The 3rd North-East Business Summit which ended recently at New Delhi has thrown up a lot of positive vibe with the Union Minister of DONER Mani Shankar Aiyer taking the lead in trying to woo investors both Indian and foreign to the North-East region. Even Nagaland’s power point presentation at the summit appears to be very impressive with the Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio himself projecting the State in all its positive light. But despite all the hoopla, the question is whether the State is itself prepared to back up all the good things said by the Chief Minister. Notwithstanding every effort made to bring investment into the State, the problem of law and order remains a point of concern no matter how much we try to push it under the carpet. And this appeared to be the weak link in Nagaland’s presentation during the business summit. It will take a lot of effort to create a congenial atmosphere for industrialists to come and invest in the State given the not so favorable economic climate and also the threat perception that plays on the mind of potential investors.
Rio’s comparison drawn with Israel on the lack of investment is obviously far fetched. It needs to be remembered that while Israel may have similar problem of law and order and insurgency, a country like Israel also has a technologically advanced market economy. Further, despite its limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. More importantly, the United States is a major source of its economic and military aid. The bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict notwithstanding, there is a self propelling mechanism to the Israeli economy ensuring the continuing strong foreign (outside) investment. This is obviously lacking in Nagaland. Further if the State wants to make real forward movement to carry its Vision 2020 programme, it will require more than just cosmetic changes. Much more importance will have to be given to ‘real’ and meaningful structural reforms and improving the level of governance. Besides, the fundamentals of the local economy will have to improve a great deal along with the need to ensure a conducive security climate for convincing investors to drop anchor in the State.
One crucial difference between the presentation made by the Chief Minister’s of Nagaland and Meghalaya is that the latter while inviting industrialists at the Business Summit to invest also assured that “insurgency” was being dealt with firmly in the State. In the case of Nagaland, the question of coming down hard on the UGs does not arise because of the State governments’ own policy of ‘equi-closeness’ in dealing with the armed elements. It has to be admitted that the situation prevailing in Nagaland is a serious drawback when it comes to attracting business from outside. There is also a serious concern that illegal taxes will sap the entrepreneurial spirit of the local people and discourage them from investing in local ventures, which will slow down economic growth. Rio may have played the near perfect role of a CEO while hard selling the State to outside business. But closer home he will have to bring all his political skills into full play in order to ensure a semblance of security in the first place, which will allow investors to come in without fear and worry. This will require the Chief Minister to remain both tactful and at the same time firm to deal with the prevailing situation just as a CEO of a company will be called upon to take hard decisions and calculated risks in order to survive in a competitive global business.
