Economy / Northeast

GUWAHATI, May 22 — The industry circles in North East has high hopes on the new Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh as he has been elected thrice to the Rajya Sabha from the State and on top of that he is more of an economist than a political leader. Talking to The Assam Tribune, the secretary of the Federation of Industries and Commerce of North eastern Region (FINER) Prasanta Goswami pointed out that Dr Singh knows the problems faced by the industries in Assam and it would be easier for him to formulate schemes for the industrialisation of the region. He also pointed out that Dr Singh properly...

GUWAHATI, May 20 – With Dr Manmohan Singh, who has been elected to the Rajya Sabha from Assam thrice all set to take over as the Prime Minister tomorrow, the State unit of the Congress and the Assam Government are in an upbeat mood hoping that the State would get special attention from the new Prime Minister. On the other hand, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) is of the view that there was nothing to be elated over the election of Dr Singh as the Prime Minister.

Talking to The Assam Tribune, the Education Minister Pankaj Bora, who is also the State Government spokesman, said that Assam and the...

NEW DELHI, April 8 – The stagnating border trade between the north-eastern region and neighbouring Myanmar may take a new turn, with a Joint Task all set to engage in a consultative process to identify ways and means of increasing bilateral trade. The unexpected change in the scenario is the outcome of the mutually beneficial decision by the two neighbours to expand trade to approximately USD1 billion by 2006 that would facilitate a greater synergy between Myanmar and the north-eastern States.

The joint Task Force would identify appropriate channels to enhance the business-to-business...

SHILLONG, April 5 : The Centre has restored the budget allocation for the North Eastern Council (NEC) to Rs 500 crore for the year 2003-2004, NEC Secretary PL Thanga announced today. Earlier, the Union Finance Ministry had made a cut on the NEC budget allocation by Rs 104.71 crore in January 2004 and the amount was restored to its original position due to personal intervention of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Thanga told reporters. The Prime Minister had communicated with the Planning Commission, Finance Ministry and DONER in this regard, he said.

Guwahati, March 7: The Assam government will soon set up trade offices of the neighbouring countries here. Chief minister Tarun Gogoi said this during an interaction with the foreign participants today ? the concluding day of the 11th International Guwahati Trade Fair at the Judges Field.

?We want to develop trade ties with the South East Asian countries. This will help promote trade and commerce and develop contacts with the traders of these countries,? Gogoi said.

After a t?te-?-t?te with them, the chief minister, accompanied by his wife, went on a whirlwind tour of all the foreign stalls...

Shillong, Feb. 20: Governors and chief ministers of the Northeast today came down hard on Delhi for slashing the North Eastern Council (NEC) budget for 2003-04. The department for Development of the Northeastern Region (Doner) had announced that the annual plan allocation of the NEC had been downsized to Rs 395 crore.

Cutting across party lines, chief ministers attending the NEC?s 49th annual meet here ? as well as governors ? were unanimous in their view that ?money matters in developing the Northeast?. They added that the sooner the Centre releases the funds the better.

The high-profile...

Shillong, Feb. 18: The seven sister states today agreed to push for a policy change to set up a special economic zone (SEZ) for the Northeast.

A two-day seminar on SEZ, organised jointly by the North Eastern Council (NEC), the Northeast Federation on International Trade (Nefit) and the department of industries, government of Meghalaya, ended here today with strong recommendations to incorporate changes into the current policy for setting up SEZ in the region.

A seven-member committee was also formed to carry forward the four-point recommendations, which are expected to figure in the NEC...

Guwahati, Feb. 16: The North Eastern Council (NEC) today locked horns with the Centre over the cut in its budget, accusing Delhi of keeping the council in dark. NEC secretary P.L. Thanga complained that this slash has created serious problems in management of projects, even impacting on the functioning of institutions funded by it.

Addressing a news conference here today in the run-up to the 49th council meeting at Shillong on Friday, Thanga said a chunk of Rs 104.71 crore has been sliced out of the Rs 500-crore annual outlay for 2003-04. This will necessitate readjustments in all ongoing...

Shillong, Feb. 9: The chief ministers of the Northeast are gearing up for a heated session with Union minister C.P. Thakur following Delhi?s decision to downsize the North Eastern Council (NEC) budget.

Union minister of commerce and industry S.B. Mukherjee and Thakur, who is in charge of the department for development of north eastern region (Doner), are likely to attend the two-day special economic zone seminar here from February 17.

The Union finance ministry?s decision to trim the NEC budget for 2003-2004 by nearly Rs 420 crore has raised voices of protests from almost all chief ministers...

New Delhi, Feb. 6: Stung by protests over Delhi?s decision to slash the North Eastern Council?s budget, the department for development of the northeastern region (Doner) has rushed in for damage control. Doner has apprised the Prime Minister?s Office (PMO) about the likely consequences.

Union minister for Doner C.P. Thakur said the PMO has been informed about the budget allocation. ?The matter has been taken up with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and he has been apprised about the possible fallout. The matter assumes seriousness in view of the sharp reactions from northeastern states,? he...