Economy / Meghalaya

SHILLONG, April 1: The Meghalaya Cooperation Apex Bank (MCAB) launched the "Kishan Credit Card" scheme here yesterday. Distributing about 100 credit cards to the farmers of various service cooperatives under Shillong branch of the MCAB at a function, Meghalaya Cooperation Minister Roshan Warjri lauded the role played by the bank in assisting farmers of the State. Appreciating the KCC scheme as a new scheme for providing easy access to credit by the farmers, she called upon the bank to simplify the procedures to help the farming community to provide adequate and timely credit facilities. The...

SHILLONG, March 21: Meghalaya Finance Minister, AH Scott Lyngdoh has hinted that he would be presenting a tough budget on March 27 next with a view to bringing down the level of deficit in the state's finances. While justifying deficit financing as a normal practice for any government, he cautioned, "there is a limit to it." He was responding to grave concerns expressed by Opposition members in the State Assembly during question hour on Wednesday over the huge gap between the income and expenditure of the state government. He informed that against the income (actuals) of Rs 1120.23 crore in...

NEW DELHI, March 13: The Union Home Ministry has released about Rs 55 crore to five NE States to help them meet their expenses on various schemes, including reimbursement of security-related expenditure, reports PTI. While the ministry released Rs 81.34 lakh towards full payment to Pawan Hans Helicopter Limited for chopper operations in Jammu & Kashmir, it also released Rs 1.5 crore for issue of photo-identity cards for people living along the Line of Control and the international border, a Home Ministry spokesman said. An amount of Rs 39.08 crore was also released to J & K Government for...

SHILLONG, March 11: The Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation Employees' Union (MTDCEU) on Saturday threatened to go on an indefinite strike from March 26 in support of their demands including payment of arrears, reports agencies. MTDCEU president SD Marbaniang told newsmen here that the union has already served the strike notice to the Corporation's management, as all the democratic means to get their demands were exhausted. He said the demands included payment of arrears and allowance with effect from January 1996 to April 2000 on the recommendation of the Meghalaya Pay Commission, house...

SHILLONG, March 10: The Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation Employees' Union has opposed the government's branding of the corporation as a sick unit and its bid to privatise it. Addressing a news conference here, union president S.D. Marbaniang and its other members denied that the corporation was a loss-making unit. They asked the government to instead seek out answers to the huge losses by probing into the managerial decisions made over the years. They alleged that the Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) was incurring losses because of mismanagement. The union leaders said...

SHILLONG, March 7: The Meghalaya Chief Minister, EK Mawlong, has informed that stress is being given to the construction of rural roads in the State so that the economic lot of the rural people could be improved and developed, an MIPR release said. Speaking as the chief guest at a public meeting held at Majai about 90 kms from here, on February 13, Mawlong also informed that it is his endeavour to visit every nook and corner of the State so that he could learn and hear first hand about the grievances and problems faces by the people of the State and also to monitor the progress and the...

SHILLONG, February 15: Meghalaya Government today announced a tourism policy in a bid to attract private investments in the sagginng tourism sector. The policy approved by the State Cabinet in a meeting today offers a whole range of incentives and subsidies on private investments, publicity, power generation, etc, State Finance and IPR Minister AH Scott Lyngdoh told newsmen. He said "the policy is intended to give a big fillip to the economy of the State and also generate additional employment opportunities." All new "units" will also be eligible for exemption from sales tax for a period of...

SHILLONG, February 14: A colourful monograph titled Dances and Festivals of Meghalaya published by the State Directorate of Information and Public Relations was released here on Monday by Finance Minister AH Scott Lyngdoh. Speaking on the occasion, he said, "The Cabinet is shortly considering a tourism policy for the State which will list incentives for the sector." The government is keen to speedily develop the tourist infrastructure in the State so as to tap the tremendous potential in the sector, he added. Scott Lyngdoh, who also holds the charge of I and PR, announced that the department...

SHILLONG, February 4: The BSF and the police today denied having received any complaint from the coal traders in Meghalaya that they were threatened by the banned Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC) to pay Rs 5 lakh each by tomorrow or face consequences. A section of the press here reported that the ANVC ultras again had given demand notes of Rs five lakh each to the coal exporters operating at Borsora in West Khasi Hills district and warned of dire consequences if the payment was not made by tomorrow. BSF Inspector General V K Gaur told UNI that they had not received any complaint from...

SHILLONG, July 25: At a time when the backward Northeastern states are crying out for more investments in order to accelerate the pace of development, commercial banks in Meghalaya siphoned out more than Rs 1421 crore from the state in one single year ending March last. The revelation was made in the meeting of the state Level Coordination Committee on Banking Affairs (SLCCBA) here today. Against the deposit of Rs 1729.25 crore mobilised by banking sector in Meghalaya during the year ending March 31 this year, only Rs 308 crore was re-invested in the state resulting in the siphoning of Rs 1421...