North Eastern industrial and investment promotion policy announced, will speed up industrialistion and development of the Region

The government today announced the "North East Industrial and investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP), 2007" containing an extensive package of fiscal incentives and other concessions for the country’s North Eastern region. Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, has said that: "this landmark Policy, which will be in place for a period of 10 years, will accelerate the pace of industrialisation and development of the North East". For the first time, the Policy will cover Sikkim also.

The benefits under the Policy will be available to new industrial units and existing industrial units on their substantial expansion, irrespective of their location.

In order to give a boost to investment in North East Region, the Policy provides for an enhanced capital investment subsidy @ 30% of Plant and Machinery subject to a maximum of Rs.1.5 crore. This represents a five-fold increase in the ceiling for capital investment subsidy, which is currently Rs.30 lakh only. The Policy has also a provision to consider medium and large projects which have a significant potential for employment generation, to be given subsidy upto Rs.30 crore subject to the approval of an Empowered Committee.

Another important feature of the Policy is that incentives are being extended to service sectors and select sectors such as bio-technology industry and power generating industry in addition to manufacturing sector. In addition, industries which cause environmental pollution and are hazardous to health such as tobacco products and tobacco processing, pan masala, manufacture of plastic bags etc. will not be eligible for benefits under the Policy.

In order to ensure that genuine industries come up in the region, the Policy disallows concessions to goods in respect of which only peripheral activities take place. In order to have proper coordination and monitoring, a High Level Committee and an Advisory Committee along with an Over Sight Committee will be set up.

The Policy allows continuation of benefits of excise duty and income tax exemption, interest subsidy and comprehensive insurance. The Policy covers the 8 North Eastern States namely, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, tripura and Sikkim

The NEIIPP, 2007 is an attractive package of incentives and is expected to go a long way towards increasing the pace and level of industrialization in the North Eastern Region.

Source : Press Information Bureau

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