Shillong, Sept 9: Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Dr Jitendra Singh who inaugurated the “North East Calling” festival at India Gate lawns in New Delhi on Saturday, said that the focus of the present government at Centre has been to bring the rest of India closer to the North East.
The “North East Calling” event is being organised by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), under its ‘Destination North East’ series of this year.
The purpose of the event is to promote the art, culture, heritage, cuisine, handicrafts, business and tourism of North East India.
On the occasion, Dr Jitendra Singh also launched ‘North East Venture Fund’, which is a joint initiative of Ministry of DoNER and North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. The objective of the fund is to promote entrepreneurship and Start up in the North Eastern Region.
It is the first dedicated Venture Fund for the region with a corpus of Rs 100 crore.
The Minister also launched North East Tourism Development Council with objective to promote sustainable tourism in North East India.
The Business to Business (B2B) conference is also being organised during the event and three MoUs were also signed in the presence of the Minister.
The first MoU was signed between the North East Tourism Development Council and the Yes Bank. The other two MoUs were signed with the Ministry under Science & Technology Interventions in the North East Region (STINER) aiming at enabling STINER and promoting NISARGRUNA technology of BARC in bio-energy technology in association with Tripura State.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Jitendra complimented the Ministry of DoNER and young Assistant Secretaries attached to this Ministry, for giving their commitment and passion in organising this event.
Urging the public to come and visit the festival and understand the richness of culture of North East, Dr Jitendra said that that such events will not only enrich the economy and culture of North Eastern region, but will also bring the rest of India more closer to the North East.
Stating that development, upliftment and growth of the North East has been on the priority of the Government under the leadership of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, the Minister said that the focus has not only been bringing North East closer to the rest of country, but also to bring rest of India closer to the North East.
“These events, that too in the heart of National Capital, help artisans and people from the North East to showcase their talent,” he said.
He also informed that similar events will be organised in various parts of the country in future and the Ministry had also organised ‘Destination North East’ festival in Chandigarh recently.
“There is a lot to learn from the North East for the rest of India. Some states in the North East are having two digit growth rate, and the literacy rate is also high in this region. The rest of India needs to follow North East in terms of cleanliness,” the Minister said.
Highlighting the initiatives taken by the Ministry for the North East region, the Minister said that the DoNER Ministry had introduced a concept of “DoNER at doorstep”.
He said that during each given fortnight, at least eight Union Ministers from New Delhi visit Northeast which means that one Minister each is available in each of the eight States every 15 days. This helps them to make an assessment of the development works related to their Ministries and also enables them to gain first-hand inputs from the local population there, he added. He said that ‘Purbashree’ stalls have been set up at Dilli Haat for the products of North East region. He also said that the rail and air connectivity is also on the focus of the Government.
Highlighting other initiatives, the Minister said that foundation stone of Barak Hostel in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus was laid this year. He also said that last year, the Foundation Stone of a Hostel exclusively for Northeast girl students was laid in Bangalore University.
He also informed that a North Eastern Cultural and Information Centre will be set up in Delhi soon.
Dr Jitendra said that Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has allotted a land measuring 5341.75 sqm, (1.32 acre) at Sector-13, Dwarka, New Delhi, to North Eastern Council (NEC) for the purpose of construction of this Centre.
He also talked about setting up of “Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Centre for Policy Research & Analysis” at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Shillong and Brahmaputra Study Centre in the Guwahati University.
DoNER Secretary, Naveen Verma, said that this event has been coordinated with the efforts put by the Assistant Secretaries attached to the Ministry and it coincided with the 16thAnniversary of the Ministry. Senior officers the Ministry were also present on the occasion.
The closing ceremony of the event will be held on Sunday evening where Union Cabinet Secretary, P K Sinha will be the Chief Guest.
During the closing ceremony, winners of various contests (Photography and Caption Contest, video contest, Choreography Contest for Colleges on the theme “Connect NE”, Quiz Competition for schools and colleges, Best North-Eastern attire in the crowd, Home Chef Contest) will be awarded.
The two-day event includes showcase of rich culture of North East, including Music Festival for bands of North-East, Cultural Night for Dances of North-East, Handloom Demo Show presenting the clothes of North-East, Exhibitions of activities being undertaken in NE, stalls by various Central Government ministries showcasing the works being undertaken by them in the region.
