‘Bangladesh hub of NE ultras’

CORRESPONDENT AGARTALA, Jan 7 – Giving a strong message to Dhaka, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar on Monday said insurgent groups have been using Bangladesh as a safe haven to carry out militant activities in the North East.“We have been giving definite information about the existence of terror infrastructure in Bangladesh, details of cross border movement of these groups and their training with the ISI”, Sarkar said while delivering a speech in the CMs conference in Delhi today.He said that the time has come to put pressure on Bangladesh to dismantle terror infrastructure in its soil. “It is also necessary to seal and guard the Indo-Bangla border keeping in mind the terrorist hideouts there”, he said.“Sealing of border effectively is of prime importance to prevent cross border movement of insurgents. Arrangements like flood lighting, speedy completion of barbed wire fencing and strengthening of BSF along the border should be accorded highest priority”, he said.“It is experienced that in few areas, the fencing could not be taken up due to trouble created by some groups having vested interests”, he pointed out. “People should rise above their narrow interests and assist in expediting the ongoing work of barbed wire fencing as it will greatly help in reducing the incidence of cross border movements”, he said. Expressing concern over the plight of border roads, Sarkar said the present condition of border roads along the Indo-Bangla border is a major impediment to the effective and timely mobilization of forces, when required. He further urged the Union Government to depute an agency to look after the existing border roads with sufficient resources.“We should recognize that at least some of terrorists are a result of economic deprivation and lack of proper economic development in certain regions of the country”, he said.The Chief Minister also underlined the need to ensure dissemination of intelligence inputs to avoid terror strike. “The Centre will have to extend help so that the State Governments could form effective intelligence wings”, he said.He also stressed on police modernization. “Though the police modernization effort is being supported by the Centre, it is not enough given the present day situation. It needs to be given proper emphasis and special priority”, he said. He further advocated for offering modern training to the State police personnel to counter any eventuality in case of terror attack. source: assam tribune

Global certification to boost export of spices from Northeast

Organic spice exports from India are likely to get a big boost with 300 hectare of land in the North East receiving organic certification from global certifying agency Indocert.

Indocert, accepted both in the US and Europe, has certified lands in Meghalaya for turmeric and ginger cultivation, Manipur for ginger and turmeric cultivation, and Arunachal Pradesh for black pepper.

According to the Spices Board, currently the total area under conversion or certification process is 2220.58 hectare (ha), while around 1483.55 hectare of new area will be brought under certification in the current financial year.

The north-eastern states managed to achieve this distinction of emerging as hub of organic spices in India because of concerted efforts by the Spices Board in promoting the north east states as a hub for production and export of organic spices.

Organic spices are grown without using chemicals and fertilisers. Demand for organically produced foods is growing rapidly in developed countries and the products command a premium.
The board estimates that the region can create exportable surpluses at competitive prices so that the top slot occupied by the country in the international spice market would be maintained.
By default, the land and agriculture practice is organic and with some efforts from the state, the region could export organic spices, board source said.

The Spices Board expects to export organic spices worth Rs 240-260 crore by 2012. The board will select one district in each of the states and the programmes will be implemented through non-governmental organisations that will mobilise self-help groups to collect the produce from growers and undertake the grading and primary processing.

The collectives would be provided with adequate planting material and training in good agricultural practices (GAP) and post-harvest management. Efforts would also focus on creating awareness on productivity, food safety, quality and marketability of the spices, board sources said.

The efforts also have some backing and focus with the entry of ITC into the field. ITC has entered into an agreement with the Nagaland government for developing organic cultivation of turmeric and chilli. source: http://www.financialexpress.com

PM to release Vision 2020 on July 2

PM to release Vision 2020 on July 2

KOLKATA, June 19 – Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will unveil ‘Vision 2020’, a document aimed at the socio-economic development of the North-Eastern region, in New Delhi on July 2, Union Minister for Development of North-Eastern region Mani Shankar Aiyar has said. The ‘Vision 2020’ was prepared after three years of uninterrupted consultations with 50,000 common people of the North East and a host experts and institutions to take care of the shortcomings in the region Terming the vision document as an ‘Aam Aadmi (common man) document’, DoNER Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said it would require Rs 13 trillion for the implementation of Vision 2020 in the region. The document had been endorsed by the North Eastern Council and Chief Ministers of the region, he told members of the four industry chambers at an interactive session on N-E development, last evening. Aiyar said if India wanted to match the GDP growth of China, then it will have to consider the contribution of the North-East where growth potential was immense. –PTI