"Let there be one single economic entity within the North Eastern region. Then we can become a force to reckon with," Federation of Industry and Commerce of North East Region chairman R S Joshi said here.
Speaking at a seminar organised jointly by industry chamber Ficci and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, he said with removal of barriers and free movement of goods within the region, all the states of North East can achieve growth.
Joshi called upon public enterprises to come forward and invest in the North East.
"We need PSU investment in bulk. The private sector would follow if the PSUs come. With such investments we can develop industry in many sectors and lot of ancillary units could come up," he said adding that Indian Railways could play a major role in this process.
Calling for greater support from the government, Joshi said the tea sector in Assam was facing problem due to high social cost incurred by the companies on things like education, medical care and housing of the labourers in the estates.
"It is our duty to provide the workers such facilities but we also need government support in this to keep the gardens viable," he said.
Joshi said the central government should take steps to include the services sector into the ambit of North East Industrial & Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP), 2007, so that it can avail of facilities like tax exemption.
Regarding the issue of land acquisition, he said, "At least for Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises, there should be special focus."
