Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu on Thursday said his government will not tolerate or allow red-tapism and facilitate entrepreneurs to successfully implement projects and invest in the state.
“The state government is ready to go the extra mile in enabling a conducive atmosphere for entrepreneurship and investments,” Khandu said while addressing the Arunachal Pradesh Social Entrepreneurship Meet (APSEM)-2020.
The event was held at the Dorjee Khandu Auditorium of the State Legislative Assembly in Itanagar.
The meet, first of its kind, is an initiative by the Arunachal Pradesh government to usher an environment of social innovation and entrepreneurship in the state.
The Arunachal CM further lauded the initiative as the first ever to be conceptualized and held by any state in the country and said the two-day meet should be a turning point for the state.
“This should kick-start the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to achieve a 5 trillion economy in the coming years,” he said.
This meet is a platform to connect all start-ups across the country working in social sectors and work together with the state government to promote sustainable development, said Khandu.
Khandu asserted that while development on all fronts is a must, the social sectors should also be taken care of.
He called upon entrepreneurs to focus on social sectors like health and education and take up projects for uplift of these sectors.
“This is the best platform for our local entrepreneurs to get, share innovate new ideas and shape up the future of Arunachal Pradesh,” he said.
“Please come forward and convert your ideas into something which you would be proud of and in the process help the state develop,” he appealed.
Khandu, however, reminded that development should not be at the cost of the environment and nature.
He said Arunachal Pradesh, due to its remoteness and unique cultural diversity has its own challenges that require customized/local solutions.
The investment in the state, therefore, requires innovativeness and an ability to understand the social fabric, which can be possible if there is an additional intent to create products or deliver services that benefit the society at large.
Khandu categorically sited the sectors of agriculture, horticulture, tourism and textiles and handicrafts sectors that need to be leveraged and the benefits passed on to the farmers, weavers, artisans and tour guides.
“I would urge the entrepreneurs to find a solution to the problems we face in agriculture and allied sectors particularly demand aggregation and poor market linkages,” he said.
Khandu observed, “Social entrepreneurs can play a huge role to supplement these efforts of the state govt. in doubling the income of our farmers by 2022.”
He also informed about the upcoming Mega Food Park at Banderdewa, which, he pointed would provide a fillip to food processing sector in the state.