The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated the 3-day festival ‘Destination North East-2017’ here today.Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that in the endeavor to take North East to every corner of India, Chandigarh has been chosen this year to organize Destination North East-2017. He said that this is for the first time outside Delhi to organise this event. The Minister said that after the present Government came to power, the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given more priority to those parts of the country which are lagging behind.Referring India’s unity in diversity, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that in the North East there exists diversity in diversity, as there are many ethnic groups, who live peacefully and supplement each other’s achievements. The Minister said that each state in the North East should be known by its own name rather than referring it as a North Eastern State. He further said that each state in the North East has some unique feature and each of the states should be known by such characteristics.
For instance, he said, Manipur should be known as sports state of India because of more athletes, Mizoram as bamboo state of India, Sikkim as organic state of India and Assam as waterways state of India. He said that, now the focus of his Ministry is to take the people from other parts of the country closer to North East. Dr. Jitendra Singh said that there are some states in the North East which are performing well because of hard work and discipline, such as Mizoram which has literacy rate next only to Kerala and Sikkim which has growth rate of over 20%. The Minister said that due to the huge potential of North East, it will become one of the favorite destinations for investment and youth from all over the world.The Member of Parliament, Smt. Kirron Kher said that North East is a very good tourist destination because of its scenic beauty and hospitable nature of its people.The Secretary, Ministry of DoNER, Shri Naveen Verma said that the idea of choosing Chandigarh for Destination North East 2017 is to expose the people of Chandigarh and North India, to know about North East and also the chances of investment in North East. He said that this 3-day festival is a step forward to engage others parts of the country with North East.
The President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mr. Gopal Jiwarajka lauded the DoNER Ministry’s effort in promoting North East Region for investment and tourist destination. He expressed hope the people of North East too would participate towards the development of NER.The DG, CSIR, Dr. Girish Sahni and senior officers of the Ministry of DoNER and CSIR were also present on the occasion.The ‘Destination North East-2017’ is being organized by Ministry of DoNER to showcase North East as a potential destination for investment and highlight the rich traditions and customs of the region. The core theme of the festival is to highlight the use of appropriate technologies in all sectors of development for North Eastern Region .Destination North East, 2017 will include sessions to discuss upon Exploring Tourism Potential on North East India, Appropriate technologies for North East India, Agriculture & Food processing, Organic farming, Bamboo development in North East India, Medicinal & Aromatic plants of North East India, Roadmap for Technology interventions in North East India and Handloom, Apparel and Handicrafts of North East India.