realizing the growth potential of north-east

7/29/2019 realizing the growth potential of north-east

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Stand Up For The North East

Team Members:

SouradipGhosh

SamarthMahajan

NagojiSrichandana

NilanjanaBhattacharya

JagdishChelani

SUBMISSION FOR MANTHAN 2013

THE SUNRISE STATESRealizing the growth potential of North-East


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Better

Governance

Improved

Infrastructure

Influx of

Industry

Unbiased andincreased

mediaexposure

Rise ofthe NEStates

Guiding Principle:

Money and power are able to filter out the news fit to print- Manufacturing Consent , Herman and Noam Chomsky

Our Approach:

1. Generation of a positive image for the Northeast

2. Addressing insurgency and political strife in the region.

3. Developing infrastructure for internal connectivity, improving mobility

4. Encouragement of strategic investment by industries by state agencies

Sunrise States: Problem Definition and Approach

OurSolution: The I4NE Model

Stand up for the North East

1. Institutions: Focus on government offices

2. Infrastructure: Road network, improvement in land acquisition procedure

3. Industry: Focus on tourism, handicrafts and indigenous drugs

4. Information: Focus on the Northeast in movies, documentaries and

television, creating an unbiased image

I4NE


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Problems of the East West Corridor

Multiple delays due to problems like landacquisition, utility shifting, statutory clearanceand insurgency

201 out of 232 km that remain untouchedbelongs to West Bengal, primarily due to landacquisition issues

Outdated land acquisition law (1894)

No road network connecting capitals and major

border cities of the Northeastern stateshampering industrial influx

Inefficient ADCs due to lack of

smooth cash flow from State Govt.

Lack of planning in functions-

Administrative failure of ADCs

Lacunae in representation of localcommunities in ADCs

Emergence of parallel councils due todemographic shift

Concentration of social power

Duplication of activities between ADCand State Government leading toconfusion and lack of accountability

Social impact of the Armed ForcesSpecial Protection Act (AFSPA)

Unrest over violation of Human Rights

Heightened fear of violence

Lack of understanding about Northeast amongreporters and sparse representation among thenational media

Limited opportunities to take up massmedia/journalism related courses in NE

Lack of information regarding the culture and lifeof the Northeast

On TV: North East India Round Up is shown onDD National with timings: Sunday 7:30 am,Monday 4:00 am poor TRPs

87% working professionals can't name all thestates of North East India while 91% have no

knowledge about Northeast Industrial Policy

Per capita GDP in India: INR 61,564

Per capita income in the Northeast: INR48154

The Northeast region attracts 0.3% ofinternational tourists who visit India and0.9% of domestic tourist numbers.

Major sources of income in Northeast: 70%

depend on cultivation for sustenance.Average for rest of the country is 52%

Lack of mechanisation, fertilisers - Absenceof capital investment

Extraction of herbs from wild bypharmaceutical industries- No

systematic cultivation.

Species wiped out and intellectual

theft.

Industry Information

InfrastructureInstitutions

Issues


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Setting up Guiding Committee for

mediation between State Govt. and

ADCs and monitoring of ADCs

Segregation of DRDA

and ADC activities

Introduction of Panchayati RajInstitutions to model villages,

empowering masses

Re-identifying autonomous regions and restructuring of governing bodies every 20 years based on demographic shift.

Cultural training and sensitization of nominated members of Guiding Committee and ADCs

ADC

Autonomous

District

Councils

DRDA

District Rural

Development

Agency

PRI

Panchayati

RajInstitutions

Institution: Revamping the Sixth Schedule


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Composition of Guiding Committee

1. Governor is ex-officio chairperson

2. 1 member per 20 ADC members

3. Nominated by Governor

4. State Service Officers, Eminent members of society, Ex-servicemen in ratio 2:2:1

Functions

1.Convergence of states rural development policies and ADC

initiatives2. To develop a reporting mechanism to evaluate ADCs

3. To ensure proper fund division between DRDA and ADC

Composition of new ADCs

1. 1 ADC member from each block divided on the basis ofpopulation

2. 1 ADC member per 20,000 people

3. About 4000 ADC members needed in the 7 states

IMPACT: Professional governance directed towards inclusive and sustainable development

reducing public discontent, phasing out of AFSPA

Financial Model(Guiding Committee/state/year)

Salaries: Rs. (25*60000*12) = Rs. 1.8 crore

Set Up Cost (includes establishment cost of office

and communication channels) = Rs. 2 crore

Maintenance Cost (includes staff and generalamenities expenses) = Rs. 1 crore

Annual cost ~ Rs. 5 crores

To be borne by State Government

Risks

Corruption due to power being vested in

large no. of people

Opposition from existing governance bodies

to change

Back Up Plans

Eminent members from the society inGuiding Committee to ensure accountability

of ADCs and PRIs to stand as example for

state as well

Centre should push choices that are focused

towards development rather than vested

political interests


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ImpactInstead of taking the average of last three years market prices, the farmer decides the value of his own

land

Freedom to choose price or continue farming

Continued earning from land in form of livelihood compensation

Elimination of delays due to land acquisition issues

Infrastructure : CFS Model for Land Acquisition

Transfer price determined by a land auction, not at states discretionCNo coercion but consent

Displaced farmer can choose to be paid in cash or landF

No force but friendship

Livelihood Compensation per year = Crop productivity of land X Area ofland holding X Time

S

Not only sympathy but support

Algorithm for transfer of land from owner to the state

Risks

Farmers set the true value of land as higher than

the cap value set by the state.

Refuse to relocate.

Back Up Plan

In cases where PPP projects are involved or acquisition is taking place

for private companies, the proposal requires the consent of no less

than 70 per cent and 80 per cent respectively (in both cases) of those

whose land is sought to be acquired.


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Seven Sisters Corridor to link all seven NE state capitals and the border points with Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar

A. The Northern Fork

Beyond Guwahati (Assam), East-West Corridor can be extended to Nagaon (Assam) from where the NH 37 and NH 52A can connect to

Arunachal Pradeshs capital, Itanagar, and thereon to the planned Trans-Arunachal Highway onto Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh) which is the

border point with Bhutan.

B. The Southern Fork

The south-west fork can connect Tripuras capital Agartala through NH 44 and thereon to Akhaura (Tripura) which is the Ashuganj Portborder point withBangladesh, and to Sabroom (Tripura) which is the Chittagong Port border point with Bangladesh. The south-west fork

can connect Mizorams capital Aizawl, and further fork out connecting Zawkhathar (Mizoram) border point with Myanmar in the east and

Lawngtlai (Mizoram) where the Kaladan multimodal project begins.

C. The Eastern Fork

EW Corridor that ends in Silchar (Assam) can be developed to connect to Manipurs capital Imphal and thereon to Moreh (Manipur) which is

the Friendship Road border point with Myanmar. Similarly, up north, NH 36 can be developed to connect Nagalands capital Kohima, and

thereon to Avakhung (Nagaland) which is being developed as a border point with Myanmar.

D. The Western Fork

The NH 40 from Guwahati (Assam) can be developed to

include Shillong, and thereon to Dawki (Meghalaya)

which is already being developed as an Integrated Check

Point for the Sylhet border point with Bangladesh. The

EW corridor must be extended to include Dhubri (Assam)

where two border points with Bangladesh, Mankachar

and Golakganj, are being developed by Government of

Assam as border points with Bangladesh.

Benefits:

New trade routes open which can be extended to

become cross border trade links

Spur local development through small scale industries

and local entrepreneurs

Influx of industry due to better connectivity which has

been a problem in the past when companies like TCS,Reliance have shown willingness to set up campus in NE


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The Indian central government has a number of schemes under which funding is available for the development of the North East.Central Government Plans Outlays(Rs. Crores)

MDoNER Budget 2011-12 1,550

Total Central Grant & Aid 2010-11 13,000

Special Central Assistance (All special category states) - 2011-12 8,000

Annual Total 22,550

Sharing the cost between Government, PPPs (e.g.. The Infrastructure Leasing and Financing Services (IL&FS) and Tata

Group that have worked in the region), Private enterprises (e.g.. Future Groups announcement to build a food park in Bhagalpur and

Mahindra funded World City in Jaipur) and multilateral agencies (e.g.. Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded North Eastern States Roads

(NESR) Investment Programme) with a ratio of 60%, 20%, 10% and 10% respectively.Share of the government divided between the Centre and the State (90:10 ratio)

Financial Impact of the SSC:Official trade between Tripura and Bangladesh, through the border point of Akhaura, has grown from Rs. 40 Crores ($9 million) in

2006-07 to Rs. 75 Crores ($ 17 million) in 2010-11

Expected to touch Rs. 100 Crores ($ 22 million) by 2011-12

Informal trade of the border point of Moreh (Manipur) with Myanmar is close to Rs. 2000 Crores ($447 million).

By connecting all the 7 border points with Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan to the state capital and the NE region at large, the SSC can

replicate the same trade value at all points.

The SSC infrastructure will spur economic activity along the corridor, outside of the state capitals in Tier 3 or Tier 4 towns, ushering in

small and medium enterprises in the region.

The SSC will help create opportunities in supporting businesses even as the corridor is being built such as construction, hotels, real

estate, auto services, telecom, tech, financial services, petrol pumps, housing, consumer

products, etc.

Funding the Corridor: The table illustrates the cost of different parts of the corridor on the basis of comparison listed by the side.

Item Cost (Rs Crores) Comparative Basis

Project Preparation 440 Allocation for Project Development for DMIC

Roads 3,680 Allocation for Special Accelerated Road

Development Program-NE

Total 4120


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Looking East :A Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India initiative to generate

revenue from tourism

WHY?

ECOTOURISM

One of the worlds biodiversity hotspots

66% land is forest cover

Major river routes (Brahmaputra, Barak and their tributaries has a combined navigable length of around 1,000 km.

CULTURAL TOURISM

200 out of 653 Indian tribes reside in NER, 1/3rd of Indias tribal population

Ethnic heritage vastly different from mainland India unexplored cultural dimensions like festivals, art forms and cuisine offer novel

avenues for revenue generation

Indias bamboo market expected to grow to 5.5 billion USD by 2015, the UNs Industrial Development Organisation estimates the

NEs bamboo production to grow up to 1.25 billion USD in the same period. Potential trade opportunities for bamboo products

(handicrafts)

22 per cent of the total handicraft artisans in India are from the NER availability of skilled labour.

PROPOSALS:

ECO TOURISM

Interaction with wildlife Show and Tell, Elephant Rides, Night Safaris

Forests and Mountains Setting up campsites, Development of hiking and trekking trails

Rivers and waterfalls River tourism companies for river cruises and rafting

Funds to the tune of INR 5 crore per wildlife sanctuary in addition to MoEF funds guaranteed under Wildlife (Sanctuaries) Act, 1972

CULTURAL TOURISM

Setting up permanent cultural centres, in New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai during Stage I

Expand to Tier II cities like Chandigarh, Bangalore, Pune etc. Dedicated galleries, with purchasable handicraft, centralized tour packages; from each state

Restaurant serving NE cuisine and spices

Countrywide celebration of signature festivals of North-Eastern states at cultural centres Eg. Bihu, Losar, Nongkrem etc. Special

centralised tourist packages during festivals

Initial investment of INR 3-5 crore at each centre. Maintenance costs incurred will be addressed by revenues generated at centres

RISKS:

Cultural Centres do not manage to break even and generate profits. However, the cultural centres seek to popularise tourism to the

Northeast. Thus, revenues earned by other stakeholders such as railways, airlines, tourism agencies and small businesses etc. will add to

state GDP.


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SOLUTIONS:

Guaranteed employment to a certain proportion of local

residents depending on type of skills

Patents will guarantee royalty to local communities

Tax benefits specifically to the healthcare sector

Extend research activities to medical research in other regions in

India

RISKS:

Opposition to setting up of pharmaceutical industry

Opposition from other industry sectors to tax benefits to

pharmaceuticals

Lack of adequate manpower and funds for research

PROPOSALS:

RESEARCH

Initiating Drug based research at Regional Medical Research Centre, Dibrugarh as opposed to current disease based research

Setting up Patent Offices in coordination with the Autonomous District Councils to issue patents for indigenous medicinal

species to tribal communities State departments of Environment and Forestry distribute written references for ex-situ cultivation of medicinal herbs

Reference: "Krishi Darshan, Prasar Bharti

Extending tax benefits to the pharmaceutical industry under the North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy 2007.

MANUFACTURING

Incentive to manufacturing by pharmaceuticals: Income tax exemption for five years for the new industrial units set up in the

region (NEIIPP, 2007)

Land acquisition of wastelands for development of manufacturing sites through the CFS principle explained in Slide No. 5

Approval of drugs sourced from medicinal herbs in the Northeast by the Medical Council of India

WHY?

Home to huge variety of medicinal herbs

Wide demand from pharmaceutical companies

Need to overcome current domination of the drug market by foreign

pharmaceutical companies Revenue in the Indian medicine market is around US$19.22 billion by 2012.

Availability of educated labour employable in industry

Herb Cure for

Shatavari (Tropical): Arthritis

Dadmardan(Tropical): Skin ointment

Manjistha(Temperate): Joint pain

Chiraita (Alpine): Malaria

Tagar (Temperate): Cardiac trouble

Lassun (daily use): Respiratory, joint pain

Industry - A New Pharmaceutical Powerhouse: Developing Ethno medicine


11/12

Risks:

Insufficient funds collectedFilming and editing delays

INFORMATION

Crowdfunded documentaries

56.3% wants government to run mass awareness drive nationwide to educate people on NE

Setting up crowdfunding platform initiated by Ministry of Tourism

Budget ~ 2 crores for 4 episode documentary (Comparison with BBC/Discovery Channel Documentary Budgets)

Content: History, festivals, culture, wildlife, nature, insurgency, personal success stories

Collaboration with Discovery/BBC/National Geographic for television

Special screening at educational institutions

Back Ups:

Sponsorship from NFDC

Ministry backed fast tracking of sanctions and security approvals

Media/Journalism Schools

To initiate indigenous reporting of the communities, the locals need to become well versed in the field of media and journalism

Can be diploma level courses instead of being degree level courses in state universities

Risks:

Locals dont show interest in enrolling at the colleges

Scarce and biased reporting due to economic

indifference

Back Ups:

Target students from all over the country

Economic policies to improve infrastructure, trade and industry

North East India on TV

Shift DD National show timings to evening TV slots - 5 pm to 9 pm , ensuring bigger audience

Incentive scheme, in form of advertisement subsidy, for news channels which decide to air programs on NE India

Risks:

TV shows on NE may eat up TRP of popular shows

The incentive scheme may be a burden on the already

abysmal Prasar Bharti exchequer.

Back Ups:

Replace the program which has the lowest TRP in the slot

Investment from tourism sites and companies like yatra.com,

cleartrip.com, BBC etc.


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Indias North East: Diversifying Growth Opportunities, Indian Chamber of Commerce and PricewaterHouse Coopers

North East Council Initiatives for balanced development of Northeastern region, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region

North Eastern Region, Vision 2020 Ministry for Development of the North Eastern Region and North Eastern Council

Medicinal Plants Activities For Change In The Socio-economic Status In Rural Areas Of North East India, Rama Shankar and

M.S.Rawat*Regional Research institute for Ayurveda (CCRAS)

India's lame 'Look East' policy hitting trade: Bower - The New Indian Express (August 19, 2013)

To look East, India must transform its Northeast first - DNA India (June 19, 2013)

Linking Indias Northeast with Southeast Asia: Significance of Internal Connectivity & Backward Integration - Panchali Saikia

Conflict in Northeast India: Issues, Causes and Concern - Philipp Heimerdinger & Tshering Chonzom

A Winning Strategy for Indias North-East - Akshay Mathur (October, 2011)

The Land Acquisition Bill: A Critique and a Proposal - Maitreesh Ghatak, London School of Economics and Parikshit Ghosh, Delhi

School of Economics (September, 2011

Linking Indias Northeast with Southeast Asia: Significance of Internal Connectivity & Backward Integration - Panchali Saikia What Threatens Peace in Indias Northeast? - The New York Times (March 15, 2012)

Seeking solutions in India's Northeast - Anna Nath, OneWorld South Asia (April 17, 2010)

Counter-Insurgency Best Practices: Applicability to Northeast India - Namrata Goswami (December 6, 2012)

External influences on the Northeast insurgency - Anand Kumar London School of Economics and Parikshit Ghosh, Delhi School of

Economics (September, 2011)

What Threatens Peace in Indias Northeast? - The New York Times (March 15, 2012)

Seeking solutions in India's Northeast - Anna Nath, OneWorld South Asia (April 17, 2010)

Counter-Insurgency Best Practices: Applicability to Northeast India - Namrata Goswami (December 6, 2012)

External influences on the Northeast Insurgency - Anand Kumar

North East India: Status of Governance in the Sixth Schedule Areas - Social Issues India

Indian Council of Medical Research: http://www.icmr.nic.in/

Lonely Planet: www.lonelyplanet.com

The Incredible !ndia of the Northeast: Paradise Unexplored, Margherita Stancati, India RealTime, Blog The Wall Street Journal

(September 26, 2012)

REFERENCES
http://www.icmr.nic.in/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/http://www.icmr.nic.in/http://www.icmr.nic.in/

realizing the growth potential of north-east

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