Guwahati, Jul 27 (IANS): Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jyotiraditya Scindia on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision is to make the northeast region the growth engine of the country.
The DoNER Minister said that the Prime Minister termed the region as ‘Purvodaya’ and this region would be the gateway of India's progress and prosperity. “This vision has been on track for the last 10 years in terms of the huge outlay increase for the northeast.”
"For over 65 years, the northeastern region was not cared for and treated as an orphan. After Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, the Centre has started giving special emphasis to the region," the Union Minister told the media in Guwahati.
He said that Rs 11,000 crore has been allocated in the Central Budget 2024-25 for flood management in Sikkim and Assam.
The Minister said that while presenting the Budget in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that more than 100 branches of India Post Payment Bank (IPPB) would be set up in the northeastern region.
The decision once again amplifies the Prime Minister's vision of developing India's northeast region, he said.
Jyotiraditya Scindia, who also holds the Ministry of Communications, said that during the Congress regime, Rs 1,775 crore was the budget for the DoNER ministry and now, it has increased to Rs 6,000 crore.
He said that during the Congress government at the Centre between 2004 and 2014, Rs 64,000 crore was given to Assam as tax devolution with Rs 6,500 per year.
"In 2014-2024, during the ten years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, increasing the tax devolution by four times, Rs 2.30 lakh crore was given to Assam. This year (2024-25) Rs 39,000 crore was given to the state as tax devolution," the Union Minister said.
He said that in addition to 15th Finance Commission allocation, Rs 13,000 crore was given to Assam in the last ten years as Capital Expenditure.
Claiming that major industrial projects would soon enter the region with the proper infrastructure in place, Jyotiraditya Scindia cited the example of the Rs 27,000-crore semiconductor unit to be set up by the Tata Group near Guwahati and termed it as a 'game changer' for the entire region.
"The Central Budget 2024-25 is a holistic budget, which would set a new era of development for the entire country," the DoNER Minister said.