SHILLONG, May 13: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday lauded Meghalaya’s economic growth and projected vision, highlighting a commendable 13 per cent year-on-year rise in the state’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) and its ambitious goal of becoming a USD 10 billion economy by 2028.
Addressing self-help group (SHG) members from the Garo Hills, Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills regions in the national capital, the Vice President praised the developmental strides made under the Act East policy, noting Meghalaya’s vast potential in sectors like tourism, mining, information technology and services.
“Northeastern part of our country is our jewel. In the 90s, that is about three decades ago, the Government of India had a policy and that policy was ‘Look East’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave an additional dimension to this policy — ‘Look East’ to ‘Act East’. And that action has taken place very effectively. Meghalaya, let me tell you, is heaven for tourists. Bountiful gift of nature,” he said.
Reflecting on the nature of true empowerment, the Vice President stated, “To empower the pocket of a person by freebies, by doles, is not true empowerment. True empowerment is that you hand-hold the person so that the person gets himself or herself empowered. That brings joy, that brings satisfaction, that gives you inner strength, and also makes you proud of your families.”
Lauding a decade of governance reforms under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Vice President credited visionary leadership for catalysing progress across various domains. “It is the visionary leadership that catalyses the officials to act in the right direction. Fortunately, in our country this is happening for the last decade and it is happening in your state also. Under the visionary leadership of PM Modi, the country in the last decade has achieved milestones that are envy of the world in economy, infrastructure, technology, and women development, women empowerment.
Our Tribal Culture Is Resplendent; Our Tribal Culture Is Our Wealth,” Dhankar said.
Referring to the economic rise of Meghalaya, Dhankar said, “Economy of a state is determined by gross state domestic product, GSDP. And for that the state of Meghalaya has seen a rise of 13 per cent rise year to year, which is very greatly commendable. Congratulations to the chief minister for his deep commitment to improve the economy of the state. And right now, it is projected to be more than 66,000 crores. Meghalaya is a large state when it comes to heart, but otherwise geographically not that large. But the size of your economy is good. You’ve set a great target. And your target is the state is aiming for USD 10 billion economy by 2028.”
Stressing inclusive and sustainable development, Dhankhar hailed the significant role of women in driving growth, noting a tenfold increase in revolving fund support for SHGs.
“The state has enormous talent, enormous potential in tourism, in mining, in IT, in the service sector. But what is more important is, human resources must be nurtured. Human resources must be independent. And in that category also, societal growth, economic development is balanced when women come forward. I am so happy and delighted that both with respect to the revolving fund and the number, is a tenfold increase,” he said.
It may be mentioned that Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and other dignitaries were also present during the interaction.
