Sunrise States: Realizing the growth potential of North-East

Presented by: Adarsh Singh, Arpita Baid, Gaurav Baid, Himanshu Joshi, Padmaja Sharma.

North-Eastern Indian States

The North-East India (located between 87°32′E to 97°52′E latitude and 21° 34′ N to 29°50′N latitude) comprises of 8 states commonly known as the “Seven Sisters”. With a population of around 43-44 million. They are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Nagaland and Tripura. It has over 2000 km of International border with Bhutan China, Myanmar and Bangladesh and is connected to the rest of India by a narrow 20 km wide corridor of land.

Present Scenario

North-East India contributes only 2.66% in GDP of Indian Economy. It account for about 8 % of the country's geographical area and roughly 4% of its population. The region is known for its ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious and physiographical diversity.

16.56%

31.28%

23.58%

27.08%

2.66%

Contribution to GDP

East India

North India

West India

South India

North East India

Why 2.66%????

Northeast plays a negligible role in the overall percentage of tourist arrivals in India, constituting one per cent.

Growth potential of hill agriculture has remained under-exploited due to lack of system-specific production technologies, poor infrastructure (transport, markets, processing) and underdeveloped institutions (credit, extension, information, insurance.

Security is also a major concern, with insurgency, extortion and agitations continuing to exist in the region.

Poor power supply, inadequate transport facilities, lack of higher educational institutions with no support of state government.

Exploring the huge potential of North-Eastern states

• Rich in mineral and water resources

• Facilitates power generation • Makes industrialisation easier • Boost to agriculture • Alternative mode of cheap passenger and cargo transport

• Fertile Soils

• Mountainous terrain • Facilitates generation of hydel power • Non-extreme climatic conditions • Gives a boost to cultivation of valuable cash crops such as tea

• High literacy

• Great potential for tourism

• Rich natural resources-Oil, Gas, Minerals, Medicinal plants

• Gateway to South-East Asia

Assam, the Jewel of the North East

A land of fertile Valleys, dense forest , and the mighty river Brahmaputra and Barak river, it is also the gateway to South East Asia.

Minerals in the state mainly comprises of petroleum (crude), natural gas (utilised), coal, limestone and minor minerals.

Assam OIL Company was established in 1899, and is the oldest Oil Industry in India.

Various Industrial Infrastructure Growth Centers , IID Projects, Industrial Parks etc have been already established in almost all districts of Assam.

Assam produces 51% of the tea produced in India and about 1/6 of the tea produced in the world.

Assam produces about 10% of total natural silk of India.

Arunachal Pradesh, the gateway to South East Asia

Arunachal Pradesh shares its borders with the neighbouring countries of Bhutan in the West, China (Tibet) in the North and Northeast, Myanmar in the East and Southeast

Geographic location of the state provides immense opportunities for international trade with the South Asian countries.

State also offers some exquisite tourist destinations such as Parasuram Kund (Lohit), the Namdapha National Park (Changlang), the Ita Fort and Jawaharlal Nehru Museum (Itanagar), the Tawang Monastery (Tezpur) and the Sela Lake (Bomdila).

The gross state domestic product (GSDP) of Arunachal Pradesh grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14 per cent between 2004-05 and 2011-12.

Tourism Opportunities

Deemed as 'paradise unexplored', North East India is still a virgin territory.

The Vision 2020 document released by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2008 earmarks infrastructure-led tourism development as one of the primary hopefuls for revenue generation .

Manipur, Tripura and Nagaland have notched 20%-29% more foreign tourist arrivals while Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland are celebrating 36%-41% increase in domestic travellers.

A very rich variety of unexplored plants and trees with engulfing ranges of hills and mountains.

Eco-Tourism, with around 500 pieces of medicinal plants alone in Arunachal Pradesh.

Agricultural Opportunities

With rich land, abundant water and a favourable climate, India's north-eastern region has considerable potential to grow and contribute towards improving farm incomes, enhancing food and nutrition security, reducing rural poverty and accelerating the overall economic growth of the region.

Shifting Cultivation, locally known as jhum, is the predominant agricultural practice for most communities in the hilly regions. About 400,000 families practice jhum cultivation covering land area approximately 386,300 ha annually.

Out of 355 known cultivated crops, 132 are found in this region.

Out of 14.6 per cent total geographical area under cultivation in the region, the plantation crops cover only 8.97 per cent, of which tea alone covers 7.5 per cent (2.79 lakh ha), rubber 1.20 per cent (4419 ha) and coffee only 0.27 per cent (10.1 thousand ha).

Gateway to the Eastern Asia

The North East India surrounded by China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan acts as the nerve centre for trade and commerce with these countries.

Woollen clothes and spices from Bhutan, jute from Bangladesh, gems, jewellery and food items from Myanmar are been imported to India.

The North East Federation on International Trade (NEFIT) is a nodal trade body of exporters and importers of North East India.

Look East Policy by govt. of India provided a new dimensions of trade opportunities from its neighboring countries.

How can North-Eastern region rise

Allocation of Rs 2,030 crore in the Union Budget, with an increase of Rs 101 crore as against last year's outlay of Rs 1,929 crore.

Look East Policy

Vision 2020 which widely aims at sustainable development with commitment of developing roads, railways, airports, schools, hospitals and academic institutions.

Encouragement of private investors, with a substantial improvement in the law and order situation.

Formation of Governmental institutions like education, tourism, trade with promotion of local products like tea, silk, carpet and many more.

Improving transportation, electricity and communication facilities.

Entrepreneurial motivation on the part of the local people.

References

www.modner.gov.in

www.ignca.nic.in

www.in.boell.org

www.north-east-india.com

The Times of India