Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, May 30: To showcase Northeast before the rest of the country and to promote its original art and handicrafts, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Sports, MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today inaugurated an exclusive Northeast Pavilion in the Emporium of Central Cottage Industries Corporation (CCIC) in the heart of union capital at Janpath here. He was accompanied by Union Minister of State (I/C) for Textiles Santosh Gangwar.
Going around the various sections of the Pavilion after formally inaugurating it, Dr Jitendra Singh said, two years of Modi Government have brought Northeast distinctly into focus. The inauguration of the Northeast Pavilion today, he said, comes close on the heels of the inauguration of permanent Northeast stall at Dilli Haat.
In the past, Dr Jitendra Singh said, emphasis was more on familiarizing Northeast with the rest of India, but in the last one year or so, we have shifted the focus to familiarizing the rest of India with Northeast, so that the huge unexplored potential and the unseen creativity in products from Northeast may be exposed to the rest of the world. In the Pavilion inaugurated today, for example, Dr Jitendra Singh said, Assam Silk sarees and other garments displayed stand side-by-side with the silk products from Kancheepuram and Banaras. Similarly, furniture and household products made out of Bamboo stand side-by-side with similar products made of wood, timber and other material from the rest of the country, he added.
Since the location of CCIC is right next to Connaught Place and it is visited by one and all, those who do not initially come to buy a Northeast product, will feel tempted to walk a few steps further to have a look at it. This will also help in attracting youth from the rest of the country to try their luck in Northeast under the provisions of Prime Minister’s Startup India plan, he added.
Speaking to media persons on the sidelines, Dr Jitendra Singh said, Northeast has now begun to find a huge market in the rest of India and also abroad and the single most important factor which has made it possible is the repeated visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the region, which have helped publicize the lesser known products and at the same time, has also encourage tourism by people whose travel itinerary never included Northeast in the past.
Union Minister of Textiles Santosh Gangwar thanked Dr Jitendra Singh for collaborating with his Ministry for setting up the Pavilion. Also present on the occasion were Secretary DoNER Naveen Varma, Union Textiles Secretary Rashmi Verma and Director CCIC.
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