The forum, which consists of Industry and Commerce Ministers of all the NE States, sat for a mid-term appraisal of the NEIIPP here and also took stock of the policy in all the north-eastern States.

“As the north-eastern States including Assam are not in a position to give out land to big industries, the forum decided to shift the thrust to tiny, small and medium industries,” Industry and Power Minister Pradyut Bordoloi told media persons today.

“We will ask the Centre to effect revision of the policy so that we can reach out to the MSME sector extensively,” Bordoloi pointed out.

Further, the forum will also plead with the Centre to set up MSME branches in all the district headquarters to facilitate financial assistance to petty entrepreneurs. Moreover, the forum also vouched for increasing the interest subsidy from 3 per cent to 7 per cent.

While reading out the achievements of the NEIIPP- 2007 in the last five years, the Minister informed that the region has received 336 private investment proposals to the tune of Rs 38,000 crore.

“Of the total amount, Assam received investment proposals worth Rs 21,152 crore,” he said.

Bordoloi went on to inform that 75 per cent of the proposals have already taken a tangible shape and the rest are in the pipeline.

Further, categorising the areas of investment, Bordoloi divulged that the region has received the largest number of proposals in pharmaceuticals, followed by cement, power plant, hospitality, plastic-based industries and health care.