The first meeting of Newly constituted NITI Forum for North East will be held in Agartala, Tripura tomorrow,10 April 2018.

The meeting will be chaired by the Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog, Rajeev Kumar and the co-Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Development of

North Eastern Region (DoNER), Jitendra Singh. Chief Ministers of NE States and leading lights from the region will attend the deliberations.

Shri Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog and Shri Jitendra Singh, MoS (IC), Ministry of DoNER addressed a press conference at NITI Aayog  in the capital today ahead of departure to Agartala.

Emphasizing  the need to identify constraints, streamline resources and add renewed focus on the NER, the Vice-Chairman and the Minister spoke about Moving towards a prosperous North East Region, the theme for the first meeting.

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.

Background:

The ‘NITI Forum for North East’ was constituted in February 2018 with an aim to ensure sustainable economic growth of the North Eastern Region (NER) 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/Departments, Directors of reputed institutions (IIT, IIM etc), experts and journalists have been included as members.

Regional development forum convenes to prioritise connectivity, hydropower, agriculture, water management and tourism for northeastern growth. The NITI Forum for North East convenes an inaugural meeting to coordinate sustainable economic growth in the North Eastern Region, prioritizing multi modal connectivity, hydro power development, agricultural and allied measures (organic farming, horticulture, soil health cards, reduced post harvest losses, expanded crop insurance, milk production), expedited irrigation and water management, and tourism promotion through eco , rural and adventure tourism and regional tourism council strengthening; the Forum operates as a periodic review and coordination mechanism with a DoNER secretariat and multi stakeholder membership.