Amit Shah at the ICC Annual Session & AGM FYI 2020-2021

The Indian Chamber of Commerce, (ICC) one of the leading national chambers of India, organized its Annual Session in the presence of Shri Amit Shah, Hon’ble Minister of Home Affairs, Govt. of India. The theme of the session was Bharat@75 – Empowering North East India.

Hon’ble Minister started his speech today mentioning how significant it was for him to address on a platform like ICC which was conceived in 1925 and since then which has not only played important role in North East India’s economic stride but also has been supporting the overall Indian economy.

Congratulating ICC on its decision to take up the cause of North East India at the right time, the Hon’ble Minister spoke about the significance of North East by stating that entire North East accounts for 8% of the Indian landmass and 3.8% of the Indian population and shares international borders with 5 countries. Way back in 2014 when Shri Narendra Modi formed the government at the centre, he had envisioned a plan for Eastern India. During 70 years of India’s independent existence, western India progressed much more and in some areas the progress of the East was stunted. A few reasons stated for delayed progress of East were partition, inaccessibility of the North Eastern states, the main port being in Bangladesh or even the long rule of the Left government.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Vikash Agarwal, President of Indian Chamber of Commerce, said, “We are extremely delighted and honored to welcome our Hon’ble Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah to this virtual Annual Session of ICC. I strongly believe that under the leadership and the guidance of our Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi, India has witnessed numerous structural changes. The steps taken by the Govt. with ease during challenging times are praiseworthy. He is a man with vision and strong determination. The chamber has strong faith on your actions and resolve to make “Atmanirbhar Bharat” initiative as envisioned by PM Modiji powerful.”

Shri Amit Shah said, “It is to my great pleasure that in the last 7 years, there has been growth in Eastern India, be it in the state of Bengal or Bihar or Odisha. Growth in East is not possible without growth of the North East. Before Independence, per capita income of a person in the state of Assam was more than any other state in India.”

The Minister then stated how the Prime Minister’s (PM) concept of Azadi Ki Amrit Mahotsav is aimed at two things – inspiring the new generation on how the freedom fighters sacrificed and dedicated their lives to earn independence for India and to plan how to take India forward in the coming 25 years. This coming 25 years has been termed by the PM as Azadi Ka Amrut Kal by the end of which the objective is to make the Indian economy worth USD  5trillion and be the leading nation worldwide on completion of 100 years. This progress will not be possible without progress in the North East. The growth rate and stability of North East need to be matched to that of rest of India.

Among the 18 bio diversity hotspots in the world, North East is one, which needs to be promoted well. 25% of the country’s forest cover is in the North East and about 30% of dense forest area is also located there, thus making this region the lungs of India, the oxygen from which is much needed for betterment of whole India. The biodiversity of the region and presence of multiple dialects and communities have made North East a challenging region to access. But since PM assumed office in 2014, he has given focused attention to North East so as to link it to the rest of India and establish stability and usher a sense of peace over there since economic growth is not possible in an unstable environment. The BJP government in the last 7 years through conscious efforts has been able to provide stability and today North East is ready to take off on its flight to growth.

Three E’s Empathy, Empowerment, Enabler summarize the overall growth and development plan for North East. Political stability has been established here already with all the state governments reigning for 5 years, all fights have been ended and the local rich cultural heritage to be the area of strength for North. East.  Thus this can be a stepping stone for promoting tourism in the area. The central and the state governments have allocated INR 12,000 crores for the rehabilitation of those extremist outfits in the region who surrendered their weapons and helped to establish peace in North East. Infrastructure-wise there have been multiple projects for the region, by virtue of which by 2024 all the state capitals will have local airport accessibility.  By rail and road Bangladesh will be connected to the region for business as Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement has been signed.  Education-wise, IITs and IIMs have been set up in the region so that skilled human resource can be produced by North East. There is a huge scope of IT growth over there. The Bamboo industry is another thriving business over there as the region accounts for 60% of the country’s bamboo production.  Multiple investment opportunities in the bamboo industry would be possible as bamboo products enjoy global demand. Moreover, the government has given agri-business status to bamboo industry so that permissions are not needed from the forest department.

He ended his speech by saying there was no better platform than ICC to provide a boost to the business in North East. He also said that the state of Assam is likely to hold an investment summit in March 2022 for which ICC should provide assistance.