I am happy to have this opportunity to present the opportunities for investment in Nagaland. Coming to the issue of investment in the region, I am compelled to express the common concern of the North East States that despite sustained efforts of the DoNER Ministry and the ICC, and the ‘Investor Meets’ held as far away as Thailand, Vietnam and even New York, very little tangible investment has taken place in the region, especially in Nagaland. The question that needs to be asked, therefore, is ‘What is preventing the inflow of investment into the region?’
5. It is possible that images of violence and insurgency in the region might have had a negative impact in the minds of the investors. However, it needs to be clarified in the first place that ‘political movements’ or ‘insurgency movements’ as they are often referred to, are not prevalent in all the States. In fact, I would even venture to say that many of the States in the region are more peaceful than most States in other parts of the country. Even in States where such political movements exist, peace processes have been set into motion, as in the case of Nagaland, where life is as normal as it could be anywhere else. In fact, the people of the region are peace loving and known for their hospitality.
6. In the backdrop of India’s growing status as a global economic power, it is time for all of us to think of how the North East region, with all its unique potentials, can contribute to India’s growing economic status in the global community. The region has the potential of being a major tourist attraction because of its scenic beauty, exotic flora and fauna, breathtaking landscape and vibrant cultures. In fact, Nagaland was awarded ‘India’s Most Picturesque Destination of the year 2008’ at the 11th Today’s Travellers Platinum Awards. Nagaland is a ‘Land of Festivals’, with various tribal festivals being celebrated throughout the year. Based on this, the Hornbill Festival, also known as the ‘Festival of Festivals’, is an annual extravaganza, organized by the State Government to promote tourism in the State. Observed from the 1st to the 7th of December every year at Kisama Naga Heritage Village, it showcases the rich cultural heritage of the Naga tribes under a single roof. In recent years, the festival has become international with the participation of cultural troupes from Japan, Korea, Thailand and Myanmar.
7. The New Year gift of the Central Government to do away with the ‘Protected Area Permit’ system for the three North Eastern States of Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram will surely provide a much-needed impetus to the tourism industry. I invite all of you to visit our beautiful State and assess the potentials of investment in the hospitality sector. Nagas are by nature hospitable, and their natural flair has opened opportunities for our young people to find employment in all the major hotel chains across India. Side by side, a large number of Naga youth trained in health and beauty therapy are finding employment in luxury establishments across the country. I believe, it is now time for investors to consider opening hotels in Nagaland, for it has much scope and potential with the increasing interest and inflow of tourists into the State.
8. In the agriculture and allied sectors, the State offers immense potential for development of a host of industries. Almost all the agro-horticultural produce in the State are grown ‘chemical free’ naturally. To make Nagaland a totally organic State, the State Government has adopted the “Nagaland State Policy for Organic Cultivation”. The hill section of the State has already been declared an organic zone. This offers huge potential in the food processing sector. An Agro and Food Processing Special economic Zone (SEZ) developed by the Nagaland Industrial Development Corporation (NIDC) has already been notified. Spread over 50 hectares of land in the outskirts of Dimapur, plots are available for allotment. The SEZ offers several incentives such as duty free imports, excise duty exemption, tax holiday for 15 years etc.
9. Nagaland is also rich in bio resources, especially of floral origin, medicinal plants and other rare species of wild life. We also have the distinction of having three of our plants in the Guinness Book of Records, namely – the hottest chilly, the tallest rice and the tallest rhododendron. Countless medicinal and aromatic plants are found in abundance. Patchouli, Lemon Grass, Aloe Vera, Geranium, Citronella etc. are being successfully cultivated. Ginseng, a valuable medicinal herb, is also indigenous to Nagaland. A Bio-Research Mission has been launched to survey, identify, document, inventorize and develop such rare and exotic medicinal and aromatic plants and herbs.
10. Floriculture is another emerging business enterprise in the State. Our flower production has crossed 1.6 million stems of high quality flowers such as anthurium, roses, carnation and lilium. Higher production levels are easily attainable. The development of bamboo, another of Nagland’s rich resource, is taking off at a very fast rate. With the setting up of the Nagaland Bamboo Resource Centre, various technologies for wood substitution in the forms of construction, other composite materials, charcoal and numerous other products are being developed. Great opportunities are emerging in this sector, especially in the backdrop of global warming and climate change. We hope to attain bamboo cultivation of 50,000 hectares by 2012.
11. The State also has a wide range of various species of bees such as rock bees, Apis cerena bees and the Trigona/Melipona (Stingless) bees that are found both in the wild as well as reared in homestead hives. The Government has established the Nagaland Beekeeping and Honey Mission with the focus of drawing up a roadmap for promotion and development of honey. We have set targets of achieving honey production of 5000 MT by 2012 and 20,000 MT by 2020.
12. Our rich mineral resources still lie untapped. Exploration and exploitation of oil has just begun; while mountains of chemical grade limestone, huge reserves of coal, marble and decorative stones, along with the magnetite of nickel-cobalt-chromium, await commercial exploitation.
13. Poor infrastructure, subsistence economy, social turmoil, insurgency and an environment of fear psychosis had engulfed our people for several decades. Despite these constraints, our youth have stood out as shining examples of success whenever windows of opportunity have been opened to them. In the face of all these challenges, our small population of about 2 million people has produced Olympian athletes, Chief Justices of High Courts, Judges of Supreme Court, recipients of the highest gallantry awards, excellent bureaucrats, Governors of States, musicians, artists, professionals and entrepreneurs of international standards, and many more. These go to show that Nagas can be as competent as anyone, given the same infrastructure, facilities and opportunities. With the fast spreading telecommunication network and information superhighway erasing almost all physical boundaries, and highly literate youth with a progressive outlook, fluent in English and IT savvy, Nagaland has much to offer.
14. Nagaland, with its distinct indigenous populace has music and dance firmly rooted into our social framework, which is reflected in the numerous festivals celebrated throughout the year. Music is an integral part of our life. The State Government has conceived the Music Task Force as a conduit for the promotion of ‘Music as an industry’ with the immense talent pool of prolific musicians amongst the youth in the State as the target group. There is a paradigm shift from “music as a hobby” to “music as a profession”. The initiative of the Music Task Force in the development of this industry require added participative support through creative Public Private Partnerships (PPP) to open up viable avenues for the vast pool of talent to develop music as their profession.
15. In the healthcare sector, Nagaland still lacks basic infrastructure as well as manpower. The absence of adequate diagnostic and treatment facilities in the State compels thousands of patients to seek medical treatment both outside the State and the region, resulting in a huge capital outflow. There are many others who cannot afford such referrals. We invite the industry to consider setting up modern multi-specialty hospitals in the State with the latest facilities that will not only benefit the populace, but also attract patients from other parts of the country and abroad. Nagaland’s ideal climatic conditions and pollution free environment by themselves are therapeutic. In addition to healthcare, Engineering, Medical, Management and other technical institutions too have potential, including academies for promotion of music and the arts.
16. The key to development of the North East Region has to be ‘Infrastructure led growth’. But the pace of development of infrastructure such as road connectivity, rail, air link and telecommunication in the region has been far from satisfactory. While there is much hype on the huge outlays for road constructions in the North East region, the pace of progress has been too slow.
17. The North East Industrial and Investment Policy 2007, is a major policy initiative. However, much more has to be done to ensure prompt and transparent delivery of the incentives. If the North East is to become the gateway to South East Asia and China, as envisaged in the ‘Look East Policy’, the multiple clearances required from various Ministries for projects in the North Eastern Region must be brought under a ‘Single Window’ clearance mechanism for fast track clearances of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Externally Aided Projects, specifically for the region. In fact, I would suggest setting up of ‘Special North East Desks’ in the key Ministries such as Industries, Food Processing, Tourism etc.
18. The Government of Nagaland is committed to facilitate rapid and sustained industrial development in the State through enhanced investment; an investor-friendly environment, provision of infrastructure and institutional support, attractive incentive packages and optimum utilization of existing resources in order to gainfully exploit emerging opportunities in the national and international markets.
19. I sincerely hope that this convention will produce tangible outcomes that will mutually benefit the people of the North Eastern Region as well as the trade and industry, and establish new and enduring partnerships in economic progress and development.
I look forward to meeting you in Nagaland.
5. It is possible that images of violence and insurgency in the region might have had a negative impact in the minds of the investors. However, it needs to be clarified in the first place that ‘political movements’ or ‘insurgency movements’ as they are often referred to, are not prevalent in all the States. In fact, I would even venture to say that many of the States in the region are more peaceful than most States in other parts of the country. Even in States where such political movements exist, peace processes have been set into motion, as in the case of Nagaland, where life is as normal as it could be anywhere else. In fact, the people of the region are peace loving and known for their hospitality.
6. In the backdrop of India’s growing status as a global economic power, it is time for all of us to think of how the North East region, with all its unique potentials, can contribute to India’s growing economic status in the global community. The region has the potential of being a major tourist attraction because of its scenic beauty, exotic flora and fauna, breathtaking landscape and vibrant cultures. In fact, Nagaland was awarded ‘India’s Most Picturesque Destination of the year 2008’ at the 11th Today’s Travellers Platinum Awards. Nagaland is a ‘Land of Festivals’, with various tribal festivals being celebrated throughout the year. Based on this, the Hornbill Festival, also known as the ‘Festival of Festivals’, is an annual extravaganza, organized by the State Government to promote tourism in the State. Observed from the 1st to the 7th of December every year at Kisama Naga Heritage Village, it showcases the rich cultural heritage of the Naga tribes under a single roof. In recent years, the festival has become international with the participation of cultural troupes from Japan, Korea, Thailand and Myanmar.
7. The New Year gift of the Central Government to do away with the ‘Protected Area Permit’ system for the three North Eastern States of Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram will surely provide a much-needed impetus to the tourism industry. I invite all of you to visit our beautiful State and assess the potentials of investment in the hospitality sector. Nagas are by nature hospitable, and their natural flair has opened opportunities for our young people to find employment in all the major hotel chains across India. Side by side, a large number of Naga youth trained in health and beauty therapy are finding employment in luxury establishments across the country. I believe, it is now time for investors to consider opening hotels in Nagaland, for it has much scope and potential with the increasing interest and inflow of tourists into the State.
8. In the agriculture and allied sectors, the State offers immense potential for development of a host of industries. Almost all the agro-horticultural produce in the State are grown ‘chemical free’ naturally. To make Nagaland a totally organic State, the State Government has adopted the “Nagaland State Policy for Organic Cultivation”. The hill section of the State has already been declared an organic zone. This offers huge potential in the food processing sector. An Agro and Food Processing Special economic Zone (SEZ) developed by the Nagaland Industrial Development Corporation (NIDC) has already been notified. Spread over 50 hectares of land in the outskirts of Dimapur, plots are available for allotment. The SEZ offers several incentives such as duty free imports, excise duty exemption, tax holiday for 15 years etc.
9. Nagaland is also rich in bio resources, especially of floral origin, medicinal plants and other rare species of wild life. We also have the distinction of having three of our plants in the Guinness Book of Records, namely – the hottest chilly, the tallest rice and the tallest rhododendron. Countless medicinal and aromatic plants are found in abundance. Patchouli, Lemon Grass, Aloe Vera, Geranium, Citronella etc. are being successfully cultivated. Ginseng, a valuable medicinal herb, is also indigenous to Nagaland. A Bio-Research Mission has been launched to survey, identify, document, inventorize and develop such rare and exotic medicinal and aromatic plants and herbs.
10. Floriculture is another emerging business enterprise in the State. Our flower production has crossed 1.6 million stems of high quality flowers such as anthurium, roses, carnation and lilium. Higher production levels are easily attainable. The development of bamboo, another of Nagland’s rich resource, is taking off at a very fast rate. With the setting up of the Nagaland Bamboo Resource Centre, various technologies for wood substitution in the forms of construction, other composite materials, charcoal and numerous other products are being developed. Great opportunities are emerging in this sector, especially in the backdrop of global warming and climate change. We hope to attain bamboo cultivation of 50,000 hectares by 2012.
11. The State also has a wide range of various species of bees such as rock bees, Apis cerena bees and the Trigona/Melipona (Stingless) bees that are found both in the wild as well as reared in homestead hives. The Government has established the Nagaland Beekeeping and Honey Mission with the focus of drawing up a roadmap for promotion and development of honey. We have set targets of achieving honey production of 5000 MT by 2012 and 20,000 MT by 2020.
12. Our rich mineral resources still lie untapped. Exploration and exploitation of oil has just begun; while mountains of chemical grade limestone, huge reserves of coal, marble and decorative stones, along with the magnetite of nickel-cobalt-chromium, await commercial exploitation.
13. Poor infrastructure, subsistence economy, social turmoil, insurgency and an environment of fear psychosis had engulfed our people for several decades. Despite these constraints, our youth have stood out as shining examples of success whenever windows of opportunity have been opened to them. In the face of all these challenges, our small population of about 2 million people has produced Olympian athletes, Chief Justices of High Courts, Judges of Supreme Court, recipients of the highest gallantry awards, excellent bureaucrats, Governors of States, musicians, artists, professionals and entrepreneurs of international standards, and many more. These go to show that Nagas can be as competent as anyone, given the same infrastructure, facilities and opportunities. With the fast spreading telecommunication network and information superhighway erasing almost all physical boundaries, and highly literate youth with a progressive outlook, fluent in English and IT savvy, Nagaland has much to offer.
14. Nagaland, with its distinct indigenous populace has music and dance firmly rooted into our social framework, which is reflected in the numerous festivals celebrated throughout the year. Music is an integral part of our life. The State Government has conceived the Music Task Force as a conduit for the promotion of ‘Music as an industry’ with the immense talent pool of prolific musicians amongst the youth in the State as the target group. There is a paradigm shift from “music as a hobby” to “music as a profession”. The initiative of the Music Task Force in the development of this industry require added participative support through creative Public Private Partnerships (PPP) to open up viable avenues for the vast pool of talent to develop music as their profession.
15. In the healthcare sector, Nagaland still lacks basic infrastructure as well as manpower. The absence of adequate diagnostic and treatment facilities in the State compels thousands of patients to seek medical treatment both outside the State and the region, resulting in a huge capital outflow. There are many others who cannot afford such referrals. We invite the industry to consider setting up modern multi-specialty hospitals in the State with the latest facilities that will not only benefit the populace, but also attract patients from other parts of the country and abroad. Nagaland’s ideal climatic conditions and pollution free environment by themselves are therapeutic. In addition to healthcare, Engineering, Medical, Management and other technical institutions too have potential, including academies for promotion of music and the arts.
16. The key to development of the North East Region has to be ‘Infrastructure led growth’. But the pace of development of infrastructure such as road connectivity, rail, air link and telecommunication in the region has been far from satisfactory. While there is much hype on the huge outlays for road constructions in the North East region, the pace of progress has been too slow.
17. The North East Industrial and Investment Policy 2007, is a major policy initiative. However, much more has to be done to ensure prompt and transparent delivery of the incentives. If the North East is to become the gateway to South East Asia and China, as envisaged in the ‘Look East Policy’, the multiple clearances required from various Ministries for projects in the North Eastern Region must be brought under a ‘Single Window’ clearance mechanism for fast track clearances of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Externally Aided Projects, specifically for the region. In fact, I would suggest setting up of ‘Special North East Desks’ in the key Ministries such as Industries, Food Processing, Tourism etc.
18. The Government of Nagaland is committed to facilitate rapid and sustained industrial development in the State through enhanced investment; an investor-friendly environment, provision of infrastructure and institutional support, attractive incentive packages and optimum utilization of existing resources in order to gainfully exploit emerging opportunities in the national and international markets.
19. I sincerely hope that this convention will produce tangible outcomes that will mutually benefit the people of the North Eastern Region as well as the trade and industry, and establish new and enduring partnerships in economic progress and development.
I look forward to meeting you in Nagaland.
