East-N East can be the food bowl of India

The east and north-eastern parts of the country have unique advantage to be the food bowl of India, chairman of Pan IIT Alumni, India, Ashok Madhukar said.
The two parts have access to land, water and labour, he said adding agriculture plays a critical role in food security, rural development and livelihood.
Madhukar, who was speaking at the PAN IIT Alumni India programme 'Digital Transformation of Agriculture' here, called for bringing about a transformation in the quality of life of people of the areas through economic opportunities.
He said local production and consumption will also reduce stress on water and carbon footprints.

West Bengal Additional Chief Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said food security is the foundation of a state and highlighted its role in West Bengal.
He drew attention to the neglect of agriculture even as the majority of the population depended on it for livelihood.

Divisional Chief Executive - Agri Business & IT, ITC Ltd, S Shivkumar said, digital transformation can bring about a fundamental change in the two areas of policy and food safety.
"As income grows demand rises, but with changing lifestyle there will be a shift in the nature of demand," he said.
Bandhan Bank Chairman C S Ghosh said digital information is reducing the loan processing time and enhancing the ability of the banks to deal with large volume of borrowers.

Key participants at the programme, held on Saturday last week, representing the government, private and financial sectors agreed to quickly roll out a pilot programme in collaboration with Pan IIT Alumni India to take advantage of the opportunities supported by digital empowerment initiatives.
The programme was part of Pan IIT Alumni India's multi-city initiative on digital empowerment.