Nagaland richly endowed with fertile land, mineral wealth and skilled human resources: CS Alam

KOHIMA, JULY 4: Nagaland Chief Secretary J Alam, while maintaining that Nagaland is richly endowed with fertile land, mineral wealth and skilled human resources, today said the economy of the State at present revolves around agriculture and services in which Government services have a significant share.
“In the State GDP as in 2021-22, services contributed 61% and agriculture 27% while the contribution of manufacturing activities including construction is 11%. The per capita income in Nagaland is about $ 2,000 (at GSDP of Rs. 32,424 crore in 2021-22)”, he said while providing an overview of the State on business, economy and social environment during the precursor conclave on Nagaland CSR & Investment Conclave 2022.
Nagaland is richly endowed with fertile land, community managed forests, abundant mineral wealth and skilled human resources, he said, adding that 70% of the State population is engaged in agriculture.
There is significant potential in the State for Agro and horticultural produce including tea, coffee, Kolar (Rajmah), pineapple, kiwis and other fruits, he said.
Further expansion is possible by increasing per hectare yield and by bringing more area under cultivation as well as by increasing the area under settled agriculture, which all this requires availability of agri inputs and marketing linkages, he said.
Nagaland is also richly endowed with mineral resources such as oil and natural gas, limestone, coal and magnetite but most of these resources remain unexploited due to lack of investment in mining and related infrastructure, he said.
The Nagaland Government has over the years encouraged development of traditional handicrafts and organic agricultural and horticultural products, he said.
As part of providing access to markets, the Government has developed various indigenous brands such as Nagaland Coffee, Naturally Nagaland and Myki with good potential for scaling up and marketing both domestic and international, said Alam.
They could achieve scale with the right partnership and collaboration with experienced companies and entrepreneurs, he told the investors.
He also informed that Nagaland also has a good potential to develop as a major tourist hub while citing the celebration of the tribal festivals and the Hornbill festival.
English being the official language and the medium of instruction in schools and colleges, the young people are good in soft skills and have special talent in music and singing, he said.
The Chief Secretary hoped that the companies would come forward to partner in the development of the state.
Proper monitoring and supervision of the CSR ensured: Rev Dr. Chang
Founder of Eleutheros Christian Society, Rev Dr. Chingmak Chang, sharing experience on doing CSR in Nagaland, said CSR should be dual responsibility with companies and community participating together to own projects.
“Nagaland has its own problems, Government and bureaucratic problems but fact is the Government is open to innovation”, he said while encouraging the corporate to come and give a try with the community and Government in the State.
Rev Dr. Chang assured the corporates of proper monitoring and supervision of the CSR projects being implemented at the ground.
Naga women empowered & unique in position to take up entrepreneurship: GIZ
Julia Karst, Project Head of Her & Now GIZ, a German based investment agency, which is implementing Project Economic Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs and Start-ups by Women in Nagaland said while presenting the policy brief on women entrepreneurship, said women in Nagaland are empowered and unique in position to take up entrepreneurship.
Nagaland has been witnessing significant growth in entrepreneurship in recent years, fuelled by a young population starting their own businesses and an increasing awareness about Nagaland’s rich cultural heritage and natural resources which create unique opportunities for products and services for entrepreneurs, she said.
With a female labour force participation rate of 44.7%, Nagaland has one of the highest economic participation of women in the country, she said.
Remarking that women own 21.6% of enterprises in Nagaland, which is comparable to the national average in India, most of them with self-employed and informal micro businesses, she said “We believe that entrepreneurship in Nagaland is at a tipping point, and with an enabling business ecosystem, entrepreneurship in the State can really take off”.
Women entrepreneurs can benefit from this emerging trend if the right support is provided to them, she said.
GIZ has been implementing the project since 2018, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and in partnership with the Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), she said.
She also shared key policy recommendations vital for women entrepreneurship in the State, which include – centralized platform both virtual and offline to access plans and progarmmes; increasing the number of dedicated support – more incubation programme for growing own business; enhancing the digital literacy of the women; ensure that Naga women are well represented in industry bodies; launch rolling fund to finance the women entrepreneurs.
She also asserted that GIZ is ready to support these policy recommendations.
IDAN Chief Executive Officer Alemtemshi Jamir, delivering the keynote address, said Nagaland has been suffering from financial resources constraint for quite some time because the State and its people have not realized the potentials and the need for private sector expansion.
The private sector is a very important aspect of development in the society, Jamir said, adding that realizing the need to pitch in the private sector, the conclave was designed to attract companies to invest through CSR to meet the development aspects of the State.
He expressed hope that more companies and corporates would join the main event which would be held soon.
It may be mentioned that the conclave was initially fixed for three days starting Monday till Wednesday with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to be part of it. However, a last minute cancellation of her visit due to her busy schedule for the presidential poll campaign, the Nagaland Government postponed the conclave, while the dates are yet to be announced.
Nonetheless, with around 60 companies and investors from various parts of the country and also Germany already arriving in the State, the Government conducted a precursor to the main conclave in order to give them a peep into the development aspects of Nagaland.
The occasion was marked by the release of important Government initiatives including Single Window Investment System, three Externally Aided Projects under Health Department – Hospital Information System, Drugs & Vaccine Distribution Management System and Equipment Management & Maintenance System (EMMS), Performance Incentive Grants (PIG) under Nagaland Education Policy – NECTAR Light House Project worth over Rs 9 crore for 738 Government schools and CSR Project Management and Tracking System by IDAN, a web portal to track all CSR projects.
(Page News Service)