April 09, 2018: The first meeting of newly constituted NITI Forum for North East will be held at Agartala in Tripura tomorrow (April 10). Briefing media in New Delhi today, Minister for Development Of North Eastern Region Dr Jitendra Singh said, Chief Ministers of the North Eastern States and leading lights from the region will attend the deliberations.
The broad agendas for the First Meeting include among others,
• Strategies for improving Road, Rail and Air Connectivity in the North East Region
• Realizing the Hydel Dream – Way Forward for utilizing existing potential for hydro-power in the NER
• Agriculture and allied sectors
− NE States to encourage Organic Farming
− Cultivation of Vegetables, fruits, Spices, medicinal plants
− Soil Health Card for farmers
− Minimizing post-harvest losses
− Increased coverage under Crop Insurance
− Milk production to be boosted
• Water Management
− Early completion of on-going irrigation projects
• Promotion of Tourism
− Promotion of Eco-Tourism, Rural Tourism and Adventure Tourism
− Strengthening of North East Tourism Development Council (NETDC)
− Organically-themed Home-Stay Tourism (as in Sikkim) may be encouraged in other NE States
− The NETDC to work closely with NE States for tourism promotion
• Identifying and targeting early bird projects in areas of connectivity, agricultural productivity and industrial development to give fillip to growth in the NER.
Emphasizing the need to identify constraints, streamline resources and add renewed focus on the region, the Minister said, the theme for the first meeting is Moving towards a prosperous North East Region.
Speaking about the meeting, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar said, broad agendas for the First Meeting include strategies for improving Road, Rail and Air Connectivity in the Region, way Forward for utilizing existing potential for hydro-power in the region, Agriculture and allied sectors, Water Management, Promotion of Tourism.
The meeting will be chaired by the Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog Dr Rajeev Kumar and Minister for Development of North Eastern Region Dr Jitendra Singh. The ‘NITI Forum for North East’ was constituted in February this year with an aim to ensure the sustainable economic growth of the North Eastern Region of the country and periodically review the development status in NER.
The secretariat for the Forum has been established in the DoNER Ministry. The Forum includes representation from all NE States, their Chief Secretaries and Secretaries of relevant Central Ministries or Departments, Directors of reputed institutions like IIT and IIM, experts and journalists have been included as members. (AIR News)
