GUWAHATI: The Centre has asked the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Limited (NEDFi) to reach out and provide financial aid to needy artisans through outlets across the Northeast.
Addressing the 23rd foundation day of NEDFi here on Thursday, DoNER secretary, Naveen Verma, said that the Northeast has many talented artisans and it is the duty of the finance corporation to identify and nurture them. He further appealed to the NEDFi to develop a mechanism to attract genuine investors to the region.
Referring to the newly introduced North-East Industrial Development Scheme (NEIDS), Verma said that the scheme would promote industrialisation in the states of the region and boost employment and income generation.
“NEDFi can play a more vital role in promoting business and investment in North East and we hope it can have an outlet in every district of the region in coming days to provide assistance to the people at their doorstep,” he said.
Three important studies carried out by the advisory and consultancy division of NEDFi were officially released on the occasion.
The studies comprised the “Comprehensive Report on Skill Development” for Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura, “Project profiles on Micro and Small Enterprises” for Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura and Sikkim and the “Techno commercial feasibility study on E-Commerce Platform for Marketing of Handloom and Handicrafts produces of Northeast”.
The DoNER secretary also inaugurated the North East Craft and Organic Fair featuring artisans and weavers under the handloom and handicraft sector as well as farmers, producers, organisations developed under the Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region scheme.
The five-day exhibition is a unique integrated approach to facilitate market linkage to the craft and organic sector of the region.
