 Good evening ladies and gentlemen. We welcome you to the National Conference on Economic Development of Assam in the context of Northeast Justice Position and Locust Policy, organized by Krishna Kanto Handling State Open University. Assam and the other countries and states are rich in natural resources, biodiversity, and multi-ethnic cultures in spite of this, however. The region is that far behind in economic and social culture development compared to other states of the country. The conference will address the issue of how the recent policy framework of the Union government has affected the investment climate of the region. How has the Locust Policy affected the economies of the states? How can the burning problem of flood and erosion be solved, etc.? We hope this conference will evoke and provoke further thought, research, and critiques. We now begin this auspicious occasion with the Saraswati Vandana to be performed by Queen Sharma. She will be accompanied on a guitar by John Radhaas, the tabla by Papu Harma, and the flute by Ruben Raskhotli. Dr. Uttar Harma, former director, Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi, former vice chancellor, Rajivkar University, and member of the 13th Finance Commission. The chief guest, Sri H.M. Das, noted economist and former chief secretary, former chairman, administrative reform commission, and the sum finance commission. The guests of the owner, Sri modern Prasad Vizburra, former union secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, and former advisor planning commission. Professor Khurshe Radham, former professor of economics and dean, faculty of arts, Kohat University, and Dr. Detendulwal Borkakoti, former professor of economics, Hartfordshire University, UK, will now kindly take your place on the dies. I would now request Sri Bhaskar Sarma, the convener of this national conference, to felicitate Dr. Uttar Harma, not to felicitate Sri H.M. Das. I now request Mr. Shmita Kashyap to felicitate Sri M. Prasad Vizburra. Mr. Khurshe Radham has not arrived here. He will join us shortly. Chai Nika Sanapati will now felicitate Dr. Detendulwal Borkakoti. I would like to request Dr. Indra Nideka to felicitate the honorable vice chancellor of the Indian State Open University, Professor Sri M. Prasad Vizburra. I now request Dr. Uttar Harma and other dignitaries on the dies to come forward and light the ceremonial lamp. May I request, on time, the moment to felicitate Professor Khurshe Radham. The work by the vice chancellor of the Indian State Open University, Professor Sri M. Borkakoti. In the glory of the city-famous case of honor, Sri M. Prasad Vizburra, Borkakoti and Borkakoti. I am very happy, the National Conference on Economy, the Rebellion of the Pesan. The idea of holding this came to our mind, about one-and-a-half years back. He suggested that there are many issues, burning issues of the north-eastern region, in general and Assam in particular, which can be widely discussed through a conference on economic development. And then, so the senior citizens of this city, particularly the job of the Supreme Court, came to idea with their support from, finally the support from some of the Distance Education Council, the State Commission Council. We could be able to organize this conference. So this is a free day for the main technical sessions to be held in another venue. We all know that, despite the best effort made by the state government, we find that the development is lagging far behind. Discussing here in this welcome address, new daily technical sessions, a variety of utilizations and the problem of governance. Then we'll discuss some burning issues like flood and erosion of tourism, then social sector like health, education. So these issues, incomprehensibly, those policies we discussed, university has been able to progress with the support of the academics, particularly from Guwahati University, which lists educational level, lower educational level, can be employed in a game for employment opportunities, with lots of emphasis on vocational and professional courses. And we are doing it with the support from the various, and at the moment the university has, this year, annual about 40,000 learners, Distance of Tipura and Nagaland. Now this is the educational radio. May I now request Dr. Uthul Harma to give the inaugural speech. I want to welcome my Chancellor, Professor Srinath Borwaya, Chief Guest H.L. Das, former Indian Secretary, Madan Besborwaya, Professor Burka Koti and Professor Arlam. A respected delegates and ladies and gentlemen. I feel indeed privileged to have been invited to inaugurate this particular, this very important seminar on a very relevant and topical subject, economic development, for some. I am grateful to the KK Hendrick Oppen University, particularly Professor Srinath Borwaya for inviting me to inaugurate this seminar. This evening, already we are behind the schedule. I won't take much time, but I would like to, I propose to share some reflections on one question. India is a developing country. We have to call it a backward country. Comprising 28 states. But all these 28 states, some states have developed faster than others. The question is, why is it that some states could develop faster than others? That is what really my reflection is about. I thought this would be quite relevant in the context of this particular seminar, theme of the seminar. I have a hypothesis which I would like to place before you. In economics, we always talk about certain factors which contribute towards faster development of a state or a nation. One of them is resource space. If we talk about resource space, then Bihar, now Zarkhand, Oristar, Assam, these are all resource space, but yet they are not developed. Another factor we talk about is hostness to the national market. UP, UP, the Earth's hand, and some of the states are very close to the national market, but yet they are not developed. It is a very good transport network that is adventurous for development. UP, Bihar, has got very adventurous transport networks, but yet they are not developed. But in contrast, some of the states which have developed faster do not have any of those advantages. Let's take the case of Guza, which really doesn't have much of resources. Now we have got some oil and all that. It's not very close to the national market. Not it has, it is centrally located, but yet it is one of the fastest growing states of the country. Similarly, Punjab and Haryana, Punjab of course is decelerating very fast now, but Punjab and Haryana grew faster, but they cannot claim to have. It's not really as I've already shown as a random man, but it was parallel land, but other than that there's not much of resources. So, now that if this is the subject, this resource base or national market by itself or not they are necessary, but there are not sufficient conditions for development. Then what explains development? My hypothesis is the states which have been able to articulate that development fast in a well defined development perspective are the states which have developed faster than others. I'll give some examples. For example, one that has been able to develop two parts of that hypothesis. One is that they have to have well articulated trust areas in the development perspective. And second part is that this should be pursued over a longer period of time. The Panzer for instance have a development perspective where the agriculture will be the lead sector and they have one step and this step they have identified as their trust area and they have pursued as the policy goes over a long period of time. This can be said that mine has got two fourth development trust to leverage on the closeness of the national capital and the agriculture development. These are two proven strategies. Development trust and they have been pursuing over a long period of time. Kerala on other end, they have identified social sector as their trust area development perspective and goes that they have identified industrial development the trust area. So now the question is how does it work? There's two things that they identify that trust well articulated development trust in a development perspective and they pursue them over a long period of time and all these states have done that. In the rest of many of the there's some of many of the states which have not really developed they do not have that kind of well articulated trust area in a development perspective. The question is how does it work? It works perhaps the flowing way that when development trust are given and pursued over a long period of time that actors at the grassroots level come to know that this is the policy of the government and they start demanding the delivery of public services which are required to develop that particular to work in that particular sector points to agriculture. If the agriculture is the trust area the farmers know that government has given farming agriculture the high priority in their development perspective so farmers start demanding all that is required to do their farming efficiently. As a result there is a there is a pressure from below for the delivery of public services efficiently. Just to illustrate I will illustrate this point. A long time ago I was travelling with the chief engineer chief delegation in Harib of Hariana we went to a very remote part of the state to see one irrigation project in no time a large number of farmers came to meet the chief engineer chief engineer went and came back in a very short period of time we asked the question that how is it that they did know they came so quickly in the chapter we came this group of farmers came to see you and the second question is that how did you deal with these people so quickly he answered us but the first question is easy because we have the opinion that they know that we are becoming and the second question is that when you ask the question what is the problem they say that the irrigation canal does not give them adequate amount of water and he after he told us that he would go back in 24 hours time an engineer would come and set it right then he explained suppose I don't do it I am talking about 84-85 period in those days there was a mobile telephone only communication with the wireless and you are saying that suppose I don't do this if I don't do this then I will one of them would go to MLA or somebody may go to the minister or chief minister and tell them that I have not addressed the problem there is an understanding that as soon as if the minister calls them immediately they have to go back so he thought that he said that suppose I have to, I don't do it then I would ask to go to Chandigarh leaving you here and they will all give the instruction to set it right so in that so why should I take the trouble instead let me address the problem straight away this is how the pressure comes from below and the accountability comes in so this is how if the thrust areas are well articulated in the development perspective and bus route over the period of time grass route level electors come to know about it and they start demanding delivery of services as a result the DJF there is an accountability which eventually means that better governance been answered because of this coming to North East India the question can be raised do we have a development perspective and within the development have we been able to articulate some thrust areas which could be bus route over the period of time in my view that for North East India or for that matter of time there is no development perspective in fact North East India because of its isolation problems are well known 8-9 problems that hinder the economic development of the region, state or the region is well known infrastructure lack population influx governance and clear economy all these problems are quite well known but development perspective was not developed in fact I believe the government of India in a state in a region like North East India the rule of public sector has to be much larger because it has got resource but revenue tax base is very limited and the private sector private sector is not there and therefore the government or public sector has to play a much larger role but for public sector to perform a larger role it has to have a development perspective but development perspective was not there it was in fact an entire approach to my mind at the central government central government approach to them development of North East India North East India was anchored on two conditions one that this region was built from the angle of security every policy big intervention was built from the angle of security there is a security perspective but not development perspective and second it was finished that in the hill hill stage there should be least intervention and social systems that was the policy developed for the North East India but no hill stage particularly here so if you look at the MEC to my mind when so many states were created from the the great administrative innovation in the North East Council but unfortunately that administrative ministry of North East Council was not any economic development Department of Planning Commission it was the Ministry of Home only recently it was reorganized and it is organized as a regional planning court which is under the planning commission but for a long period there was no policy there was no security perspective and there was no development perspective development of all the economic policies which were improved for the North East India were loosely loosely put in the MECO economic plan so this was the problem but now this indeed there is a must a development perspective for the first time to my mind and developing perspective is the North East India should be integrated economically with South East Asia and politically with the best of the country I think this is a development perspective but to get based out of this perspective development perspective to benefit the region or to or to develop the region in this perspective one is to there is a three conditions there are two three conditions to my mind one that there has to be a unified North East Indian economy what they mean by unified North East Indian economy is that that all the restrictions in the movement of goods service goods capital movement and factor movement should be second there should become a strategy on some other thing there should be certain problems which are unique to the North East India and these problems have to be addressed doing research and all that and further there should become strategic because otherwise it could lead to the national laboratory to national institutions to resolve the problems very specific to the region will take a long time but it may not come through so there should be ground on strategy to find solutions for the problems there should be also ground on strategy for utilizing the resources like water hydrocarbon eclation of water eclation of other resources there should become a strategy for developing North East Indian is very good for tourism and there should become a strategy for developing North East tourism and similarly there should there could be if it is a if one state is to do all this then that is not possible because it is a very small space but when all are combined it is four core population and of the development 78% of the development have population respect four core which means that it becomes a it becomes four and can be noticed in India with four core population is is large enough for pursuing many of the development policies on a common platform therefore if we lead that unified common markets is a very is an important requirement for getting for the new the new articulated development perspective the two streamline the institutions for optimal use of the resources because as I said during the 11th plan during the 10th plan we were told the secretary finance planning commission has told in a meeting of the steering group that 80,500 rupees were invested during the plan period for the development of North East but despite the fact that such a large money which works out means the four core people and 80,500 if you take 80,000 it comes to 20,000 20,000 per head 20,000 per head for five years it's a large amount of money and then where has the money gone that is one issue this point is that it is not reflected in the increase in the part of the income of the region if you look at the part of the income of Assam and compared with all India the gap between the two is widening if you look at the infrastructure Assam was I think in 2007 India today ranked Assam as 14,000 15 last days and the 15,000 and the 2008 it was 15 positions it was one position it deteriorated by one position and the smaller states among the 10 special category states and the eights they were all at the bottom in terms of infrastructure so if such a large scale of money has been invested what has that it is not reflected in the increase in part of the income it is not reflected in the increase in the infrastructure the issue is what has the money gone I don't have an answer to this question Prof. Mezbezburwa or Gohanthi University has given project planning commission as a sequel to the question raised in the steering group meeting and he is supposed to look into the issue and he should be able to tell us where has this money gone so the point I am trying to make is that the second requirement is uniquely if we are to get the benefit reap the benefit out of the newly emerged developing perspective I believe that is equal to different perspective then the first requirement is to create a unified common market and second is to streamline the institutions now there to be a streamline Prof. Mezbezburwa should be able to tell us at the end of the search and streamline the institutions to make proper use of resources because eventually public sector has continue to has to continue its major role in the development of North East India for little longer time if we take the country as we hold in the 11th plan 80% of the investment, plan investment has come in the private sector only government public sector investment is over 20% but for North East India it has to be other way round private investment is not coming through public investment has to be large and the public sector investment by itself does not mean unless they are utilized properly and for utilization there has to be strengthening of the institutions that it raises forces watching this is what I felt about the development perspective for the North East India I'm sure that in the deliberation that will take place in the next two days will deliberate on some of these issues and they will be able to give some useful recommendations that I I with these words I inaugurate the seminar and thank you for your kind attention may I now request the chief guest to address the battery