Northeast Investment Gateway

From: Pradip Kumar Datta [NorthEast India Yahoo Group]

By Sanjoy Ray Assam Tribune

GUWAHATI, March 22 – In what could bring cheer to the faces of thousands of small and big entrepreneurs in the North East, especially in Assam and Nagaland, the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), a premier trade body, is all set to file the application seeking registration of Assamese gamosa and Naga shawl with the Geographical Registry of India. The Geographical Indication (GI) marks out a designated product of a definite geographical territory and is used to identify agricultural, natural or manufactured goods originating from the territory.

The registration would confer legal protection to the products both in India and the world over. Besides, it wou! ld also prevent unauthorised use, boost exports and benefit producers in a given geographical territory.

Well-placed sources told The Assam Tribune that the ICC has almost completed the research and other necessary scientific fact-finding work, which would help in acquiring GI protection for both the Assamese gamosa and the Naga shawl.

“Both Assamese gamosa and the Naga shawl are traditional garments of Assam and Nagaland respectively and the ICC has prepared enough documental evidence to add teeth to its petition in this regard,” the sources pointed out.

Assam’s Muga silk was the first product from the NE to have been conferred with the GI registration. Though Assam tea has been chosen for the GI mark, it is yet to be formally handed over the GI rights. Experts, however, believe that it might come any day.

“The protection of the traditional textile products like Assamese gamosa, apart from helping in bringing standardisation of processes, would boost its commercialisation including export of the products,” the sources said, while adding, “The manufacturers of Assamese gamosa are now facing a threat from the similar products originating from States like Andhra Pradesh, which floods the State market during the Bihu season. The GI registration would help in bailing out thousands of entrepreneurs involved in this business from this threat.

“GI is granted when a product is distinctively linked to a region or endemic to popular culture in that the process of making the product is community knowledge handed down traditionally,” reiterated the sources.

The report, which is being prepared by the ICC, is laying special stress on the products’ traditional history and how it is intricately woven with that of Assam and Nagaland.

The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 gives the right to register a protected name to three categories of persons — the actual producers and groups of such producers of goods specified in the geographical area, groups of consumers, and any competent authority.

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Spl investment policy for NE likely
From Our Spl Correspondent
NEW DELHI, March 5 – A special industrial and investment promotion policy may in place in the region, but the inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the North-East has not been encouraging. During the last seven years, the North Eastern region attracted $ 1.44 million FDI. The country witnessed FDI inflows in the manufacturing sector to the tune of $ 19,038 million during April 2000 to December 2007. In the same period, inflows into the manufacturing sector in the North-East were $1.44 million, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Ashwani Kumar told the Rajya Sabha.

Government of India has put in place a liberal, transparent and investor friendly policy for FDI. Under the liberalised economic environment, the entrepreneurs based on techno-economic and commercial consideration take investment decisions, including choice of location. Government has announced North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy 2007.

Though the FDI inflow into the region was low, DoNER Ministry said that 42 proposals for Thai-North-East trade cooperation in investment and the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Kolkata, is on.

The proposals were outcome of the North East India Trade and Investment Opportunities Week held in Thailand last year. At least 10 MoUs were sealed, said Minister DoNER, Mani Shankar Aiyar.

One of the significant gains of the event was the NEDFi's MoU with India-Thai Business Forum. The seven-point MoU talks about exploring and facilitating trade and investment opportunities by creating a dedicated facilitation desk, source markets and create investment technology parks among others.

With this event, a significant beginning has been made and a platform for stronger bilateral economic relations and better economic understanding and exchange between the two countries has been created, the Minister said.

Further, discussion is being initiated with Australia, Singapore, ASEAN and UAE. There is an ongoing initiative with NRIs of the NER in the US. "It is essential that NER be projected as attractive FDI and trade destination world-wide and specifically under the Look East Policy.

I get amused at the pace of development works being carried out in our Guwahati city which is not only the capital of Assam but also the commercial capital of the North East,some of the classic example i can site are the flyovers being constructed in Bhangagarh and Six Mile.The time taken for completion of the flyover can be a tool to measure our backwardness.

I want to cite one more example of a similar project in the country's capital an underground byepass near jhandewala a stretch of almost 5kms,the whole construction got finished in an astonishing 11 months,yah there were many plus points for it to be completed so early,but even if we add 1 more year in lieu of the plus points than also its quite astonishing compared to the pace of work in Guwahati.

The ongoing four lane work going on in the Khanapara to Jorabat stretch which is of around 5-6kms is one more such project i want to highlight being myself an inhabitant of the same area,i can give a bird eyes view of the progress,the digging work had started almost 2 years back,but till date not even a stretch of 500 metres is fully completed, with scheduled completion in 2010,i can already see the project getting delayed by atleast a few years.

The Jorabat to Khanapara road is a lifeline of all the 6 northeastern states ,there have been instances when due to breakdown of one vehicle the whole stretch gets jammned resulting in many people missing their flight,many students missing exams and in some cases even patients dying in the ambulance van.

The project needs to be completed very fast not only for development of business but also for the sake of common man who suffer every day .....

FASS-NEDFi MoU signed
GUWAHATI, Jan 24 – The Friends of Assam and Seven Sisters (FASS)and the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFi)[nedfi.com] recently signed an MoU for development of industries, infrastructure, animal husbandry, agri-horticulture plantation, medicinal plants, sericulture, aquaculture, poultry anddiry in the North Eastern Region. – Staff Reporter

(The Assam Tribune,25.01.2008)

For details go to: www.assamtribune.com

To know more about FASS & NEDFi please click here:
FASS: www.friendsofassam.org
NEDFi: www.nedfi.com

The North East Trade & Investment Opportunity Week was organized at Queen Sirikit Convention Centre at Bangkok from 1st to 4th October,07. In conjunction with the main seminar and bilateral meetings held at the Centre, an exhibition was also organized to showcase the diverse products and investment opportunities in the North East.

The entrepreneurs from North East India participated in the event and received huge response on their products, particularly in Bamboo processing, Medicinal & Aromatics, Handloom & Handicrafts, Food Processing, Tourism, Infrastructure etc.

A Memorandum of Agreement was signed between NEDFi, represented its Chairman and Managing Director Shri Kashi Nath Hazarika and India Thai Business Forum, represented by its Chairman Dato’ Satish Sehgal. The MOA will ensure facilitation of Thai Investors in the North East India by NEDFi and Joint venture support to North East India entrepreneurs.

During 9th to 13th January, 2008 Mr. Priya Butr, the Thai Dy Commerce Minister and Thai Business Forum Chairman Mr. Dato’ Satish Sehgal along with their delegation are expected to visit North Eastern Region. They are expected to visit Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam and attend the NRI Investment Meet at Maniram Dewan Trade Centre, Guwahati, which will be held on 11th and 12th January,2008. NEDFi will be closely associated with the event.

Think big, plan well (original Published in The Statesman, Kolkata)

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=14&id=164700&usrsess=1

By Manoj Das

(This is an edited version)

We cannot keep blaming the Centre for our own shortcomings. At a time when the funds are not a problem, our state governments donot have decent DPRs (Detailed Project Reports) in any sector. And they are not able to meet the 10% matching component thats mandatory to get the funds.

The governments need to be innovative, development oriented and should be supported by a well oiled mechanism for implementation of projects as well as monitoring and quality assurance. The states and the Centre must also think big and implement at least a few mega projects which can act as a big pull for investors. Uttar Pradesh government has taken such mega initiatives with 'Ganga Expressway and Taj Expressway' projects.

Based on my own interactions with a few thinkers and my own, I am listing a few such mega projects:

1. Dredging of the river Brahmaputra and its tributaries: A look at the satellite pictures will reveal how much land is being grabbed by the river Brahmaputra and its tributaries.

On a rough estimate, some 1.5 million hectares can be reclaimed if we dredge and train the rivers. It was in Mukulda's (M C Mahant) house that we discussed the project. He also gave a noval idea of dumping the reclaimed soil in a North-South direction in mounds to get the maximum surface area. Canals will be available for cheap water transport, irrigation, run of the river power turbines to generate energy. National Waterways-II will be a reality and we can use 1.5 Mn hectares of reclaimed land to rehabilitate misplaced people from flood prone areas. Cost: $20 Bn

2. Construction up of a aerotropolis near Doom Dooma, upper Assam , not far from Dibrugarh. This could be a refuelling, resting and recreation stop for long distance travelers from the Pacific rim to South Asia, South Africa and West Asia. As of now, there is no such place. bangkok is too near, Mumbai-Delhi are dull and Dubai is too dry and far. The aerotropolis will have World Class recreation hubs, education, accomoadtion, sports facilities and a satellite IT hub to tap the IT potential of the NE Region. cost $ 5 Bn

3. Creating a Metropolis: Some are talking of a mega city, where about 15 million people could live. This city –state could have an area of influence of about 1,500 kms. In South East Asia Singapore, Kualalumpur, bangkok. Kunming have their spheres of affluence. To the West are Dhaka, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Chandigarh, Jaipur,Surat, Karachi, Lahore, Teheran etc.. Guwahati is ideally located to yield such a sphere of influence. It will be a centre of consumption, manufacturing, trade & commerce. The city must expand to teh North and East. The great river is ideally located to support such a mega city. Atleast three bridges across the river, roads, drainage, water, sewage,sanitation, power, education, recreation, entertainment and health facilities needs to be created. The city will have to outgrow its current topographical limitations and metamorph itself into a great city. Cost $ 10 Bn

4. Opne up age old trade links of Assam: Build an all-weather, four-lane express way through the Stillwell Road from Ledo to Mytkyina in Myanmar to link up with Route No. 9 of Trans Asian Highway, that goes upto Singapore. In my estimate only 205 Km of road needs to be built through the Hukong Valley. Ii will puch the insurgents an d bring in prosperity and tourism from prosperous ASEAN and PACIFIC RIM.Without connectivity, the Centre’s “Look East Policy” will be a blind policy. The bogey of Chinese fear is not doing any good to our security either. Cost $ 1 Bn

5. Build a spiritual tourism circuit: Assam and the North-east have great endowment of extraordinary biodiversity, landscape, demographic diversity. It also a fair share of faiths and myths right form Mahabharata Times.

A well-designed and commercially viable spiritual tourism circuit can be established, starting point from the legendary Parsuram Kund on the Lohit in Arunachal, with theme parks and infrastructure at Sisupal Garh and Bhismak Nagar. The next stop will be Malini Than near Silapathar where Krishna was said to have been garlanded by Durga, in guise of a malini (flowerwoman). Bring the tourist to Majuli, which was blessed by krishna to be the second Brindavan and is living upto the reputation with its numerous Sattras and the living Satriya culture.

Biswanath Ghat on the North Bank, known as the second Kashi, could be the next stopover with Tezpur's mystic past with Usha and Anniruddha providing the missing links. Kamakhya in Guwahati Ashwaklanta in North Guwahati, Madan Kamadeva near Hajo and Suryapahar ruins and ultimately the Netai Dhubuni Ghat at Dhubri will provide the chain to the legendary connections to the mystic past.

We need to go back to our Pragjyotishpura days for connecting to teh great Indian domestic pilgrimage traffic that spends billions in such of succour to the soul.
Cost $ ).5 Bn

(The author is with the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd., NEDFI)

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

ICCCI - India China Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Indo Thai Chamber of Commerce
Nepal Chamber of Commerce

BhutanChamber of Commerce & Industry
Indo Myanmar Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industries
 

Talk about available resources, infrastructure