NEW DELHI, June 6 - Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Dr Jitendra Singh mooted �Make in Northeast� initiative in line with �Make in India� project.
Dr Singh also offered to collaborate with all stakeholders to give each of the eight states of the region an exclusive identity of their own, based on the unique product identified with each of these states.
During a meeting with the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (Assocham) secretary general DS Rawat, the DoNER Minister said that he has always felt that instead of the various states of the region being casually referred to as northeastern states, each of the eight states can be developed as an identity on its own, to be known by its own name. For example, he said, Sikkim can be developed as the �Organic State of India�, Mizoram as the �Bamboo State of India�, Manipur as the �Textiles State of India� and so on.
The minister said the �Make in Northeast� approach will not only generate revenue and livelihood opportunities in the region, but it would also reinforce the Act East policy of the Government of India.
The role of institutions like the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFi), North East Small Finance Bank Ltd (NESFB) or the recently introduced North East Venture Fund (NEVF) can also be improvised and made more inclusive to attract investors and manufacturers who have the knowhow to contribute in supplementing the exclusive identity of each state and the region, thus enriching the brand of �Make in Northeast�.
