Minister Jitendra Singh on Friday announced the formation of the North-Eastern Tourism Development Council (NETDC) as a public-private partnership (PPP) initiative under the auspices of his ministry.This is for the first time that the government has decided to set up a separate tourism development agency, devoted to a particular region of the country, he said, at the official release of 2017 Calendar of the North Eastern Council in Shillong."The setting up of an exclusive North-Eeastern Tourism Council is also a reflection of the high priority that the Union Government accords to the development of the peripheral states of the northeast," said Singh.The North-East Council Calendar for 2017 has the theme of "seasonal fruits".