India News | Northeast on Transformative Journey Under PM Modi: Himanta
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said the Northeastern region has embarked on a transformative journey owing to the continued focus it has received from the current government at the Centre.
Guwahati, Jan 19 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said the Northeastern region has embarked on a transformative journey owing to the continued focus it has received from the current government at the Centre.
The current administration at the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken relentless measures for the socio-economic growth and development of the Northeastern region, the CM said in his address at the 71st Plenary of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in Shillong.
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Citing the Multidimensional Poverty Index 2024, recently published by the NITI Aayog, the CM said Assam's multidimensional poverty has registered a sharp decline from 36.97 per cent in 2013-14 to 14.47% per cent in 2022-23.
The decline in poverty rate pulled nearly 80 lakh people in the state out of poverty during the last nine years, he added.
The current phase of unprecedented positive developments on multiple fronts, including economic, in the state can largely be attributed to the climate of general peace that has been prevalent for the past couple of years, the chief minister said.
He expressed confidence the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) for the next financial year would register a significant growth over the current level.
He referred to the measures the state government has taken to improve Assam's standing in the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) rankings.
"These and the other measures have led to creation of a conducive investment climate in the state which has resulted in many big-ticket investments in the past few years', he said.
He urged the Centre to bring out a new industrial policy for the Northeast so that the region can attract more private investors.
'The central government's focus on fulfilling the genuine hopes and aspirations of the various aggrieved communities has resulted in peace returning to Assam after many decades, recording zero casualty amongst security personnel and civilians last year', Sarma said.
The Armed Forces Special Powers Act is currently in force in only four districts and 'we hope that the Centre would explore the possibility of repealing it entirely from the state', the chief minister said.
Resolution of border disputes between Assam and its neighbours are going ahead in the right direction, he said.
There has been marked improvement in the crime scenario in the state, especially with regard to crimes against women where a significant reduction in cases has been observed, Sarma said.
The CM also spoke about the various infrastructure development projects, particularly on the road infrastructure front, currently under various stages of development in the state.
The state government has also put special emphasis on the development of school infrastructure with a huge chunk of monetary resources allotted under North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS) and PM-DevINE scheme being spent on improvement of secondary school infrastructure.
Union Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah, who is also the chairman of NEC, Union Minister for Development of Northeastern Region (DoNER), G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of State for DoNER, B L Verma, and the governors and chief ministers of all the member States of the NEC were present at the plenary session. PTI DG
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)