(a) The main objective and goal of the much publicized ‘Act East Policy’ of the Government;
(b) Whether there shall be any reference of ‘Vision 2020 Document’ prepared by the earlier Government in setting up the goals of ‘Act East Policy’; and if so, the details thereof; and
(c) The measures taken by the Government to achieved the targets of the above policy?
The Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of
North Eastern Region
(Dr. Jitendra Singh)
(a) & (b) :
The “NER Vision 2020” document of the North Eastern Council(NEC) has emphasised the role of “Look East Policy” for promoting economic and cultural ties, development of strategic relationship with South Asian neighbours and China and thereby ending the economic isolation of the North Eastern Region. The Look East Policy, which has been evolving since early 1990s, involves intensive and continuous engagement with countries in the Asia-Pacific region at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels.The upgrade from “Look East” to “Act East” not only highlights the importance of NER through a more proactive and pragmatic approach, but also addresses key strategic, economic and cultural opportunities as highlighted in the Vision 2020 of NEC.
(c ):
For achieving the objectives of “Act East Policy”, on the domestic front the Government has taken measures for time bound completion of critical infrastructure projects in the NER relating to road, rail, inland water transport,
power, airports and telecom connectivity. Actions have been taken for faster connectivity with other parts of the country. At bilateral and regional levels NER has been integrated into various plans, including those action points identified inthe Vision document viz. Indo-Myanmar-Thailand connectivity through road, access to Sittwe port(Myanmar) through Kaladan multi-modal project, access to Chittagong port (Bangladesh), Agartala–Akhoura (Bangladesh) rail connectivity, enhancing cooperation in the areas of trade & investment,development of land customs stations and border haats, IT infrastructure linkage with neighbours, Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala bus service etc, Due to constant engagement with the neighbouring countries some of the long pending bilateral issues have also been addressed.