures required for optimizing the management of water resources in the North-East.
- Chalking out a Plan of Action for dovetailing of the schemes/programmes of concerned Union Ministries, their attached offices and autonomous bodies as well as the schemes of the respective North-Eastern State Governments.
The Committee includes Secretaries from the Ministries of Development of North Eastern Region, Department of Border Management, Department of Space, Power, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and National Disaster Management Authority and Chief Secretaries of all the 8 states in NER as Members. The Committee may co-opt or invite as special invitees Secretaries of other Ministries / Departments as well as experts who have domain knowledge in the matter.
5-Aug-2021: Schemes undertaken under North East Venture Fund
North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. (NEDFi) under the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) has set up the North East Venture Fund (NEVF) in September, 2017, with a view to encourage entrepreneurs and Start-ups in North Eastern Region. The prime focus of the fund is to act as an enabler to stimulate enterprise building in the North Eastern Region and thereby contributing towards creation of the ecosystem required for nurturing and development of enterprises in North Eastern Region. Till date, under NEVF, Rs. 6631 lakh has been sanctioned to 31 start-ups.
11-Jan-2021: The North East Venture Fund (NEVF) is gaining popularity among Start-Ups and young entrepreneurs
The North East Venture Fund (NEVF), which is the first and the only dedicated Venture Fund for the North Eastern Region and was introduced by the Modi government, is gaining popularity among Start-Ups and young entrepreneurs. The Venture Fund Scheme launched by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) intended to promote growth of business ventures and skill development in the region.
Giving an update on the scheme, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh said here today that the Ministry of DoNER had joined with North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFi) to set up the North East Venture Fund, the first and the only Venture Fund for Northeast with an initial corpus of Rs. 100 crores. The fund targets to invest in Start-Ups and unique business opportunities to provide resources for new entrepreneurships. The main focus of North East Venture Fund (NEVF), he said, is for mostly the enterprises involved in Food Processing, Healthcare, Tourism, segregation of services, IT, etc.
It is heartening to note, said Dr. Jitendra Singh, that the Venture Fund Scheme which was launched with the initial motivation to provide livelihood to youth of the North Eastern region, has now also started attracting different groups of youths from diverse backgrounds who wish to try their fortunes through the unexplored potentials of the North Eastern region. The investment size with the Venture Fund Scheme ranges between Rs.25 lakhs and Rs. 10 crores with a long term horizon of five to ten years, he added.
Dr Singh also noted that the Ministry of North Eastern Region has started the series “Destination North East '', wherein the different facets of Northeast including the entrepreneurship avenues are replicated at different locations across the country. During these events also, an exclusive arrangement is made for offering counselling and assistance to potential entrepreneurs and business Start-Ups.
11-Feb-2021: The Scheme (MOVCDNER) has covered 74,880 ha area in five years
Emerging demand for safe and healthy organic food with added flavour of being grown in pristine environment and virgin soils of India’s North Eastern states is fast emerging as unique opportunity to the farmers of the region. The disadvantage of not being able to pick up green revolution is now proving a boon and region with its renewed vigour on modern organic agriculture is poised to become hub for organic production of its unique heritage crops. Realizing the potential, the Prime Minister initiated a scheme for development of commercial organic farming in the region during 2015 which later became to be known as “Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region” (MOVCDNER).
The scheme started with an average annual allocation of Rs. 134 crore during last five years has so far covered 74,880 ha area. To double the impact the allocation has now increased to Rs. 200 crore per year with a target to cover additional 1.00 lakh ha area under 200 new FPOs over a period of 3 year period. Taking a step ahead the scheme besides growing and value adding the traditional crops is also aiming to bring in high-value crops under contract farming models.
Since then MOVCDNER, is instrumental in bringing a definitive change in the lives of the organic growers in the region, the scheme, provides end to end support to the farmers from farm to fork including quality production, effective postharvest management, value addition through processing and direct market linkages to national and international markets. Transformation of farmer clusters into Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) empowering the growers with institutional mechanisms, collective production and processing strength for quality and quantity and ensures emergence of new breed of organic Agri-enterprises. Through the FPCs, farmers are achieving economies of scale, engaging bulk buyers and breaking off their dependencies on the traders/middlemen for market linkages. Under MOVCDNER, the FPCs get access to shared infrastructure including collection centres, custom hiring centres, processing infrastructure and packhouses, allowing them to add value to their produce and market them well.
Through sustained market linkage interventions, many FPOs now sell to modern retail, food processors, nutraceutical extractors and exporters. Multiple FPOs under MOVCDNER scheme have registered as vendors with leading companies like Big Basket, Big Bazaar, Parvata Foods and have supplied to organic brands like Revanta Foods and Reliance Fresh, resulting in better returns and lower postharvest losses. With this experience in their pocket, farmers of NE now have a better understanding of the market demand and grading-sorting-packaging standards prevalent in the market.
The farmer-industry connect facilitated through professional project management team under the scheme has also witnessed a remarkable turnaround in the last 5 years. From a time when NE was considered a ‘difficult’ place to do business transaction, many companies now connect directly with FPCs for procurement. Taking it a step further, as many as 5 FPCs under MOVCDNER have engaged in contract cultivation of Calendula flowers, Turmeric and Ginger with leading export houses and nutraceutical companies in 2021, with each successful transaction serving as a template for other FPCs.
MOVCDNER has also played a pivotal role in entrepreneurship development and has supported both FPCs and local entrepreneurs in establishing food business. Through technical and monetary support (75% subsidy to FPOs and 50% subsidy to private entrepreneurs for establishing food processing/post-harvest units), more than 7 brands have come up in the region dealing in diverse products like Kiwi wine, pickles, fruit candies, herbal tea, packaged spices, black rice products, sauces, fruit juices, etc. Few of these brands like Meira Foods, Cold Mountain Tea, Naga Herbs and Spices have gone to export their products in highly competitive European and American markets.
While roping in 83,075 farmers and 169 FPCs covering 74,889 ha area is substantial number unto itself, the real impact of MOVCDNER scheme is captured in the empowerment and transformation of farmer from a mere producer to an aggregator, processor and marketer of the North eastern region. The MOVCD farmers as Board of Directors, CEOs and Chairman of their own enterprise of FPCs, is also giving a sense of pride and belongingness to the road of development for the region and the nation.