Economy / Northeast

GUWAHATI, May 28 ? Financial constrain has seriously affected the functioning of the North Eastern Council (NEC) set up for the development of the region, admitted the Governor Lt Gen (Retd) SK Sinha. In an interview with The Assam Tribune, Lt Gen Sinha, who also served as the chairman of the NEC, said, ?we tried to activate the Council as much as we could within the limited financial allocations. I also ensured equitable allocation to all the States, particularly Assam.? He said that the NEC had been doing commendable job but it is difficult to achieve results overnight. He expressed the view...

SHILLONG, May 25 ? National Hydro-electric Power Corporation Ltd (NHPC) has got outstanding dues of nearly Rs 100 crore upto April this year against seven north eastern states ? beneficiaries of the Loktak Hydel Project - with Manipur topping the list, according to the North Eastern Regional Electricity Board (NEREB), reports PTI.

The outstanding dues included the principal amount surcharge on it, development surcharge, according to a NEREB statement released at its 52nd board meeting here last week. While Manipur topped the list with an accumulated outstanding amount of Rs 43.82 crore, it...

New Delhi, May 18: The Centre has revamped the procedure for allotting funds from the non-lapsable pool of resources for the eight northeastern states, including Sikkim.

Under the new mechanism, states will be required to submit a concept paper of projects to the department of development of north east region (Doner) which has the final say on sanctioning grants. The Doner will then assess the feasibility of the project according to the size of the plan and the number of people it would benefit. As per existing rules, no project of less than a crore would be okayed.

?Preparation of project...

GUWAHATI, May 16 ?Industries, that had committed crores of Rupees in investments in Assam, have suddenly lost interest in setting up bases here. They are, instead, directing their investments to Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal, keeping an eye on the nearness of the immense north Indian market. The Centre?s dedision to extend tax concessions, similar to the ones offered to investors in the North East to states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Jammu and Kashmir, have driven prospective investors away from this remote region to the more lucrative northern states...

SHILLONG, May 15 – The Centre will ensure setting up of at least one major food processing industry in every state of the North Eastern Region, Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries (MFPI) N T Shanmugan has announced. Addressing a business meet on food processing industries in North Eastern Region at Hotel Polo Towers here today, the Union Minister informed that his ministry has sanctioned five ‘Food Parks’ in the region in the states of Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.

The Ministry has formulated a number of plan schemes to promote food processing in the country and...

GUWAHATI, May 12 – The North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) Ltd. paid a dividend of Rs 1 crore to the Union Government for the year 2001-2002. The dividend cheque was presented to Union Minister of Power Anant G Geete by NEEPCO chairman and Managing Director S C Sarma recently, said a NEEPCO press release here.

During the above year, the press release said, the NEEPCO generated 2,762.53 MU of energy with an average machine availability of 86.6 per cent. The Union Government has declared the Assam Gas-based Power Station of the Corporation as ‘Centre of excellence’ for its...

MOREH(Manipur-Myanmar border) April 30 —The bilateral relations with Myanmar has significantly improved due to certain initiatives taken by the Ministry of External affairs. “We are pleased to note this achievement”, Manipur Chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh said. The initiatives should, however, be carried forward to enable the North Eastern States to draw benefits from the trade with the South East Asian countries through, Moreh, international trade centre in Manipur bordering Myanmar.

What the Chief Minister said during his address in the 50th meeting of the National Development Council...

NEW DELHI, April 30 — In an adverse comment on the functioning of the north-eastern State Governments, a study group in North-east appointed by the Central Government has confirmed that huge development funds continued to be siphoned off in the region. Alarmed by the reports pouring from the State about misuse of developmental funds and to put a check on siphoning of the funds, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) appointed a study group. It has since submitted its first set of recommendations, revealed the Minister of State for Home Affairs, LD Swami in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

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NEW DELHI, April 22 — The clamour for additional funds by the north-eastern States notwithstanding, the Department of Development of the North-eastern Region (DoNER) has sanctioned less than 50 per cent of the cost of the sanctioned projects indicating that release out of the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) were far less than accruals to the pool. What is perhaps more startling was the fact that as opposed to the mandatory release of the 10 per cent of the gross budgetary support (GBS) for the north-eastern region (NER), some Central ministries and departments have been able to...

SHILLONG, April 19 – Foreign exchange received through international money transfer service (IMTS) in six states of the North-east postal circle has increased from Rs 1.31 crore to Rs 3.44 crore – registering a growth of 262 per cent in the last two years, Post Master General T Paneer Selvam has said, reports PTI. The number of transactions under IMPTS, introduced on April 19, 2001, also grew from 414 to 1371, an increase of 230 per cent, the PGM told a press conference on Saturday on the occasion of two years of service.

In India, people can receive money within moments from any of the...