Special Secretary, Logistics Division, Department of Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT) Sumita Dawra, IAS has said that 15 chilli farmers were able to get certification for organic farming and another 15 farmers were in process due of documentation. This was taken up during her interaction with farmers on Tuesday, 20 June 2023 with production organization.
She mentioned this during the first review meeting in Nagaland on PM GatiShakti National Master Plan under her chairpersonship at the Secretariat Hall, Civil Secretariat yesterday, 21 June 2023.
Dawra said that Nagaland government has requested to make the certification process easier for the farmers and she assured that the Ministry will work on it as soon as possible.
She also said with the certification the farmers will get easier access to markets in Europe. She said that some important points were raised by the officials of Agriculture and Horticulture Departments on 20th June 2023 regarding logistics support to production units which were located in far flung villages and that the distance contributes to the cost of the products.
Dawra said that to make it simpler, a prearrangement will be made at Dimapur Airport so that custom clearance will be made easier. UDAN scheme connectivity and the Kisan rail wagon can be attached to the railway services which will help in the movement of the products.
She said that she has spoken with the respective Departments in the Ministry and hoped that it will improve in the logistics of the products.
She said that GatiShakti also maps warehouses and therefore suggested that the Government of Nagaland map the areas where there are high productions along the village, districts and National roads. If such roads can be mapped it will help in the connectivity and will help in the production of the products.
Dawra said that the Government of Nagaland should prioritize industrial areas and she is happy to see the uploading of data and said that data quality is equally important. She said that key officers should be sensitized and present GatiShakti approach to the Deputy Commissioners.
A productive session with organic crop & other #ODOP sellers at Kohima, Nagaland; huge potential for pineapple, Naga chilli, turmeric, honey, tea, other products to reach global markets. Discussed strategies. Learnt where #logistics support needed. @Logistics_MoCI @investindia pic.twitter.com/zsaaVYCmOF
— Sumita Dawra (@SumitaDawra) June 21, 2023
Commissioner & Secretary, Industries & Commerce, Kekhrievor Kevichusa hoped that the interaction will focus on areas where the State can improve and hopes that the meeting will help the departments in understanding how GatiShakti works and how the State of Nagaland in progressing.
Kevichusa who is also the State Nodal Officer of PM GatiShakti said that the State of Nagaland submitted five (5) projects to DPIIT worth Rs.35.00 Cr during the 8th Screening Committee meeting on Annual Action Plan held on 30.09.2022. Five (5) Projects were approved by Screening Committee of DPIIT under SASCI scheme (PM Gati Shakti related Expenditure PART-II). An amount of Rs. 28.45 Cr. was sanctioned by the DoE, Ministry of Finance and they are currently under implementation. He said the following projects and sector/type were approved under the scheme: Development of nodes- Three (3) Modern Aggregation Centre at Longnak, Changtongya & Pfutsero and One (1) Warehouse cum Distribution Centre at Meluri and Setting up of Gati Shakti Data Centre at Kohima
Speaking on the way forward of the PM GatiShakti, Kevichusa said that App/Tool Development: Bisag-N will develop customized (Free of cost) mobile apps for Uploading geolocations and attributes of data layers as per the requirement of GoN. Departments such as: Street Furniture (Electric Poles, Traffic Light Poles, Bus Shelter/Terminals, Smart Poles, Government Buildings), Water Supply Pipelines, Land Records. Integration of Additional Layers on PM Gati Shakti NMP. SMP to be used for Decision making and Planning Area-Development Approach, Setting up Logistics Infra – Multimodal Logistic Park, Dry Ports, Modern Aggregation Centres, Warehousing and Distribution Centres for Dual Purpose (Military & Civil), Last Mile Connectivity to all the Existing Industrial Infrastructures, Area-Development Approach around Trans Nagaland Highway (FootHill Road Length – 320.25 Km), and Development of Logistic zones, Industrial zones, Tourism Centres at Exit- entry Points: • Jalukie – Peren • Vidima – Chumoukedima • Old Showba – Niuland • Merapani – Wokha • Tzudikong (Tuli Papermill Area) – Mokokchung • Tizit – Mon
GatiShakti is a National Master Plan launched by the Indian government in October 2021. The plan aims to streamline critical infrastructure projects, including roads, railways, ports, airports, and telecom, and reduce logistics costs.
Chief Secretary, J Alam during the meeting said that the GatiShakti is a project which is very dear to the Prime Minister of India, and therefore it has been taken earnestly by the State of Nagaland.
Alam said that some progress was made after the intervention of the government of India and that 22 Departments have provided layers and data till date which is a great achievement.
Alam said that PM GatiShakti is not only about developing layers of data for planning purposes but there are many other aspects to it and that lots of progress have been made like logistics policy, logistic infrastructure.
He said that a number of projects have been sanctioned for the State of Nagaland and the projects are in good progress.
Chief Secretary mentioned that Nagaland is not an industrially advanced State, but the State is taking baby steps towards attracting investors. He said that there are numbers of home-grown entrepreneurs, who have started their own businesses and that by giving them the right support and the right amount of guidance many of the entrepreneurs will grow faster.
