Guwahati: North Eastern states have decided to approach the Centre for a revision in North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP) with a view to give more thrust to the micro, small and medium enterprises segment in the region.
“The North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP), 2007 is a very unique policy and proved beneficial for the whole region. However, none of the northeastern states are in a position to give land to private parties to set up big industries,” chairman of the forum and Assam Industry Minister Pradyut Bordoloi said.
“While NEIIPP has been successful since its formulation in 2007, there are certain constraints for the states in the North East in bringing big industries to the region as we cannot provide them land for setting up units as per their specifications,” Assam Commerce and Industry Minister Pradyut Bordoloi said on Thursday.
“So the thrust of the policy should be tuned in such a way that MSME sector get a boost. So the North-eastern states request that the NEIIPP should be revised to achieve such a target,” he added.
He was here to participate in the mid-term review of the NEIIPP.
“Some of the northeast states also have the problem of hilly terrain and so it is difficult to give land to private industries to set up big industries. So we feel that the government should shift the thrust from big industries to MSME sector,” Bordoloi said.
The Assam industry minister, however, defended the NEIIPP, 2007 and said that the unique policy had invited about 336 investment proposals in the entire northeast region in the last five years amounting to Rs.38,000 crore.
Bordoloi was briefing reporters after a meeting of ministers and officials of the Commerce and Industry departments of the North Eastern states and business chambers held here.
The meeting was held to review the performance of the NEIIPP during last five years. In the meeting, the states also demanded that interest subsidy for setting up industries in the region should be enhanced to seven per cent, from the current three per cent, to tide over the high interest rate regime.
“Out of the total proposals, Assam got the major investment proposals amounting to Rs.21,152 crore followed by Meghalaya and Nagaland,” he said adding that this excludes proposals by the central sector projects like the gas cracker project in Assam, alone worth about Rs.900 crore.”
“All the eight states, including Sikkim, have decided that they will put in place a system of internal appraisal to further streamline the NEIIPP,” he said.
The north eastern states have also decided to develop waterways in the region to increasing movement of goods and services, including exports to Bangladesh and Myanmar.
“We have also asked the central government to set up bank branches in all district headquarters of north eastern states dedicated to MSME segment so that first generation and poor entrepreneurs can avail of easy credit,” Bordoloi said.
The review meeting also decided that north eastern states would formulate their own industrial policies in a way so that they can compliment the NEIIPP. The forum also appealed to the central government for efforts to set up dedicated MSME bank branches in all district headquarters of the region.
“This is being urged to the centre as it will help the first generation entrepreneurs of the region for whom, now, it is difficult to get a bank loan to start any entrepreneurial venture,” he said. (Agencies)