Northeast India has huge investment potential: chamber

Monday, 16 June 2003, 19:30 IST
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GUWAHATI: An Indian business chamber Monday urged people in the country's northeast to launch a campaign to reverse the region's battered image in order to attract investors. "India's northeast is better known to the outside world as a land of rugged beauty and constant turmoil due to scores of separatist insurgencies," Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) secretary general Nazeeb Arif said. "If there is a concerted move by the people to reverse the dubious image, the region has tremendous potential to woo both domestic and overseas investors." The ICC chief said the northeastern states of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Tripura have vast, yet untapped natural resources that could be exploited to the maximum in terms of reaping economic gains. "The region could be a fertile ground for investors keen to pump in money in unexplored sectors like biotechnology, hydel energy, besides tourism and healthcare," Arif told IANS. As part of a plan to boost economic development in this otherwise backward and remote region, the ICC Monday opened a liaison unit in Assam's principal city of Guwahati. "The idea of setting up ICC's Guwahati chapter is to coordinate and liase with investors from outside to come and explore the region, besides imparting technical know-how to local entrepreneurs for taking up economically viable projects," the ICC official said. "We would attempt at showcasing the northeast to the outside world by coordinating with various international tourism operators, besides encouraging investors to come and do business in the region." Attempts are also being made to club countries bordering India's northeastern region like Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar and make a wider industrial zone. "If we can promote the concept of some sort of a sub-regional centre covering the northeastern states and the neighbouring countries, it would be a tremendous boost to the regions overall economy," Arif said. "To achieve success, the respective governments in the northeastern states need to be more responsive and accommodative, prepared to waive rules and relax regulations, besides avoiding bureaucratic red tape," the ICC chief said. The federal government has a special industrial policy for the country's northeast - anyone willing to invest in the region would be given a 10-year tax holiday, besides many other financial incentives in the form of subsidies. "Many of the incentives offered by New Delhi for investors in the northeast are still not known to people outside the region. We need to launch an aggressive awareness drive to woo investors, taking advantage of the special benefits," Arif said. "The local governments on their part should be ready and keen to provide basic infrastructure support like power supply, land, besides hassle free formalities." A number of big companies like Hindustan Lever, Godrej, Tata, besides a host of private investors have already set up businesses in the region. "All we need is to create the right mood and set the ball rolling and if the efforts are made sincerely, India's northeast could well be a major business hub in the country," the ICC chief said.
Source: IANS