Page 3 - Tripura

Vedanta to invest Rs 50,000 cr oil, gas in Assam, Tripura over 3-4 yrs

Mining major Vedanta Group chairman Anil Agarwal on Tuesday announced that it will pump in Rs 50,000 crore in Assam and Tripura's oil and gas sector over the next 3-4 years. Speaking at the inaugural function of the Advantage Assam investment summit here, he said group firm Cairn Oil & Gas has already invested around Rs 2,500 crore in the two states of the northeast region. "Assam has abundant natural resources and potential to become the world's mega basin. We are poised to play a pivotal role in Assam's sustainable growth and development," he said. Agarwal said that the company has firmed up plans to "invest Rs 50,000 crore in Assam and Tripura's oil and gas sector over the next 3-4 years". "With such an investment, we will produce 1,00,000 barrels of oil and gas per day, making the region a dominant hydrocarbon hub. It will also create direct and indirect employment opportunities for 1 lakh youths," he added.

Tripura has started using AI to identify tax evaders, says CM Manik Saha

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Saturday said the state has been using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify tax evaders and will take action against them. While addressing GST 'Jaagrookta Abhiyan' at Prajna Bhavan, the chief minister said the tax collection plays a key role in accelerating development in the northeastern state. "Of the state's annual budget of Rs 27,800 crore in the 2024-25 financial year, its own revenue stands at Rs 3,700 crore. Only Rs 10,000 crore remained after meeting the non-plan expenditure- salary, pension, loan and interest of loan. The state needs to pay 25 per cent of its own revenue (Rs 3,700 crore) to Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) and 10 per cent to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)," he said. Emphasising on more tax collection by preventing evasion, the chief minister said the development depends on the tax collection. "If there is more tax, there will be more development. The government is taking all possible steps to ..

Tripura conclave secures business deals worth Rs 3,683 cr for state

The Tripura government on Saturday said that 87 Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) valued at Rs 3,683 crore were signed in the business conclave that concluded on February 8. Addressing the 'Destination Tripura: Business Conclave-2025' here, Chief Minister Manik Saha urged investors to set up industries in the northeastern state. "Though Tripura is the third smallest state in the country, it has enormous resources to offer for setting up industries. Natural gas, tea, rubber, bamboo and agar are the resources which could be used for commercial purposes," Saha said. Asserting that the northeastern state has agar plantations covering over 2000 hectares in non-forest area, the chief minister said the state also produces over 1 lakh MT of raw rubber annually. Saha also informed the industrial houses of the state's infrastructure for business, especially in Sabroom. "Maitri Setu, connecting Tripura's Sabroom with Bangladesh's Ramgarh has been constructed. The distance between Maitri Setu

Bank Holidays 2025: Are banks open or closed today, Jan 23, in your state?

Bank holidays in India vary by region. This Thursday, all public and private banking institutions will be closed in observance of Parakram Diwas and Vir Surendra Sai Jayanti

Will take up Bangladesh embankment issue with Centre: Tripura CM Saha

Chief Minister Manik Saha on Wednesday assured the Tripura Assembly he will take up with the Centre the issue of Bangladesh government's move to build a massive embankment opposite Kailashahar subdivision in the state's Unakoti district. The assurance came after Congress legislator Birajit Sinha drew Saha's attention on the matter. "The Bangladesh government has been constructing a massive embankment opposite Kailashahar. We have a 40-year-old embankment at Rangaoti. If our embankment is not strengthened on an urgent basis, people will suffer in case of floods," Singh said. State's fisheries minister Sudhangshu Das, who hails from Unakoti district, said the matter is international and a few patches of the India-Bangladesh border in Tripura are still unfenced leading to cattle smuggling in bordering areas. "This is an international matter. I have already sent reports to Delhi suggesting strengthening of embankments. I will refer the matter to the Centre again", Saha assured.

16th Finance Commission team to arrive in Tripura on Jan 29: Official

The full team of the 16th Finance Commission, headed by its chairman Arvind Panagariya, is expected to arrive here on January 29 for a four-day visit to Tripura, an official said on Saturday. During their visit to the northeastern state, they will meet Chief Minister Manik Saha and hold discussions with government officials and other stakeholders to learn about the wish list of Tripura, state Finance Secretary Apurba Roy told PTI. "The Finance Commission's full team will hold meetings with top officials of the Tripura administration to learn about the state's wish list," Roy said. The commission will also hold meetings with representatives of local urban bodies, including Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC), Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), and delegations from the political parties to know their demands and views. The panel will examine the fund requirement for the state's non-plan expenditure for the five years starting from April 1, 2026, another offic

Bangladesh's situation discussed in NEC plenary meet, says Tripura CM

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Wednesday said he had presented a report on Bangladesh's situation at the recent plenary session of the North Eastern Council (NEC). The regional planning body's plenary session was held in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and DoNER Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia here on December 21. While addressing a press conference, the chief minister said there was a discussion on the present situation of Bangladesh at the NEC plenary conference. Bangladesh shares a 4,096-km international boundary with India, and of which, the neighbouring country has an 1879-km border with four northeastern states- Tripura (856 km), Mizoram (318 km), Meghalaya (443 km) and Assam (318 km). I have presented a report on the situation in Bangladesh and mentioned details of barbed wire fencing, and the strength of BSF, CRPF and police. I also place our demands which need to be done," he said. Claiming that the NEC plenary meeting was successful, Saha said the ...

Bangladesh turmoil casts shadow on key connectivity projects in Tripura

The sudden collapse of the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh has cast a shadow on key connectivity and trade projects in Tripura, which is likely to have far-reaching implications on the northeastern state's growth engine in the year ahead. Dark clouds of uncertainty loom large on the fate of 'Maitri Setu' (friendship bridge), built over River Feni in South Tripura's Sabroom sub-division, despite its joint inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his the then Bangladeshi counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, in March 2021. The 1.9-km-long bridge, constructed at a cost of Rs 133 crore, promises a shorter and more economical alternate connectivity between the Northeast and Kolkata via Chittagong and Mongla ports in Bangladesh with Sabroom as a gateway to the Southeast Asian nations. However, barely days before passenger movement between India and Bangladesh through the bridge was scheduled to be flagged off, a deadly student uprising in August threw the country into disarray and ..

Bangladesh owes Tripura Rs 200 cr in unpaid electricity bills, say CM Saha

Bangladesh owes Tripura Rs 200 crore in electricity dues but no decision has been taken on halting power supply to the neighbouring country yet, Chief Minister Manik Saha said on Monday. Tripura supplies 60-70 megawatts of power to the neighbouring country according to an agreement signed by the Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited through the NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited with the Bangladesh Power Development Board. "Bangladesh has not paid us about Rs 200 crore for supplying electricity. The outstanding (amount) is increasing every day. We hope that they will clear their dues so that the power supply is not disrupted," Saha told PTI here in an interview. Asked whether the Tripura government would stop the supply of electricity if Dhaka fails to pay the dues, the chief minister said no decision has been taken on it yet. He said several pieces of machinery at the power generation plant in Tripura were brought through either Bangladeshi territory or Chittagong port. ...

Tripura remained backward during Left rule, BJP brought development: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday hit out at Left parties for turning Tripura into a "backward" state during their 35-year rule and said it could witness progress only after the BJP assumed power in 2018. Addressing a public meeting here after visiting a village where displaced Bru tribals were rehabilitated, Shah said that Tripura remained behind on all parameters of development during the communist rule but is now moving forward on the path of progress. "For 35 years, the communists ruled Tripura. The communists claimed that they worked for the welfare of the poor. The Congress also ruled Tripura for a considerable time. But the people of the state always remained poor. It was when the BJP came to power that Tripura could witness development," he said. Shah said when he visited Tripura in 2017 as BJP president and stayed for five days, only 11 people took party membership. "Gradually we started our work. We worked hard and could oust the communists from power" after toiling

99% of Tripura villages now have banking access within 5 km: CM Saha

CM Saha stated that Tripura has achieved complete financial inclusion, with every village in the state now having access to a banking touchpoint or outlet, in line with the National Strategy

Home minister Amit Shah to chair NEC meet in Agartala on December 21

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to chair the plenary session of the North Eastern Council (NEC) here on Saturday, an official said. DoNER minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with governors, chief ministers of all eight Northeastern states, and senior officials, will also attend the meet. "Union home minister Amit Shah is scheduled to arrive here on Friday to chair the 72nd plenary session of the NEC to be held at Prajna Bhavan on Saturday," West Tripura district magistrate Vishal Kumar told PTI on Thursday. In addition to the NEC plenary, Shah will hold a bankers' meeting to review financial inclusion, credit delivery, priority sector lending, and digital inclusion, he added. Shah will also visit the Bru (Reang) settlement camp at Bruhapara and address a public meeting at Masuraipara in Dhalai district on Sunday, director of information and cultural affairs department, Bimbisar Bhattacharjee, said in a press communiqu on Wednesday. This will be the first time since the

Tripura CM Saha invites investors to tap into state's growth potential

Addressing Northeast Trade and Investment Roadshow in Mumbai's Colaba on Monday, CM Saha expressed his gratitude to the MDoNER for providing a platform to enhance investment and business opportunities

Tripura to have 114,000 'Lakhpati Didis' by end of current FY: CM

Lauding the Tripura Rural Livelihood Mission (TRLM) for spearheading women empowerment, Chief Minister Manik Saha on Saturday asserted that the northeastern state will have 1.14 lakh 'Lakhpati Didis' by the end of the current fiscal. At present, the state has 83,000 'Lakhpati Didis' who earn Rs 1 lakh or more annually by engaging themselves in activities of self-help groups (SHGs). While addressing the inaugural programme of SARAS Mela at Badharghat International Fair Ground in West Tripura district, the chief minister said the success of SHGs has changed the rural economy over the last few years. "The number of SHGs, which was only 4,000 before 2018, has now increased to 52,000. Altogether, 4.73 lakh rural women got engaged in various self-employment trades. The government has allocated Rs 69 crore as revolving fund so far (after the BJP came to power in Tripura) and Rs 626.97 crore community investment fund has been channelised to the SHGs," Saha said. Showering praise on the rol

Tripura govt plans palm cultivation on 7,000 hectares of wasteland by FY27

The Tripura government has planned to bring around 7,000 hectares of wasteland under oil palm cultivation by the 2026-27 financial year (FY'27), an official said on Friday. Initially, the Centre had identified 7,000 hectares for oil palm cultivation in the state but the ICAR-Indian Institute of Oil Palm Research reassessment committee classified 1.46 lakh hectares as a potential area for such farming in 2020 through digital mapping. "Under the National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP), the state planned to bring at least 7,000 hectares of wasteland under oil palm cultivation by the 2026-27 financial year. The state has a favourable agro-climate for palm cultivation. Accordingly, we are working rigorously to achieve the target," Horticulture and Soil Conservation Department's Director P B Jamatia told PTI. He said the department has selected two processors as technical associated partners- Godrej Agrovet Pvt Ltd and Patanjali Foods Pvt Ltd -for implementation of the national

India willing to build constructive relationship with B'desh: India envoy

Bangladesh has suspended all activities of its Assistant High Commission in Agartala after the breach of its premises

Bangladesh suspends visa services in Agartala mission over security reasons

The Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Tripura's capital Agartala on Tuesday announced the suspension of all visa and consular services with immediate effect until further notice because of "security reasons", a day after the mission's premises was breached by a group of people protesting against the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das in Dhaka. Amid escalating tensions between the two countries, Dhaka summoned the Indian envoy posted there to protest against the alleged vandalism of its mission in Tripura. Also on Tuesday, police registered a suo motu case and arrested seven people for their alleged involvement in the incident at the Bangladesh mission. Action was also taken against four policemen for dereliction of duty, West Tripura district SP Kiran Kumar K said. "Given the security situation, all visa and consular services at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission, Agartala, will remain suspended until further notice. This comes into effect immediately," Md Al-Amee

Tripura demands Rs 135 cr power dues from Bangladesh amid rising tensions

Tripura's Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath stated that while Bangladesh has been paying its dues in installments, the outstanding amount has impacted the state electricity board

Nothing should be forced on anyone, B'desh situation not good: Tripura CM

CM Saha also expressed concern as he pointed out that many terrorists who were jailed when the Sheikh Hasina was Prime Minister in Bangladesh

Indian bus attacked in Bangladesh, alleges Tripura's transport minister

Tripura's Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury alleged that a bus on the way to Kolkata from Agartala was attacked in Bangladesh. The incident happened on Bishwa Road in Bangladesh's Brahmanbaria district, he said. "A Sahyamoli Paribahan bus on the way from Tripura to Kolkata was attacked in Bangladesh's Brahmanbaria Bishwa Road. The incident terrified Indian passengers on the bus. The bus was maintaining its lane when a truck intentionally hit it. At this point, an autorickshaw came in front of the bus, and the bus and the auto-rickshaw collided," Chowdhury said in a post on Facebook on Saturday, sharing photos of the bus. "Following this incident, locals started threatening Indian passengers on the bus. They also raised anti-India slogans and hurled expletives at the Indian passengers, giving them life threats. I strongly condemn the incident and urged the administration of the neighbouring country to ensure the safety of Indian passengers," he added. Buses operate between Kolka