Economy / Northeast

NEW DELHI, April 18 — Launching of massive marketing campaign to promote North Eastern Region (NER) as a tourist destination, contradict the performance of the Tourism Ministry, as funds allocated for the Region for development and promotion of tourism go unutilised during the last financial year. The Departments of Tourism and the Region’s State Governments seem yet to wake up from the intertia, as funds go waste but no perceptible improvement on the ground so much so that exercises to fully explore the tourism potential of the region are yet to be undertaken.

The Department of Tourism has...

New Delhi, April 16: Loss-making public sector units under the department for development of the northeastern region (Doner) could soon be put through a stringent reform process to transform them into financially viable enterprises.

The units that are suffering losses include the Northeastern Regional Agriculture Marketing Corporation, Northeastern Handicrafts and Handlooms Development Corporation and the Sikkim Mining Corporation.

Union minister C.P. Thakur, who is in charge of Doner, said his department could not afford to let things drift. “Doner may face a shortage of funds in view of the...

SHILLONG, April 12 – The two-day North East Tourism Summit which concluded here last evening has entrusted the North Eastern Council (NEC) with the task of initiating action to formulate a regional tourism policy for speedy and coordinated development of the untapped potentials of tourism in the region.

The valedictory session yesterday also recommended immediate setting up of air taxi services in the region with Guwahati as the hub in order to connect all major tourist spots in the North-east. The summit, attended by officials of the state government local and national tour operators...

GUWAHATI, April 12 — Raising concern over low rate of loan recovery from the new generation entrepreneurs in the region, the Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) of the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation, has made a call to the entrepreneurs to honour their commitment to repay loan instalments in time.

Addressing a press conference here yesterday evening the NEDFi CMD, JP Saikia underlined the need for inculcating a sense of professionalism in the first generation entrepreneurs of the region while revealing the Corporation’s plan to train 200 new entrepreneurs in the current year...

Shillong, April 11: The two-day Northeast tourism summit here, titled “Gateway to prosperity”, drew up a “roadmap” for developing tourism in the Northeast.

The roadmap, according to North Eastern Council advisor (banking) and in-charge (industries) F.R. Ingty, would examine the possibility of setting up rural tourism to develop villages as tourist centres.

The two-day summit was jointly organised by the NEC and the Association of Tour Operators of Northeast India at Hotel Polo Towers. The summit ended today, with participants from the Northeast and from some South Asian countries trying to...

SHILLONG, April 10 — The two-day North East Tourism Summit here today advocated adoption of a joint action plan by the governments of the North Eastern states and private operators to promote tourism which it said will not only bring development but also restore peace in the region. Inaugurating the summit at Hotel Polo Tours here this inmorning, Assam Governor and Chairman of the North Eastern Council (NEC), Lt Gen (retd) S K Sinha, set the tone of the Summit saying a concrete plan comprising short-term and long-term measures to promote tourism in the region is being evolved.

Speaking of...

Guwahati, April 9: In a bid to evolve a concrete tourism policy for the Northeast, leading tour operators and consultants, potential investors and entrepreneurs and government officials will hold a two-day meet at the Northeast tourism summit in Shillong from tomorrow.

“We want to promote tourism as an economic activity, as a job creator and a tool to alleviate poverty,” said Jyoti Kapur, president, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India here today.

The main theme of the summit, organised by the Association of Tour Operators of Northeast India and North East Council is “Tourism in...

GUWAHATI, April 9 — “People must be laughing at our products,” says the president of the Association of Tour Operators of North East India (ATONEI) Lata Umrey, a sad but candid admission that the North East has not yet matured as a favoured destination for tourists. This despite the fact that the region has to offer almost anything that a tourist may possible want. The problems are many.

It is to address these issues that the ATONEI, along with the North Eastern Council (NEC) is hosting a two-day North East Tourism Summit in Shillong from tomorrow. Tourism in the North East as a “gateway to...

NEW DELHI, April 7— Flooded by pleas for more funds from the north-eastern States, the Ministry for Development of North-eastern Region (DONER) has sought enhanced Budgetary allocation from the Finance Ministry. Minister for DONER, Dr CP Thakur disclosed this here today that even as he sought an appointment with the Prime Minister to discuss the issue of withdrawal of Central Excise Duty exemptions on certain products.

Talking to newsmen on the sidelines of an exhibition ‘Development Initiatives in the North-eastern Region’, which he inaugurated here this afternoon, the Minister divulged that...

GUWAHATI, March 27 — The Bangladesh Government has proposed to open up trade with Assam through Sylhet district in that country through a joint endeavour of the chambers of commerce of Sylhet and Assam. Bangladesh Secretary of Ministry of Commerce Suhel Ahmed who had a meeting with Assam Chief Minister and top State Government officials yesterday, called for more interaction between Bangladesh authority and Assam to increase the volume of trade and commerce in the interest of economic development on both sides of the border.

During the discussion, Ahmed pointed out that banks in the Northeast...