North East

Old faces, new realities: Sangma, Rio, Saha will have to walk a tightrope

Even as BJP bridges gap between Northeast and rest of India with each election win and electorate opted for continuity over change, CM Sangma, Rio, and Saha will have to walk a tightrope

No hung assembly, NDA to form govt in all three NE states: Himanta

Asserting there will not be hung assembly in either Tripura, Nagaland or Meghalaya, as predicted in some exit polls, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said the NDA will form governments with absolute majority in all the three northeastern states. Sarma, the NEDA convenor, said no NDA (National Democratic Alliance) partner will go into any alliance with either Congress or the Trinamool Congress after the results are declared on Thursday. "There will be no hung assembly. The NDA will form governments in all the three states," he said at a press conference here. Several exit polls have predicted hung assemblies in Tripura and Meghalaya although the NDA will be the largest block. Only in Nagaland, psephology surveys have predicted the return of the NDA to power with an absolute majority. When asked about candidates for the chief minister's post in the three states, Sarma said there will be a status quo in Tripura and Nagaland. "Tripura will have a BJP CM, while we a

Exit polls 2023: Advantage BJP in Tripura, alliance to win Nagaland

Hung house predicted in Meghalaya

Meghalaya to get film city if BJP wins polls, says MP Ravi Kishan

Actor turned BJP MP Ravi Kishan on Monday claimed that the BJP in Meghalaya will build a film city if the party is voted to power in the February 27 assembly election. Just as the party did in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP will do the same here, he said. "Since the youth of Shillong are immersed in music and art, the BJP will build a film city here if voted to power," he said. Kishan said it will create jobs for the youths in the state. "From support staff to soundman, to technician, to artists, to managers, a wide variety of job vacancies will be created in the state by the film city," he said. It will become a tool to showcase the beauty, diversity, culture and rich traditions of Meghalaya to the rest of the world.

Airtel 5G Plus now live in all north-eastern states, says Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said that its 5G services are now live in all states in the north-east region and existing data plans will work on 5G until the roll-out is complete.

Budget 2023: 113% increase in allotment for northeast, highest ever

The Finance Ministry has budgeted Rs 5892 crore for FY24 for the region, which is 113 per cent more than the RE 2022-23

Centre successful in establishing peace, prosperity in North East: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Central govt has achieved success in its goal of establishing the three P's of Peace, Progress and Prosperity in Nagaland and other northeastern states

BJP freed Manipur from terrorism, bandhs; brought development, says Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday asserted that the BJP government in the state freed Manipur from bandhs and terrorism and brought it on the path of development. Addressing a public rally at Moirang in Bishnupur district after virtually inaugurating 12 projects worth Rs 300 crore and laying the foundation stone of nine projects worth Rs 1,007 crore, Shah said the BJP government defeated insurgency and lifted Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 or AFSPA from six districts of the state. "There was a situation of terror during the Congress rule in Manipur. Now, it is among the best governed small states," he said. Shah said the BJP-led government at the Centre has invested Rs 3.45 lakh crore in the Northeast in less than eight years and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited the region 51 times during this period. Noting that the N Biren Singh government in the state is undertaking massive operations against drug trafficking and abuse, he said the BJP will make Manipur ..

TN Guv inaugurates Octave 2023, says North East part of growth stories

The nation's perspective of the North East has changed with the passage of time and those states have now become part of the India's growth stories, Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi said on Tuesday. The North East states are now part of the "stories of rising India" as they are bubbling with capabilities and aspirations towards developments and advancements on par with other regions of the country, he said while inaugurating the Octave 2023 - a festival being held under the aegis of the South Zone Cultural Centre, Thanjavur, to showcase the indigenous art and culture of the North East India, here. "Now, their regions are no more trouble area as narrated in the past due to misunderstanding about the finest of our people. Even the nation's perspective of the North East has changed now," the Governor said. The North East people are most talented, innocent, emotional with full of energy and enthusiasm, the Governor, who is the Chairman of SZCC said and added the people of North East bound .

Tripura govt plans setting up medical college, hospital in tribal area

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Saturday said his government is contemplating the establishment of a medical college and hospital in a tribal area. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently inaugurated a dental college and the state already has two medical colleges where post-graduate courses are offered. Inaugurating an integrated Ayush district hospital in Chandrapur area in Gomati district, he said the state government has already selected a site for a medical college in Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) area. Saha, who also holds the health portfolio, said medical facilities are being improved in the district and sub-divisional hospitals to ease the load on GBP Hospital and Agartala Medical College.

Polls in 3 NE states crucial for BJP's dreams, Cong survival, Oppn unity

Amid internal rifts in parties, changing equations, and shifting demands, the key issue for Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Tripura - which go to polls next year - revolves around development

10th North East Festival begins with promise to boost MSME sector in region

The 10th edition of the North East Festival began here at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Friday with focus on small and medium enterprises as well as the startup ecosystem in the region. The cultural event was inaugurated by Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Narayan Rane, who said that the festival will help create more job opportunities and boost the startup ecosystem of the northeast. "The primary goal of this festival organised in Delhi is to showcase the best of northeast India's cultural resources and act as an enticing gateway for the exceptional talents of the region," Rane said. He added that there is an emerging startup culture in the northeast and they should take "maximum advantage of technology to boost their businesses". "The government is also leaving no stone unturned to educate the entrepreneurs about emerging technologies to augment the startup ecosystem in the rich Northeast region," the minister said. There are more than 100 MSME businesses tak

Removed all obstacles to North East development in last 8 yrs: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asserted his government has removed all obstacles that came in the way of Northeast's development. Launching a slew of development projects in poll-bound Tripura and Meghalaya, he said improved air connectivity to the region has increased agricultural exports, benefitting farmers. In Tripura, he said the northeastern state was earlier known for conflict but after the BJP came to power in 2018, it is now known for development, connectivity and cleanliness. Addressing a public rally at Swami Vivekananda Maidan in Agartala, he said Tripura is becoming a logistics hub and is also emerging as the new gateway of trade in the Northeast, which would be connected with South East Asian countries such as Myanmar and Thailand. He said the 15-km-long Agartala-Akhaura railway project to connect Northeast with Bangladesh would be completed next year. "Crores of rupees have been invested in infrastructure after the BJP came to power in Tripura. National High

Flights start from Itanagar airport; Scindia says boosting NE connectivity

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday flagged off IndiGo's flight from Itanagar to Mumbai via Kolkata and said efforts are on to enhance air connectivity in the North East. This is the first flight from Donyi Polo Airport at Hollongi, Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh. Scindia virtually flagged off the flight from New Delhi. The flight operated from Itanagar to Mumbai via Kolkata. Itanagar is the 75th domestic and 101st overall destination in the IndiGo network. In a statement, IndiGo said the second frequency between Kolkata and Itanagar will commence on December 3. Among others, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju attended the event virtually. "We are pleased to commence operations from Itanagar which will be our 10th destination in the northeast... over the last few years IndiGo has focused on increasing accessibility in the northeast and now connects seven out of eight states in the region," IndiGo's Chief Strategy and Revenue Officer Sanjay Kumar said. Meanwhile, Scindia

Centre committed to exploring waterways potential for NE's benefit: Sonowal

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said the Central government is working to explore the full potential of inland waterways as it is an important means of communication for the development of the interior parts. He also underlined the role of waterways in ensuring greater economic vibrancy in the North Eastern region. After reviewing the progress of waterways projects for Barak Valley of Assam on Saturday, the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways on Saturday said, "Northeast India is rich and its richness must reach the world in order to make people aware of our rich heritage and resources. Inland Waterways comes as a wonderful avenue for us - the people of Northeast - to take our produce out into the global trade map in an efficient and economical way." Sonowal, who hails from Assam, said the Central government is working towards unlocking this potential of the North East by enabling the river systems to act as a conduit of growth and development. "As the engine of New .

Two int'l flights from NE to be operationalised under UDAN scheme: Scindia

Two new international routes under the regional air connectivity scheme will be operationalised, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Sunday after inaugurating three flights that will connect five cities in the North East. Scindia along with Minister of State for Civil Aviation Gen (Retd) V K Singh inaugurated the operations of three flights connecting five cities of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, and Mizoram, according to an official release. The flights connecting Imphal-Aizawl-Imphal and Lilabari-Ziro-Lilabari commenced from Sunday while the services on the Shillong-Lilabari-Shillong route will start from October 31. These flights have been started under the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN. Under international UDAN, two new routes Agartala-Chittagong-Agartala and Imphal-Mandalay-Imphal will be operationalised. This will expand the scope of air connectivity in the North Eastern states from national to the international level, Scindia ...

North East joined the mainstream after BJP came to power, says Amit Shah

Taking a jibe at the Congress, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that earlier Assam was only known for bandhs, protests and insurgency under the Congress regime

Every part of North-East will be connected with 4G: MoS Chadrasekhar

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday said the entire north east will have 4G connectivity and every part of Nagaland will get access to internet. Chandrasekhar, the Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, announced this during a press conference held in Dimapur on Tuesday, the last day of his three-day visit to Nagaland. The union minister said Nagaland and the entire North East will have minimum of 4G connectivity as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of connecting all Indians, with an approach that 'No one is left behind'. "Every part of Nagaland will get access to internet with BSNL and private companies playing an important role," he said, adding that digital connectivity across the region will usher in development and create new opportunities for young Indians. In a meeting with Dimapur district administration officials, Chandrasekhar who is also the Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and Skill Development stressed tha

Digital India boosting connectivity, numbers of digital entrepreneurs: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that 4G connectivity has brought a new dawn in the North East and the spread of internet facilities to villages through Digital India has boosted digital entrepreneurs. In his monthly broadcast 'Mann Ki Baat', he also said that "Amrit Dhara'" was flowing in every corner of the country during the ongoing "Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav" in this month of India's 75th anniversary of independence. "We have seen the collective might of the country. Such a big country, so many diversities but when it came to hoisting the tricolour, everyone seemed to flow in the same spirit," he said, adding his office hardly received any letter which had no mention of the national flag or freedom movement. He also touched on a host of issues, including official efforts to deal with malnutrition, and said social awareness is crucial to this fight. The month of September is observed as nutrition month. The prime minister highlighted different innovative methods taken u

Delhi more like municipal corporation, no comparison with Assam: Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday asserted there can be no comparison between the northeastern state and Delhi as the national capital is more like a municipal corporation. He asked his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal to come to Assam and see for himself government-run education and healthcare units, while stating that he will also visit similar facilities in Delhi during his frequent trips there. Sarma was reacting to claims by Kejriwal and other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders that Delhi has better education and healthcare facilities than Assam. Delhi is a state merely in name. It is more of a municipal corporation the senior BJP leader claimed. He argued that if Assam has to be compared with other states, it has to be done with places like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, or Punjab. I have seen their mohallah clinics'. But after seeing the facilities at our Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, what is there to see in those clinics? Sarma said. The chief minister was