Economy / Nagaland

KOHIMA, June 25 – Proposing to widen the tax base to garner more revenue, Nagaland Finance Minister K Therie on Thursday presented a deficit budget for the financial year 2004-05 in the State Assembly but he did not make any fresh tax proposal. The budget envisages the revenue expenditure for the current fiscal at Rs 2386 crore and estimated expenditure at Rs 2412 crore.

Therie proposed to bring more items under the tax net to garner Rs.148 crore from internal sources by further rationalizing the rates and improving tax compliance. He announced that VAT would be introduced in the state from...

DIMAPUR, May 29 – In a startling revelation, damning indictment of the rot of State machinery, the Naga Council Dimapur virtually exposed the total break down of law and order in Nagaland by pointing at the failure by state authorities to check illegal collections by various organizations creating absolute havoc to the fragile local economy. The Council stating that the rampant mushrooming of illegal tax collectors on goods have triggered escalation in prices of essential commodities appealed the government, the NSCN-IM and all concerned to jointly take on such collection systems.

Representat...

Kohima, March 5: The decks have been cleared for the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to begin oil exploration in Nagaland with the tribal organisation, opposed to the activity, finally giving a green light. The tribal Lotha Hoho, whose writ runs large in the oil-rich Wokha district, was opposed to the oil giant resuming operations in the area.

Chief minister Neiphiu Rio today said ONGC and other oil companies have been asked to start work without delay. ?I am happy that the landowners are also coming around,? he told a packed Banquet Hall at his residence on the first anniversary of the...

Touphema, Feb. 26: She came to buy jewellery all the way from Austria ? only to find the better bargain is back home. Brigitta Prokoff, a jewellery collector from Vienna, has always taken a special interest in the gem-studded ornaments of Nagaland.

However, only when she and her friends visited the state in the hope of finding exquisite and original Naga jewellery, they realised that the best of the genre is available back home.

?I found that the best and the original has been taken away by the dealers to either Delhi or Austria,? she said. Naga jewellery, a typical combination of gems and...

Kohima/Dimapur, Feb. 26: The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is once again on the verge of skidding on an oil slick of controversy in Nagaland. A powerful tribal organisation has put its foot down on exploration plans by the oil and gas major, accusing it of deception.

The Lotha Hoho, representing the Lotha tribe that dominates Wokha district, said the company had not fulfilled its promises and so would not be allowed to set foot in the district, said to have substantial oil reserves. ONGC had earlier carried out exploration in Wokha.

?The ONGC did not live up to its word,? Hoho...

NEW DELHI, June 8 ? In keeping with the policy of rewarding insurgency affected States that have opted for peace, Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee today extended a ?peace bonus? to Nagaland announcing conversion of Rs 365 crore ?ways and means? loan to a one-time grant. The sop announced through a written statement on Sunday may also be aimed at boosting the prospect of BJP in the two northeastern States of Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, which are going to polls. Nagaland incidentally is the second north-eastern State after Mizoram to be rewarded with a ?peace bonus.?

?Recognising the...

New Delhi, May 30: In a major boost to the cash-strapped Nagaland government, the Centre has increased the size of the state?s annual plan for 2003-04 by 16 per cent and converted a medium-term loan into a grant.

The annual plan of Rs 500 crore is an increase of Rs 76 crore over last year?s allocation.

?We are happy with the way things have gone. The Planning Commission honoured our appeals and we are grateful to it. A bigger allocation was important because our government came to power by promising peace and development. We will now have access to ample funds for development,? chief minister...

New Delhi, May 30: After nearly a decade, crude oil production may be revived in Nagaland. Plans are being chalked out for a joint agreement between the Neiphiu Rio government and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).

But this would bear fruit only if Naga village councils get a share of the royalties shelled out by theONGC. A question mark would still hang over the fate of oil exploration in the state since insurgent outfits had earlier stymied it.

At a high-level meeting today between representatives of ONGC and the Nagaland government, the corporation agreed to look into some of the...

Kohima, May 26: Caught on the wrong foot after international bidders as well as the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) refused to begin exploration work in the state, the Nagaland government today convened an emergency meeting on the issue.

However, the meeting ? chaired by chief minister Neiphiu Rio ? failed to arrive at a decision.

An oil exploration block in Mokokchung district is one of 24 being offered under the latest round of international competitive bidding.

Apart from international players, the ONGC and Oil India Ltd, too, are reportedly unwilling to deploy personnel in the...

Kohima, March 23: Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio is considering creating two new departments, one for women and the second for the development of backward areas, in addition to the existing 76 in the state.

“The department for development of backward areas will concentrate on Tuensang and Mon districts,” Rio said in his maiden public address in Kohima during the “celebration of victory” ceremony today.

Planning minister Shurhozelie, Speaker Kiyanielie also attended the function. Kohima falls under Northern Angami-1 constituency.

Rio said the two new departments would be created after...