Draft plan for employment generation and economic development of Manipur
- Part 1 -

Ngangom Junior Luwang *

Aerial view of Imphal City during Manipur Sangai Tourism Festival in November 2012 :: Pix - MMTA

A draft plan to generate employment and give a significant push to economic development in Manipur is hereby spelt out, drawing the attention of the Government of Manipur.

TWIN-OBJECTIVES

1. Fast-Tracked Private Sector Employment Generation
2. Export Oriented Economic Development of Manipur

THE EIGHT-STEP WAY FORWARD

1. FIRST STEP : Creation of an Economic Development Committee by the Government of Manipur under the Chairmanship of the Chief Minister, Government of Manipur for formulating appropriate policies and laws and fast tracking employment generating service providers, manufacturing/trading units in the State of Manipur.

2. SECOND-STEP : Identification of an internationally reputed Corporate & Marketing Consultancy Firm via a hybrid (L1 + Technical) Global Tender to assist the Economic Development Committee for formulating and executing policies for fast-tracking economic development activities, export promotion & employment.

3. THIRD STEP : Preparation of a detailed Single Window Economic Development Plan by the selected Corporate & Marketing Consultancy Firm with a clear roadmap to attract employment generating service providers and mostly export oriented manufacturing units to Manipur.

4. FOURTH STEP : Finalization of sector-specific policies for employment generation and export-oriented economic activities by the Economic Development Committee based on the detailed Report of the Corporate & Marketing Consultancy Firm.

5. FIFTH STEP : Formulating sector specific steps for execution of the finalized plans or policies to attract service providers and manufacturing/trading units in Manipur and ensure optimum employment generation.

6. SIXTH STEP: Arranging one-to-one meetings of the Economic Development Committee with business houses and business conglomerate owners and giving required presentations and academic papers on investment and setting up trade, business & service enters in Manipur.

7. SEVENTH STEP : Finalizing business deals with interested corporate entities and conglomerates. Negotiation can be done through the Corporate & Marketing Consultancy Firm with direct involvement of the Economic Development Committee. Legal Experts of the Corporate & Marketing Consultancy Firm and the Economic Development Committee shall take care of all required legal aspects including but not limited to preparation of legal risk matrixes, contact execution, land acquisition, regulatory clearances etc.

8. EIGHT STEP : This step is general in nature and can be implemented simultaneously with the other steps contemplated here. Some of such steps would be extending invitation to business leaders and corporate conglomerate owners to State festivals like Sangai Festival, Shirui Lily Festival etc., taking up steps for hydrocarbon exploration, promoting Manipur as an investment hub in National and international media, hydrocarbon exploration etc..

FIRST STEP-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

1. To fast-track the over-all employment generating economic development of Manipur, the Government of Manipur should set up an Economic Development Committee, which may consist of the following.

o The Chief Minister of Manipur as the Chairperson
o The Finance Minister, Government of Manipur
o A reputed Economist, possibly a Nobel Laureate or an Economist of International Repute with least 10 publications in International publications (like the Economist) and with a PhD degree on employment generation and economic development in under-developed economies from a Tier-one University of the World.
o An Indian Statistical Services member (serving or retired)
o An Indian Economic Services member (serving or retired)
o A representative of the CSOs of Manipur
o A Corporate Lawyer, with at least 20 years of experience in Projects & Infrastructure Practice, general Corporate practice etc.

2. Selection of members (c) to (9) can be political selections/engagements on contract basis without the Government floating any public notice or tender. Such a selection process can be faster and avoid undue delay.

3. The Economic Development Committee can be the pivotal Committee to plan Manipur's economy to attract maximum investment (both Foreign Direct Investmnent & DTA Investment) for both service sectors and manufacturing units and creating optimum employment opportunities in Manipur.

4. The Economic Development Committee will be responsible for floating a global tender for selection of a Corporate & Marketing Consultancy Firm, inter alia, to come up with a comprehensive Economic Development & Employment Generation policy/plan for the State of Manipur and to implement/execute the policy/plan.

5. The primary focus of the Economic Development Committee, inter alia, will be to supervise the working of the Corporate & Marketing Consultancy Firm in drafting and finalizing Manipur's Economic Development & Employment Generation Policy in consultation with and approval of concerned departments/ministries of the Government of Manipur.

6. Members of the Economic Development Committee shall report directly to the Chairperson of the Committee i.e. the Chief Minister of Manipur.

7. All decisions of the Committee shall be taken by consensus to the extent possible. Wherever any issue or difference crops up amongst memnbers of the Economic Development Committee, the same shall be settled by voting and majority decisions shall be final, subject to the veto powers of the Chairperson.

8. The Committee shall visit employment generation and export hubs in appropriate jurisdictions, if required and so recommended/identified by the Corporate & Marketing Consultancy Firm for examining the reasons for their success or failure and customize the appropriate model for export promotion, economic development and employment generation in Manipur.

9. A separate fund shall be created for defraying the cost of the Economic Development Committee and the members may be entitled to different amounts for their services, as may be fixed by the Government of Manipur.

10. Since some of the members of the Committee may be located outside the State of Manipur, virtual meetings through secured links shall be held to the extent possible, unless physical meetings are absolutely required.

11. A Nodal Officer shall be appointed by the Government of Manipur to assist the Economic Development Committee in its functioning, maintaining records, & travels, organizing meetings, fixing appointments, organizing tours communicating with members of the Economic Development Committee, the Corporate & Marketing Consultancy Firm and other stake holders etc. The Nodal Officer may take assistance of any employee of the Government of Manipur, while discharging his/her duties for the Economic Development Committee.

12. Physical meetings of the Economic Development Committee shal be held at Imphal or such other place(s), whenever deemed required. For virtual meetings, the Nodal Officer shall circulate a link for virtual conference and for every meeting or conference of the Economic Development Committee, minutes of meeting shall be prepared and circulated amongst the members of the said Committee.

13. The Economic Development Committee shall be assigned at least two rooms within the Imphal Secretariat of the Government of Manipur with a at least two staff members (apart from the Nodal Officer) for its functioning, maintaining records and holding meetings.

14. The selected Corporate & Marketing Consultancy Firm and members thereof shall report to the Economic Development Committee and for all purposes of employment generation, export promotion and economic activities under this Policy, the Economic Development Committee shall be the nodal agency. The Committee shall co-ordinate and supervise the activities of the Corporate Consultancy & Marketing Firm and act as a bridge between the Govt of Manipur and the Corporate Consul-tancy & Marketing Firm.

15. A strict Non-Disclosure Agreement and a No- Conflict Agreement shall be executed between each member of the Economic Development Committee and the Government of Manipur, breach of which will be a ground for termination of the member.

16. Members of the Economic Development Committee shall function at the pleasure of the Government of Manipur and any member may be terminated in case of breach of the Non-Disclosure Agreement and/or the Non-Conflict Agreement and/or the Engagement Contract or on any ground of indiscipline or unavailability for at least two consecutive meetings or unavailability for services to the Economic Development Committee for one month continuously.


To be continued....