Union Minister of Communications and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, participated in three High-Level Task Force (HLTF) meetings on October 27, 2025. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region had constituted Eight High-Level Task Forces, each headed by one of the Chief Ministers of the NE State along, with Union Minister of DoNER and three Chief Ministers of other NE States as members. The initiative emerged from a consensus reached during the 72nd Plenary Session of the North Eastern Council (NEC), held on December 21, 2024, at Agartala.  These task forces are fostering inter-state collaboration, enabling policy alignment, and ensuring that development efforts are regionally integrated rather than state-bound.

 Shri Pu Lalduhoma, Chief Minister of Mizoram, chaired the meeting of HLTF on North East Economic Corridor, with participation of Shri Preston Tynsong, Deputy Chief Minister, Meghalaya; Shri Chandra Mohan Patowary, Minister, Industries & Commerce, Act East Policy, EF&CC, Assam; and Shri Puneet Kumar Goel, Chief Secretary, Manipur.  During the meeting, a comprehensive roadmap for addressing critical challenges in economic infrastructure and strategic interventions across short, medium and long-term horizons was presented. Development of road and railway networks, air connectivity, inland waterways, energy infrastructure, digital connectivity, trade corridors and border trade infrastructure were emphasized. Valuable inputs were provided by HLTF member states i.e. Meghalaya, Assam, and Manipur. The Union Minister appreciated the depth of the presentation and asked the Mizoram Government to submit the final report of HLTF after incorporating the feedback received.

Meeting of HLTF on Tourism was chaired by Shri Conrad Sangma, Chief Minister of Meghalaya.  Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister for Tourism & Culture also participated in the meeting, besides Chief Minister of Tripura, Prof. (Dr.) Manik Saha and Chief Minister of Sikkim, Shri Prem Singh Tamang.  Shri Sangma, presented a preliminary report on recommendations of HLTF. He highlighted the key findings, challenges and recommendations for the development of tourism in the NER. The Union Minister of DoNER suggested   development of world class tourist circuits in North Eastern Region. He also emphasised bottom-up approach to devise an action plan for the development of tourism in North Eastern Regio and vision plan to attract tourists from the neighbouring countries also.  The Union Minister for Ministry of Culture and Tourism highlighted the promotional activities as well as tourism infrastructure development undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism in the North Eastern Region. He also emphasized that tourism is key driver of economic development of the region.

  Meeting of the High-Level Task Force (HLTF) on Agriculture and Horticulture   was held under the chairmanship of Shri Prem Singh Tamang, Chief Minister of Sikkim.   Chief Minister of Tripura, Prof. (Dr.) Manik Saha; Minister of Agriculture, Assam, Shri Atul Bora and Minister of Agriculture, Arunachal Pradesh, Shri Gabriel D. Wangsu also participated, besides senior officers from the States of Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura, and also from the Ministry of  DoNER, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, APEDA, NABARD, and other stakeholder agencies. The Task Force reviewed the progress of ongoing initiatives in the agriculture and horticulture sectors across the North Eastern Region and deliberated on strategies to enhance value addition, processing, and market linkages for key agri-horti products. Key discussions centered around the development of integrated cold chain infrastructure, promotion of organic farming, cluster-based cultivation, and branding of region-specific products under a unified “Organic” labelling. The Union Minister, MDoNER, highlighted the need for economic value addition through focused state-level inputs and suggested developing short-term, medium-term, and long-term strategies to ensure the success and sustainability of public sector undertakings in the region.

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Samrat/Allen