Guwahati to host North East Trade Facilitation Fair on Feb 28 & 29

Guwahati: The Northeast Region (NER) of India is replete with natural resources, varied horticulture, tourism and biodiversity. It is endowed with perennial water bodies, diverse ethnic groups and an especially high female literacy rate. But the region also faces challenges due to difficult terrain, sparse populations, poor connectivity, varied socio-cultural groups — affecting its pace of growth and in turn widening inequality gaps.

All of the above are not challenges but opportunities for local innovations to thrive and new entrepreneurship models to emerge. The Northeastern states of India have an immense potential to show not only to rest of the country but to the world about true path to sustainable development. The diversity of challenges will give rise to a plethora of solutions that can be replicated in similar topographies in the world. The uniqueness of the skills sets, terrains and livelihoods opportunities means there needs to a customised approach to the Northeast.

Biren Singh, an innovator and entrepreneur based in Bishnupur, Manipur, developed the first prototype of a modified power loom in 1992. In 2004, the National Innovation Foundation (NIF) recognised his innovative shuttle loom which simulates the working principles of traditional Manipuri shuttle loom (Yongkham).