With India and Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) pledging to take forward bilateral ties to newer heights in coming years, North East India is eyeing rail and road connectivity with South East Asia, which would probably end its geographical isolation.

North East eyes rail, road connectivity with ASEAN

Business Standard

Except the state of Nagaland, all other seven states could register growth rates above their targets.

NE`s growth rate on a rise

With the first unit of 726 MW Palatana power project in Tripura expected to start commercial production soon, Assam hopes to draw its share of 120 MW of power despite hurdles in evacuating power from the project site.

Assam may draw 120 MW of power from Tripura project soon

After diesel price hike and bus-fare hike, consumers in Assam will have to bear another stiff hike. Power tariff in Assam will go up by Rs 1.03 from November 1, 2012. The hike will be under the Fuel and Power Purchase Price Adjustment (FPPPA) and Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd (APDCL) has got the green signal from Assam Electricity Regulatory Authority (AERC) to go ahead with the hike.

Power tariff to go up in Assam from Nov 1

With the objective to go green, Assam on Wednesday launched a unique &lsquo;Green Roads Mission&rsquo;, which envisages construction of roads with environment-friendly technology.

Road construction technology to go green in Assam

There&rsquo;s some good news for the Indian tea industry which has been demanding that tea be declared the &lsquo;national drink&rsquo; of India. A parliamentary standing committee on commerce, which was constituted on August 31, 2011, and submitted its report on August 9, 2012, has recommended that the beverage be given the status of &lsquo;national drink&rsquo;.

Standing Committee gives nod to tea as 'National drink'

After making an aerial survey of flood ravaged areas in Upper Assam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday announced a Rs. 500 crore financial package for the state to tide over the present crisis.

Assam floods claim 81 lives, PM announces Rs 500 Cr package

As per preliminary assessment done by state government agencies, Assam would need around Rs 2,500 crore &ldquo;as immediate fund requirement&rdquo; for restoration of infrastructure damaged by floods.

Assam needs Rs 2,500 Cr to restore infrastructure damaged by floods

The North Eastern states have demanded &ldquo;revision&rdquo; of the centre sponsored North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP), 2007 to shift the focus from heavy industry to micro and small scale sector.

N-E demands revision of NEIIPP to put thrust on micro, small sectors

Calling the present stamp duty and registration charges in Assam as exorbitant and the highest in the country, the Assam real estate builders want rationalisation of these duties.

Assam builders want rationalisation of stamp duty, registration charges

Incessant rainfall for past couple of days has left the North Eastern state of Assam and parts of Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya reeling under floods and landslides.

Floods ravage Assam, thousands affected

Incessant rainfall for past couple of days has left the North Eastern state of Assam and parts of Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya reeling under floods and landslides. At least 10 persons have lost their lives in Assam in recent days due to floods and around 400,000 have been affected in 17 districts of the state. Around 23,000 hectares of crop area across the state have also been affected due to the floods.

Floods ravage Assam, 400,000 affected

As the year 2012 draws to a close, in retrospect, for Assam it was a year mired in bloodshed and nature&rsquo;s-fury. Three waves of devastating floods, coupled with violent clashes between two communities, probably made 2012 a year that Assam would certainly like to fast erase from its memory.

An year of  devastation for Assam

The Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) is betting big on North East&rsquo;s unexploited horticulture and agriculture potential. With Myanmar opening up for trade with India, Bangladesh willing to grant transit access to Indian exports and foreign companies set to enter the country&rsquo;s retail space, the bank feels it is the &ldquo;opportune time&rdquo; to tap the agri-export potential of the region.

Opportune time to focus on NE: Exim Bank CMD

Against the backdrop of improved trade and business bonhomie between India and the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), the tea sector is eyeing an increase export to these countries. It feels that given the declining trend in tea production and increase in tea import for consumption in Asean countries over the last few years, there appears to be a &ldquo;clear opportunity&rdquo; for India to vigorously market its tea to Asean.

Tea sector eyes export opportunities in Asean 

All tea factories in Assam which are situated within &lsquo;No Development Zones&rsquo; (NDZ) as well as in the range of 500 metres from the coordinates of NDZs will soon have to go green or else will face closures. The Pollution Control Board of Assam (PCBA) has asked these factories to use natural gas as fuel instead of burning fossil fuels.

Tea factories in 'No Developement Zones' to go green in Assam

Realizing the need for long term sustenance and growth, a massive expansion plan is on the cards for Assam-based Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL), a subsidiary of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL).

Massive expansion plan on cards for Numaligarh refinery

You can agree or disagree with Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, 62, but you can&rsquo;t ignore him. The cleric who has been a key figure in Assam politics is fast morphing into a leader of the Muslim community at the national level. Alongside, he and his four brothers have taken the perfumes business started by his father Haji Ajmal Ali to new heights. It is now estimated to do annual business of Rs 200 crore.

Could be the next big Muslim leader

Violence and unrest refuge to die down in the Bodo heartland of Assam, which had erupted following the killing of two persons on July 19. Close to 80 people have since been killed in the conflict, and almost half a million are in relief camps. The air is rife with rumours. Communal frenzy is at its peak. Is the conflict a result of the xenophobia of the indigenous Bodo people (they have in the past clashed with Santhals, Adivasis and even Assamese settlers), the illegal migration of Muslims from Bangladesh, or the power struggle between two factions of the ruling Congress? It could be a mix of all three. The truth will probably never come out. What the killing fields of Assam have done is turn the spotlight once again on the issue of illegal immigration of Bangladeshis into Assam.

Borderline case

Bangalore-based Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospitals Pvt Ltd (NHHPL) will be soon partnering the Assam government to set up a Rs 150 crore super-speciality hospital in Amingoan, near Guwahati. The Assam government on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NHHPL to set up the project under public-private-partnership mode (PPP) mode.

Narayana Hrudayalaya to set up Rs 150 cr hospital in Assam

Weather woes continue to haunt Assam tea industry this year as rainless weather condition has resulted in 20 per cent dip in overall tea production till May. Things weren&rsquo;t any better till mid-June either, making the industry worry as the Second Flush (the premium tea producing period which generally starts from mid-May and goes till June) got affected.

Supratim Dey