Agartala, Dec 19, 2023, TRIPURATIMES Desk

Agartala, Dec 19: The delegates of NITI Aayog of the Government at the Centre on Tuesday held a meeting with the senior officers of the Tripura government here at the secretariat to elaborately discuss about the progress of the state in terms of development and implementation of developmental schemes of the government.

The delegates were headed by the NITI Aayog member Dr V KL Saraswat, Senior Advisor Rajeev Kumar Sen, Deputy Secretary Hemant Kumar Meena, Senior Associate Krishan Kant Sharma and others, while the Chief Secretary J K Sinha headed the delegates of senior officers of the state government.

During the meeting, the NITI Aayog member Dr V K Saraswat said that the government in Tripura is doing commendable work in various fields to progress significantly on the path of development. He said that the NITI Ayog is ready to render full cooperation to overcome the difficulties being faced by the state government in the implementation of developmental programs.

Saraswat emphasized on public private partnership to encourage investors to invest in the state. He advised the officials of the state administration to take necessary initiatives on this.

The delegates of Niti Aayog arrived in the state on Tuesday on a three-day visit to strengthen joint initiatives between the Center and the state for integrated and sustainable development.

Chief Secretary J K Sinha, who headed the delegates of the state government said that NITI Aayog has extended necessary support for the development of North Eastern states including Tripura. Niti Aayog is also taking a constructive role in solving various problems of North Eastern states, he added.

He said that various steps are being taken through the Department of Good Governance of the Tripura government and as a part of this initiative, the functioning of the secretariat to the district offices has been made paperless.

Briefing the NITI Aayog delegates about the government’s initiatives, the Chief Secretary said that the E-cabinet system has also been introduced in the state and the government is working on expanding all possible measures to build digital infrastructure in the state.

During the meeting, the Secretary of the Department of Planning and Coordination Kiran Gitte briefed the NITI Aayog delegation about the state's geographical location, population, demographics, economy, average per capita income, growth rate, progress of the state towards sustainable development and state issues related to NITI Aayog's plans.

He sought the cooperation of NITI Aayog to withdraw the port-based restrictions on the export of finished rubber from Tripura to Bangladesh.

In the meeting with the delegation of Niti Aayog, the issues of expansion of trade with and through Bangladesh, industrial development, processing of bamboo, rubber, agar and pineapple, information and technological facilities and development of health services were discussed elaborately.

The meeting also discussed the feasibility of opening an auction center for the development of the tea industry in the state. In addition, emphasis was placed on setting up a central smokehouse to improve the quality of rubber in the state.