Manthan Topic: Sunrise States-Realizing the growth potential of North-East

Team Details

Rohit Hemrajani B.Tech (ME) IIT-Kanpur

Jaishri Rai M.Sc. (Maths) IIT-Kanpur

Randhir Kr. Shah BT-MT Dual (ME) IIT-Kanpur

Pranjal Verma B.Tech (BSBE) IIT-Kanpur

Smriti Pandey BT-MT Dual (EE) IIT-Kanpur

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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Present Scenario NE region has rich potential natural resources and enjoys highest per capita investment by the Centre, averaging INR 2,574.98, against the all-India average of INR 683.95 Central government ministries have been earmarking 10 percent of their annual budgets for northeastern states since 1998 Still NE states stand at the bottom in terms of economic growth and contribution to Indias GDP
Andaman & Nicobar Islands Mizoram Sikkim Arunachal Pradesh Manipur Nagaland Meghalaya Puducherry Tripura

GSDP
3,684 5,017 5,148 5,666 7,535 +212% 9,379 11,085 11,469 15,645
2

*Seven sister states are in the bottom 10 in terms of GSDP Citizens for Accountable Governance

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2. GROWTH POTENTIALS
2.1 P.A.C.T.

The growth opportunities in NE India can be divided mainly under four major heads
POWER
Abundant resource of coal, oil and gas for thermal power generation According to NEEPC, the region has the potential of about 58971MW hydro power Region has a reserve of 151.68 billion cubic feet natural gas, capable of generating 7500MW for 10 years

AGRICULTURE
Region holds enormous potential for development of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, & fisheries Commercial Crops: Rubber & Bamboo (imp. agricultural produces) can attract a lot of investment Horticulture: NEs comparative advantages in producing fruits, and vegetables can be tapped

CONNECTIVITY
Strengthening Air connectivity for compensating poor Roads & Railway networks Inland Waterway as an economical mode of transport for better connectivity an d enhancing tourism Expanding Telecommunication sector to access remote areas and villages

TOURISM
Rich natural beauty and exotic flora & fauna are invaluable resources for the development of eco-tourism Rich and unique culture of Nagaland, Land of Snakes can be promoted to attract foreign tourists Exploring new dimensions in hills, valleys and river islands 3 Citizens for Accountable Governance www.indiancag.org/manthan

2. GROWTH POTENTIALS
2.2 Power
India holds the key to the strategy of regional energy integration. NE, as the vital link to the South East Asian countries, could well be the significant region

Power
Hydro

Hence, development of power and energy through proper utilization of the resources is the need of the hour

Bamboo
India, the worlds largest producer of bamboo after China, grows about 80 million tones each year, more than half of it in the northeast Mizoram has large areas of Bamboo plantation. The state produces 3.2 million tones of bamboo, which can be trapped to generate electricity Joint Venture projects on energy Others harness
Karnataka Orissa

Thermal
The region is also blessed with 864.78 million tones of coal against 186 billion tones of reserves in the country. With this reserve in the NE Region, approximately 240 MW/day can be generated for a period of 100 years

The state of Arunachal Pradesh & Sikkim has picturesque landscape, amazing terrain and some of the swiftest rivulet system. It has a huge hydro power potential and could play a key role in cross-border energy trading with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh 50,328 Capacity Identified (in MW)

9%

NER

7% 6%
10% 20% 48%
15 680 1,574 1,784 2,196 2,394 4,286

Maharashtra

As

Man

Miz

Meg

Sik

AP

Madhya Pradesh

%share of states In Bamboo production Citizens for Accountable Governance

Region has potential of about 63167 MW hydro power i.e. almost 40% of the countrys total hydro potential

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2. GROWTH POTENTIALS
2.3 Agriculture
Major Challenges

Low share of land under agriculture

NER accounts for about 8 % of the total geographical area of the country but has only 3.4 % of the total land put under agricultural purposes

Irregular land holding pattern

Small and marginal farmers dominate the landholding pattern. More than 59 % of the farmers hold below 1 ha of land, and 80 % of them hold below 2 ha

Low use of modern technology

Fertilizer used per hectare during 200405 was negligible in the region, especially in Nagaland (1.5 kg), Sikkim (2.8 kg), Arunachal Pradesh (2.9 kg); compared to the national average of 104.5 kg/ha

Poor soil productivity

Poor soil condition, short sunshine hours, excessive humidity and frequent floods are the natural constraints in these states

+312%

23 24 26

%Irrigated Area
18 13 10 6

As

Miz

Tri

Sik

Megh

Nag

Aru pra

Growth Potentials Agri-businesses, such as food and bamboo processing, which engage small farmers under contract farming, need to be encouraged Nurseries and seed farms should be set up under public-private partnership (PPP) to develop HYV seeds for improving the productivity of the agricultural sector in the North-East Given its biodiversity and soil and climatic conditions, NER is congenial for horticulture and growing high-value crops. Given the strategic geographical position of the NER, wherein it shares 98 per cent of its boundaries (about 5,000 km) with neighbouring countries (Nepal, Bhutan, China, Myamar and Bagladesh), it holds immense potential to be a hub of trade with the East. NERs links with East and South-East Asian countries need to be revived in order to boost trade with them
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2. GROWTH POTENTIALS
2.4 Connectivity
The trade between India and ASEAN is mostly manufacturing products and is restrictive towards the agricultural products

Connectivity

In order to take the advantages of the growing trade alliances, effort should be on improving inter-state connectivity and market integration

Airways
Use of Air Trams/Cable Cars as a cheap and terrain suitable carrier to connect remote areas and villages New greenfield projects for establishment of airports at major capitals Transportation of heavy goods can be carried out conveniently through air transfer Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and TAR should be connected to Guwahati in addition to Bangkok Another international airport for the southern part of NER in Agartala can be prioritized

Railways
Connecting NE with TransAsian railways (TAR) enhancing trade activities and tourism in ASEAN countries Building strong railway network within the region especially in eastern most areas of Mizoram, Nagaland and Manipur to enhance tourism
2.434

Inland Waterways
Benefits of IWT in terms of low cost, high volume, low fuel expenditure and shortest land distance between North Eastern Region and rest of the country IWT can also be exploited to enhance tourism and increase revenue of NE states NE India has many large and small rivers providing facilities for water transport, especially in their plains sections IWT has a natural fit with the bulk commodities that the North Eastern Region imports and exports from rest of India River Brahmaputra as National Waterway Investment on waterways can provide alternative routes for movement of bulk cargo for Nagaland and Manipur

Telecommunications
Need for more involvement of private companies in strengthening of telecom sector in NER Presently, national roaming facility is not available for prepaid users from other states due to security reasons which has impacted tourism and business visitors thereby harming the interest of the States
1.318

No. of Broadband No. of Rural Exchanges

429 417 177 56 90 35 58
As Megha Miz

+376%

161 155 105 62 40 47 47 54

1
As

13

151
Tri

2
Miz

1
Mani

Aru Pra Nag

Tri Mani Aru Nag Sik 6 Pra

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2. GROWTH POTENTIALS
2.5 Tourism
Tourism can play a key player as a revenue generator for NE states and as well for India To enhance tourism, major areas that need to be addressed are: Building up of National Parks, Biosphere Reserves, Research Institutes in states like Nagaland (Land of Snakes) Standardization of all-weather paved roads Building up of Cultural Heritage Monuments, Museums and Parks
+12%

Promotion of River rafting, Para-sailing and other activities to attract foreign and domestic tourists Exploration of new hill spots like Jatinga Building of National Water Sports Academy to encourage sports Encouraging Golf-Tourism

Tourist Influx in NER

5.872.902 6.081.682 5.396.660 4.904.342 4.810.016

Infrastructure

Adventure Sports

3.756.720 3.019.829

2004- 2005- 2006- 2007- 2008- 2009- 201005 06 07 08 09 10 11

Connectivity

Regional
Promotion of Tea-Tourism Promotion and development of Majuli island-largest island in world Promotion of regional festivals-Bihu, Bathou, Cheraw, etc. 7 www.indiancag.org/manthan

Implementing new greenfield airport projects at capital cities Making a strong network of cable cars in remote and hilly areas Speed up the construction of Great ASEANHighway-I network Citizens for Accountable Governance

2. GROWTH POTENTIALS
2.6 Summary: Potentials of NE States Arunachal Pradesh Manipur
Imphal valley-home to largest freshwater lake in North-East India and Sendra island can attract foreign and domestic tourists With an estimate of 50,000 MW the state ranks first in the country in terms of hydroelectric power potential

Mizoram
Has a potential of generating 4,500 MW but produces only 13.5 MW currently which is only 0.60 per cent of the total potential

Meghalaya
With its vast coal reserve, is extremely rich in thermal power potential.

North-East States

Tripura
Highest number of primate species found in any Indian state. Promotion of Biosphere reserves

Sikkim
Geographically diverse due to its location. Has the only open land border b/w India & China, can play as middle-man in cross border trade

Nagaland Assam
Highest producer of tea in India. Encourage tea trade with neighboring countries Also known as Land of Snakes. Building of National Medicinal Research Center and Snake Research Institute

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3. IMPACT
Development of North-East States depend heavily on strengthening of four major heads-P.A.C.T. i.e. Power, Agriculture, Connectivity and Tourism Boosting up one sector automatically accelerates the growth of other as they are inter-linked in some way or the other and will surely be key players in taking NE at the top in terms of revenue generation

Infrastructure

Power + Connectivity

Employment

Better Education,Health & Standard of Living

ECONOMIC GROWTH

Agriculture

Increase in economic growth will open the doors for millions of unemployed skilled youth and would also bring down the number of drop-outs in NER, where the literacy rate is quite high In about 10 years, the growth rate of NER is expected to double if P.A.C.T. is implemented
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4. MAJOR CHALLENGES

Delay in implementation of policies

Lack of modern technologies to overcome geographical constraints

National security

Ethnic clashes leading to political instabilities

Irregular landholding patterns

Being a politically sensitive region, it is also necessary for any development agency to look for local partnerships to assess and mitigate political risks to any development intervention
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5. REFERENCE
Human Development Report of North-East States-2011, Ministry of Development of NorthEast Region, Govt. of India Report of the Task Force on Connectivity and Promotion of Trade & Investment in NE States, Planning Commission-2006, Govt. of India Report of the working group on Agricultural development in Eastern & North-Eastern India, Planning Commission-2001, Govt. of India Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India Agricultural and Rural Development in North-Eastern India: The Role of NABARD , K.G. Karmakar, ASCI Journal of Management 37(2): 89108, Copyright 2008 Administrative Staff College of India Directorate of Economic and Statistics of respective State Governments, Economic survey of Assam2011-12, Economic review of Tripura 2010-11, Economic survey Manipur 2010-11, Economic survey Manipur 2010-11 and 2011-12, Directorate of Tourism Government of Meghalaya, Statistical abstract of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim statistical profile 2011-12, Statistical Handbook of Nagaland 2011 (Central Statistical Organization (CSO) 2013, available on NEDFi Data Bank) Indias North-East Diversifying Growth Opportunities (PWC 2013)

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