Steps taken to promote entrepreneurship in North-Eastern Region

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the Government has initiated and implemented several initiatives to promote entrepreneurship in North-Eastern Region. In a statement laid in the Lok Sabha today, he said, steps have been taken for improvement in enabling environment and vibrant ecosystem to enable entrepreneurs to tap the potential of the region.

Important connectivity projects for capital rail, air and road connectivity will be completed in the next two to three years. Development of Inland Waterways- National Waterways 2 and National Waterways 16 will provide connectivity to Haldia through Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route and greatly benefit the eco-system by reducing cost.

Bamboo which has the potential to change the NE economy has got a boost with setting up of bio-refinery at Numaligarh, Assam; Bamboo Industrial Park at Dima Hasao, Assam; with reduced imports following enhancement of import duty to 25% on bamboo sticks for Agarbattis and amendment in Indian Forest Act, 1927.

The institutional framework for promotion of entrepreneurship is provided by several institutes in NER like Indian Institute of Entrpreneurship (IIE), Guwahati; three Indian Institutes of Information Technology(IIIT) in NER, Institutes of Hotel Management at Guwahati and Shillong, Film and Television Institute at Jollang-Rakap (Jote), Arunachal Pradesh, and National Institute of Design (NID), Jorhat, Assam.  These institutes provide opportunity for skilling and nurturing young creative talent and design aspirants from North East Region and boost entrepreneurship.   Further, KrishiUdaan Scheme to evacuate local produce, 586 Van DhanVikasKendras and Zoram Mega Food Park etc. will boost entrepreneurship, trade and commerce.  In Assam and Meghalaya, the PMYUVA Pilot is being implemented in selected Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), Polytechnics, Pradhan MantriKaushal Kendra (PMKKs) centres and Jan SikshanSansthan (JSS).  Under PMYUVA, 25 project institutes have been selected for the pilot project on Entrepreneurship Development in Assam and Meghalaya.

Entrepreneurs in NER have also been benefitted under various credit related schemes. Under Stand Up India Scheme, 3,449 loan accounts of SC/ST/Women beneficiaries were sanctioned for Rs. 714.83 crore and under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, a total of 1,07,26,209 loan accounts were sanctioned for Rs 48,868 crore in the 8 North Eastern States.  Under Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme 24,455 units were set up and employment for 1,95,640 persons was generated from 2017-18 to 31.12.2020; under Credit Guarantee Trust Fund of Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE), an amount of Rs.4684.55 crore was approved towards 98569 guarantees.  An amount of Rs.21.26 crore was settled for 83393   beneficiaries under Interest Subvention Scheme for Incremental Credit to MSME since its inception in November, 2018.

The Start-up India Initiatives aims at fostering entrepreneurship and promoting innovation by creating and enabling eco-system. Under this, 408 startups have been recognized in the NER. 

North East Development Finance Institution(NEDFI) has extended financial assistance to 6844 no. of projects with total sanctions and disbursement of Rs.5487.92 Cr. & Rs.4222.64 Cr. respectively, facilitating capital formation of around Rs.15922 Cr. during 1995 to 2020.The North East Venture Fund (NEVF), the first dedicated Venture Fund for NE has approved investments worth Rs 59.52 Crore in 29 ventures across sectors including healthcare, mobility, IT &ITeS, food processing/food tech, adventure tourism, agri-allied services and handicraft.

Under North East Industrial Development Scheme (NEIDS), 2017, 202 units have been registered. 

Organizations such as  North East Handicrafts & Handloom  Corporation (NEHHDC),Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED), Khadi and Village Industries Commission(KVIC) have launched E- Commerce portals  i.e. www.purbashree.com, www.tribesindia.com, ekhadiindia.com which enable  entrepreneurs including from North East to reach out to a wider market.   The organizations like NEHHDC and TRIFED are also supporting the marketing of NE products through other e-commerce platforms.