Northeast Emerging As New 'Startup' Destination: Dr Jitendra Singh
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh has said that the Northeast is fast emerging as the new "StartUp" destination for youngsters from all over India.
Addressing the two-day National Convention on "Transforming Northeast India" on Sunday (15 October), Dr Jitendra Singh said, with the improvement in connectivity and transport facility in the last two years, coupled with concentrated administrative focus, more and more youngsters are now heading towards the North-Eastern States to venture into entrepreneurship and take advantage of its unexplored potential.
Singh pointed out to another area for future startups and said during the peak season of tourism when there is no accommodation available, even mediocre hotels charge exorbitant fares which are sometimes equal to 5-star hotel fares in a metropolitan city. However, he said, as the ‘home tourism’ trend has picked up in the recent two to three years, several youngsters are now making a fortune out of this hitherto unexplored avenue.
Dr Jitendra Singh referred to the new airports coming up at Pakyong in Sikkim, Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh and Shillong in Meghalaya, which along with a time-bound plan to lay broad-gauge rail track, would bring in further ease of business.
Another sector of entrepreneurship which is fast emerging in Northeast, Dr Jitendra Singh said, is the medical and healthcare sector.
The Minister called upon the youngsters to make the best use of government of India’s “North East Industrial Promotion Policy” as well as the special budgetary support offered to the industry.
