DoNER Minister Jitendra Singh moots 'Make in Northeast'

He also offered to collaborate with all the stakeholders to give each of the eight States of the region an exclusive identity of its own, based on the unique product identified with each of these States.

Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM) Secretary General, D.S. Rawat called on Jitendra Singh  here on Monday.

He offered to contribute by coordinating between the government and the various business houses and trade organizations for the success of this initiative.

During the meeting, Singh said that he has always felt that, instead of the various States of the region being casually referred as North Eastern States, each of the eight States, can be developed as an identity on its own, to be known by its own name.

For example, he said, Sikkim can be developed as the "Organic State of India", Mizoram as the "Bamboo State of India", Manipur as the "Textiles State of India" and so on.

In the last four years, with the personal indulgence of Modi, Singh said, there has been a fast-track progress in providing the connectivity and transport infrastructure in the region.

This, he said, has prompted traders and investors from the rest of the country and even abroad to come forward and explore the unexplored entrepreneurship potential in the region. What is now required, he said, is to evolve an institutionalized mechanism to ensure a streamlined approach to achieve this objective optimally.

Singh said, the "Make in Northeast" approach will not only generate the revenue and livelihood opportunities in the region, but it would also reinforce the Government of India's "Act East" policy.

For example, he said, only a produce grown in Arunachal Pradesh or Nagaland can find customers and consumers in countries across eastern borders like Myanmar, because of the common lifestyle, common food habits and common culture. He referred to the new "Fruit Court" started in Mizoram from March this year with the Israel collaboration.

Singh said, further scope of "Public-Private Participation" (PPP) ventures will also be worked out by the Ministry of Northeast (DoNER) in a manner that it proves to be mutually beneficial to all.

The role of institutions like the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFi), North East Small Finance Bank Ltd (NESFB) or the recently introduced "North-East Venture Fund" can also be improvised and made more inclusive to attract investors and manufacturers who have the know-how to contribute in supplementing the exclusive identity of each State and the region, thus enriching the brand of "Make in Northeast".