Economy / Northeast

SHILLONG, Jan 30 ? With the outstanding power-bills of the North East States due to North Eastern Electrical Power Corporation (NEEPCO) touching a staggering Rs 1395 crore, the NEEPCO has threatened to regulate power supply of the defaulting States. While the axe is likely to fall on all the States in the region in due course, action is initially expected to be taken against Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura as these States are yet to come forward to settle their dues, NEEPCO sources revealed.

The biggest defaulter, however, is Assam with the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) owing over Rs 912...

GUWAHATI, Jan 29 ? The South Asia Enterprise Development Facility (SEDF) signed an MoU with the NEDFi in order to boost the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) portfolio of the NEDFi so that the Corporation gets helped in respect of reducing its outstanding non-performing loans.

The SEDF headquartered at Dhaka is a multi-donor organisation promoted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and managed by the SME Department of the World Bank.

The SEDF?s overall objective is to enhance competitiveness and growth of SMEs in the north-east India are starved off funds, the SEDF will try...

Guwahati, Jan. 22: The department for Development of North Eastern Region (Doner) has expressed its unhappiness over the drawing of funds by Central departments from the non-lapsable central pool of resources for funding several projects in the Northeast.

?This could have been acceptable if the resource pool had funds to play around with. But since we have limited funds, the logic and rationale of the department funding activities of other ministries/departments of government of India is not very clear and to our mind not desirable,? said a report prepared by Doner joint secretary J.P...

Imphal, January 21: India and Myanmar have decided to set up a Joint Trade Committee (JTC) between the two countries at the Ministerial level and the inaugural meeting of the JTC would take place very soon. This was indicated in a meeting between Mr U Win Aung, Foreign Minister of Myanmar and Shri Arun Shourie, Minister of Disinvestment and Commerce & Industry here today. The issues of bilateral trade, border trade and economic cooperation will be discussed in the inaugural meeting of the JTC for which Shri Shourie has been invited by Myanmar side. Shri Vinay Bansal, Additional Secretary...

NEW DELHI, Jan 3 — In a bid to avoid massive diversion developmental funds at least 29 projects in North East Region have been taken up for concurrent audit by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) at the request of Department for Development of North Eastern region (DONER).

In Assam, which receives a large chunk of funds 5 schemes worth over Rs 100 crore has been handed for concurrent audit. All the States in the Region have been advised to publicize project details. Time frame for completion of projects given and area Officers for each state earmarked.

However, some of the State including...

GUWAHATI, Jan 1 — North East Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NECCI) signed a partnership agreement with South Asia Enterprise Development Facility (SEDF) at Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok, Guwahati on December 26. This partnership agreement outlines the basic terms and conditions for achieving specific developmental goals that directly benefits NECCI and indirectly support the growth and development of small and medium enterprises in the region.

Dr Anton de Wilde, Project Manager, SEDF and DK Sarma, secretary, NECCI, signed the partnership agreement. As per this agreement, both SEDF and NECCI will...

GUWAHATI, Dec 30 —The recent decision of the Central Government to offer special benefits to investors setting up industrial units in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttaranchal and Kutch region is likely to prove detrimental to North East Industrial Policy, (NEIP), 1997. The NEIP which has so far failed to take off in terms of luring heavy and permanent investment to the region barring a handful of packaging units, will cease to hold any attraction to the outside investors in the wake of similar sops being offered by the Government of India for setting up new industries in J&K, Uttaranchal and Kutch...

GUWAHATI, Dec 29 — The horticulture products of the North East has often failed to make a mark in the export market primarily because of the huge costs involved in its transportation to the exporting centres. The Centre has now decided to offset this disadvantage by offering inland transport assistance for horticulture products. Exporters of banana, guava, lemon, orange, pear, pineapple, plum, ginger, passion fruit and even cut flowers from all the north eastern states, including Sikkim, can now avail the Central assistance that will considerably reduce their transportation costs. The...

GUWAHATI, Dec 28 — North East industrial units which had been existing prior to the North East Industrial Policy (NEIP), 1997, are eagerly awaiting some special sops from the Centre in the New Year. At the initiative of the NE MPs, the Central Government had constituted the sub-committee-III of Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee to formulate transparent subsidy for the benefits of industries in NE especially those which are outside the purview of the NEIP, 1997. The sub-committee headed by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion held a meeting with representatives...

GUWAHATI, Dec 27 — While the Chinese dragon is creating ripples in the rest of the country with its flood of consumer goods, it is Bangladesh which is giving the processed food industry in the North East a run for its money. And Bangladeshi goods are emerging the winners. Bangladeshi potato wafers, bhujia, chanachur, fruit juice and mineral water is flooding the North East markets leaving the local industry gasping for breath. Not long ago, it was the North Eastern producers which were exporting such products to Bangladesh.

Industry watchers told The Assam Tribune here that the Bangladeshi...