Guwahati,Jan 20: Three central agencies in the city have contributed to the welfare of the farmers, weavers and entrepreneurs of the North East.
The officials of North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation (NERAMAC), North Eastern Handlooms and Handicrafts Development Corporation( NEHHDC) and North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd ( NEDFI) under the DoNER ministry briefed journalists from Sikkim, Tripura and Meghalaya about the success stories on the first day of the three-day tour to the city organised by the Press Information Bureau.
NERACE, a NERAMAC initiative
North Eastern Region Agri-Commodity E-Connect (NERACE), an initiative of NERAMAC, has helped in connecting buyers from the country to the sellers in the North East.
Officials said since its launch in July 2024, the digital platform has helped the beneficiaries to do business in terms of crores of rupees, as the portal fetched good prices for the producers of agriculture and horticulture products in the region.
NEHHDC’s Purbashree
A noteworthy initiative of NEHHDC was to launch Purbashree Emporia in Guwahati, Shillong, Kolkata and New Delhi to help the artisans and weavers of the region.
Officials said Purbashree works like a retail shop after NEHHDC procures handicrafts and handlooms from artisans and weavers across the North East.
The artisans and weavers do get exposure as NEHHDC initiates national and international trade fairs, thereby giving them more visibility.
Providing training and conducting seminars for skill and knowledge upgradation of the artisans and weavers are other initiatives.
Financial inclusion
According to the officials of NEDFi, assistance worth crores of rupees was disbursed to Meghalaya, Tripura and Sikkim.
During the interaction with media persons, the officials said that NEDFI has its internal mechanism to ensure that the beneficiaries fully utilise the assistance provided to them after it gives financial assistance to micro, small, medium and large enterprises for setting up industrial, infrastructure and agri-allied projects in the region.
The vision is to excel in customer service delivery through dedicated employees.
The officials also explained how the artisans, weavers and entrepreneurs from the North East benefitted from the varied initiatives of NEDFI.
