India-ASEAN FTA: Implications for India's NorthEast
- Part 6 -

By James R. Ruolngul *

Concluding Remarks

Lately, there has been a flurry of activities that are of great importance to the north east states with some conscious efforts being made to develop this region. The Union Minister for the Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Mani Shankar Aiyar said that the Centre is aiming to promote the region as a major FDI destination and an export centre.

The minister added that these are all attempts to make the region the arrowhead of India's future economic growth. On July 2, 2008, the Indian PM released the North Eastern Region Vision 2020 document which contained detailed reports for the development of the north eastern region.

The PM gave his assurances that the visions contained within this document will be made a reality. To quote him extensively, he said, "Infrastructure deficiency remains a major concern of the Government. You will be happy to know that we have decided to link all State Capitals with railway lines. These projects have been given the status of National Projects with a special funding pattern. Airports are being modernized and new ones are being built.

An ambitious programme of road building has been taken up under the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for the North East (SARDP-NE) and an amount of Rs. 31,000 Crore is being invested on roads in the 11th Five Year Plan. There are relaxed guidelines for rural roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) so that even the farthest hamlets on the border are linked by road. Within the 11th Plan period, these interventions will begin to show positive results. To bridge the infrastructure gap in the region, our Government has taken several initiatives.

Work on the Tipaimukh and Loktak Downstream Hydro Electric Projects, costing about Rs.6,000 crores and Rs. 800 crores respectively, has been expedited. The 726 MW Palatana Gas based Power Plant, with an outlay of Rs.3,000 crores, a 750 MW Thermal Power Plant at Bongaigaon with an outlay of Rs. 4375 crores, and the Assam Gas Cracker Project have all broken ground. The Kumarghat-Agartala railway line has been approved as a National project, with an outlay of Rs. 750 Crores. The Jiribam-Tupu-Imphal railway line, which will put the Manipur valley on the rail map of India, has also been sanctioned as a National project for Rs. 727 Crores." [xi]

On September 12, 2008, Lt. General ML Naidu visited Imphal and discussed with the Manipur Chief Minister issues pertaining to security, law and order situation in Manipur. It is still not clear if this visit has any significance in the context of our current discussions, but is certainly significant if we take into account the timing of the visit and the rank of the visitor.

During September 15-16, 2008, the fourth Northeast Business Summit was held in Guwahati, Assam. Besides delegates from the eight states of the Northeast, a high number of foreign dignitaries, including those from ASEAN, were present at the Summit.

Inaugurating the Summit, Indian Vice President M. Hamid Ansari said, "This Summit is as much about business as it is about politics, both domestic and external. It is about correctives. The effort today is as much to overcome the physical and commercial isolation of this region, as it is to set aside its 'geo-political isolation and put it on the path of accelerated and inclusive growth." [xii]

During the Summit, several MOUs and agreements were signed for the establishment of joint venture projects and technical assistance. This Summit attains great significance as this meeting comes immediately after the conclusion of the AIFTA and as several ASEAN diplomats attended this meeting.

What results will these recent developments have on the Northeast states is now the big question. As it is too early now, what we can do is to wait and see what unfolds.



Concluded ...