On July 2,
2008 PM Dr
Singh,
formally
launching
“Northeastern
Region
Vision 2020”
report
unveiled a
roadmap to
spur
all-round
development
of NE by
2020 and
announced
the linking
of all state
capitals
there by
rail and
road to
ensure
better
connectivity.
·
"Infrastructure
deficiency
is a major
concern in
the region.
Plans are to
link all the
state
capitals in
the region
by rail
network
and
Rs.31,000
crore
(Rs.310
billion,
around $8
billion)
will be
invested on
roads during
the 11th
plan".
Mission
IAS’2009
·
Alluding to
a slew of
power and
transport
projects
that are
under way to
bridge "the
infrastructure
gap," the PM
announced
that some
new rail
links like
the
Kumarghat-Agartala
railway
line, the
Jiribam-Tupu-Imphal
railway line,
which will
put the
Manipur
valley on
the rail map
of India,
have been
approved.
·
PM also
announced
that a
greenfield
airport will
come up at
Itanagar
to connect
the region
with the
rest of the
country and
said that
all villages
on the
Arunachal
Pradesh
border will
soon be
electrified
at a cost of
Rs.550 crore
(Rs.5.5
billion,
approximately
$130
million).
·
The
northeastern
region
shares 98
percent of
its border
with Bhutan,
China,
Myanmar,
Bangladesh
and Nepal.
·
North-East
India refers
to the
easternmost
region of
India
consisting
of the
contiguous
Seven Sister
States and
Sikkim.
·
The states
border
Nepal,
Bhutan,
China,
Myanmar and
Bangladesh.
However they
share only a
21 km common
border with
the rest of
India via
the
Siliguri
Corridor
(Chicken's
Neck).
·
A large
number of
the
inhabitants
speak
Tibeto-Burman
languages
and have
cultural
similarities
with
South-East
Asia and
Tibet. This
region is
officially
recognized
as a special
category of
states.
·
The
North East
Council
(NEC) was
constituted
in 1971
as the nodal
agency for
the economic
and social
development
of the eight
states, the
North
Eastern
Development
Finance
Corporation
Ltd (NEDFi)
was
incorporated
on August 9,
1995 and the
Ministry of
Development
of
Northeastern
Region (DONER)
was set up
in September
2001.
