Corporate investments will accelerate North-Eastern region’s growth: Experts

NEW DELHI — There is a need to mobilise additional resources for the North-Eastern Region (NER) and an infusion of private funding is likely to accelerate development, experts said on Wednesday.

At the CSR Connect, launched by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), to infuse corporate investment into social development in North East, Dr Sukanta Majumdar, Minister of State, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region said that the initiative aims to bridge the gap between the corporate sector and the North East’s socio-economic development, through impactful initiatives in partnership with the government.

The minister highlighted that the INR 10,000 crore ‘UNNATI Scheme’ introduced for the North East will bring in investments into the region.

“The Central Ministries are spending 10 per cent of their Gross Budgetary Support in the NER not only through their ongoing schemes but also through dedicated schemes for the region. This shows the focus towards the region,” he added.

Over the eight-year period (2014-15 to 2022-23), the region has been growing at a CAGR of 6.77 per cent which is higher than the national average of 5.43 per cent.

The region contributed to 2.95 per cent of the national GDP (2022-23 at constant prices), CII mentioned.

Chanchal Kumar, IAS, Secretary, Ministry for Development of North Eastern Region said that the CSR contribution in NER is limited and needs to be addressed at the policy level.

“The state government should develop a repository of investible projects for each state for attracting CSR investments,” he added.

In addition, R Mukundan, VP, CII and MD, Tata Chemicals Limited said that over the last 10 years, the journey of CSR moved from a “2 per cent compliance-oriented approach to an increased focus on transparency and impact orientation.”