In Nagaland, the dependence on the State Government as an employment provider has been more a rule than an exception with almost the entire populace dependent on Government salary earners.
The ratio of Government employees to population is among the highest in Nagaland and the capacity of the Government has been stretched to the limit.
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- Shri Neiphiu Rio |
The situation could only be changed with gainful and meaningful engagement of the local youth in self-employed trades and activities. In fact, development and growth of entrepreneurship would not only translate into economic growth and creation of income, it would also see the emergence of a new generation of entrepreneurs.
So in an effort to generate self-employment avenues, the State Government declared 2010-11 as the "Year of the Entrepreneur”.
Launched on April 30, 2010 at Mokokchung, the year long project would entail, among others, the following major areas of focus:
• Identification of areas or scope for development of enterprenuers in the State
• Creating, enabling environment for promotion of enterprenuership in the State.
• Organizing training and capacity building programmes from potential enterprenuers
• Working out a calendar of activities at the State, Disctrict and Block levels to highlight the potentials of enterprises and enterprenuers.
• Indentification and promotion of successful enterprenuers and instituting Recognition and Awards to such enterprenuers.
What business opportunities does Nagaland offer to the rest of the country?
Nagaland has huge scope in tourism. It was, in fact, awarded ‘India’s most Picturesque destination of the year 2008’ at the 11th Today’s Traveler’s Platinum Award.
But despite the potential, the tourism industry isn’t flourishing as the PAP (Protected Area Permit) is still in force in most of the States and little is being done to revoke or relax these restrictions.
It, therefore, remains a major deterrent for the tourists, as well as potential investors.
The agriculture and allied sectors in Nagaland offer good inputs for development of a host of industries.
Almost all agro-horticultural products in the state are grown ‘chemical-free’. In order to make Nagaland a totally Organic State, the Government of Nagaland has adopted the Nagaland State Policy for Organic Cultivation. And the hill section of the state has already been declared organic zone.
Nagaland has achieved remarkable progress in development of horticulture particularly in the field of fruits like Passion Fruit, Pineapples and Oranges. The Technology Mission has helped in increasing production manifold. Our flower production has crossed 1.6 million stems of high quality flowers such as Anthurium, Roses, Carnation and Lilium.
However, in the absence of processing units and marketing linkages, most of the produce is marketed locally leading to surplus and wastage.
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants and herbs are found in abundance. Patchouli, Lemon Grass, Aloe vera, Geranium, Citronella, etc. are being successfully cultivated. Ginseng, a valuable medicinal herb is also available in Nagaland. We also produce Turmeric which has curcumin content of over 9 per cent.
Nagaland is rich in forest produces such as timber, cane and bamboo. The development of bamboo, another of Nagaland’s rich resource, is taking off at a very fast rate. Great opportunities are emerging in this sector, especially in the backdrop of global warming and climate change. Our target for bamboo cultivation is 50,000 hectares by 2012.
Our rich mineral resources still lie largely untapped. The exploration and exploitation of oil have just begun, while the mountains of chemical grade limestone, the huge reserves of coal, marble and decorative stones along with the magnetite of nickel-cobalt-chromium are waiting for commercial exploitation.
With highly literate youth, which is tech-savvy as well, there are tremendous opportunities in the IT & ITES sector for us.
Complemented with the salubrious climatic conditions and pollution free environment, healthcare is another sector that offers tremendous investment opportunity.
Out of two Special Economic Zones (SEZ) approved to be set up in Nagaland, plots are already available for takers at the 50 hectare Agro & Food Processing SEZ, which is developed by Nagaland Industrial Development Corporation (NIDC).
It is the commitment of the Government of Nagaland to facilitate rapid and sustained industrial development in the State through enhanced investment opportunities, an investor friendly environment, provision of infrastructure and institutional support, attractive incentive package and optimum utilization of existing resources in order to gainfully exploit emerging opportunities in the national and international markets.
What incentives does the state offer to investors?
The State Industrial Policy provides the following incentives so as to make setting up of industrial units in the State more attractive and viable:
• Power subsidy: Reimbursement of 25% to 30% of power cost.
• Cost of drawal of power upto a ceiling of Rs 2.00 lakh.
• 50% Subsidy for Feasibility Study Cost.
• 25% Manpower Subsidy
• Special incentives for 100% Export Oriented Units(EOU).
• Subsidy for Quality Control measures
• Sales tax exemption
• 50% Stamo duty exemption
• 15% Price opreference & exemption of Earnest Money Deposit
Does the Govt have any immediate plans to exploit the emerging market opportunities in the neighbouring countries?
The State Government has been participating in a number of trade meets and events in the neighbouring countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, South Korea and Bangladesh promoting and highlighting the potential of the State and inviting investors to invest and set up industries & businesses in the State. Buyer-seller meets and meetings have also been organized in the State with delegations from some of these countries. Some entrepreneurs from the State have already established business contacts and are exploring possibilities of trade with their counterparts from the above-mentioned countries.
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