Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Governor Lt Gen (Retd) K T Parnaik on Saturday asserted that the state has made remarkable progress in reducing multidimensional poverty. He said the state has achieved a 166 per cent increase in Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) since the 2015-16 fiscal.
Addressing the 72nd plenary of the North Eastern Council (NEC) at Agartala, he said that the people of Arunachal Pradesh take pride in the fact that the state is among the 'front-runner states' on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) scorecard for 2023-2024.
Parnaik informed the regional forum that concerted efforts are being made towards enhancing education standards in the state, right from strengthening anganwadis and upgrading government schools, implementing NEP 2020, and using technology by means of smart classes and establishing 'advanced learning centres' in the districts, an official statement from Raj Bhawan said here.
"Arunachal Pradesh is one of India's most aspirational states, where significant focus has always been on fostering development, growth, and empowerment of our young population," he said.
He said the government's major focus is on tourism including, creating infrastructure in destinations, skilling the youth as guides and tour operators, and marketing as the state has a wide scope to develop eco, religious and adventure tourism.
Highlighting the progress in agriculture and allied sectors, Parnaik said that the state is producing 5,04,801 metric tonnes of cereals, including millets and 5,000 MT of kiwis.
He stressed the requirement of support from the NEC for the establishment of warehouses for the storage and carriage of cereals and kiwi products by rail to enable marketing in the rest of the country.
"The state is nurturing a dynamic startup ecosystem with the Arunachal Pradesh Innovation and Investment Park (APIIP), actively supporting investment, startup growth, and enhancing ease of doing business," he said.
The state's UNNATI scheme is positioned to propel towards realising our industrial potential, while the focus remains on the non-polluting industries, the governor said.
Parnaik added that the state has also made notable strides in law and order, including the launching of 14 Mahila police stations and 'pink patrolling' to safeguard women, and implementing GIS and AI-based crime monitoring in Itanagar as a pilot project.
He added that Arunachal Pradesh's law enforcement personnel have undergone extensive training on new criminal laws and in addition, the state's legal professionals have been trained on the laws to ensure preparedness for legislative changes. The governor said that financial inclusion remains a challenge in Arunachal Pradesh.
Expressing gratitude to the Centre and the DoNER Ministry, for support to the state, Parnaik stressed that the NEC, as a knowledge institution for the region, could play a pivotal role in addressing the challenges and advancing development goals in the state, the statement added.
