March 3, 2011 in Investment Destinations by admin

Tripura

Tripura is one of the seven states in the north eastern part of India located between 22 degree and 56 minutes and 24 degree and 32 minutes north latitude and between 90 degree and 09 minutes and 92 degree and 20 minutes east latitude. It is bounded on the north, west, south and south-east by Bangladesh whereas in the east it has a common boundary with Assam and Mizoram. The location of Tripura is strategic in the International context, being between Bangladesh on one side and South East Asia on the other.

It is the second largest state in the North-Eastern region of the country in terms of population. The state is rich in natural and human resources with high educational levels. It has vast reserves of natural gas with high methanol content. There is potential for setting up gas based fertiliser, Methane, PVC, compressed natural gas and other related projects. The state has a large variety of fruit crops like pineapple, orange, jackfruit, litchi, etc. which are of high quality with scope for food processing units.

Given the opportunities, the Government of Tripura has made several efforts for attracting investment into the various sectors of the State. The investors can set up various industrial units by optimally utilising the numerous resources as well as the incentives and schemes available in the State.

Investment Policies and Incentives

Government has always endeavoured to set up the right kind of business climate to motivate investments in the State. In order to attract investment to the various sectors and thus contribute to the development of the economy as a whole, the Government of Tripura has made several policy announcements. These policies have unveiled a roadmap and graphed a trajectory for bolstering the industrial climate of the state. These policy documents also envisage the investment incentives and schemes for the investors. Its policy regime is simple and transparent and is administered by an efficient and responsive machinery.

The major policy announcement being the information technology policy, with three broad underlying missions:-

(i) development of human resource for IT through adoption of IT education in educational institutions of Tripura;

(ii) promotion of electronic governance for:-

?Efficient and effective delivery of government services

?Improved revenue collections

?Improving financial management

?Better dissemination of information on government functions, through setting up of IFCs and hosting of websites.

(iii) positioning the state as an attractive location for investment by global and national companies through attractive packages. This will be with an objective to create employment potential in the state in IT industries.

Investment Opportunities

Tripura offers an investor-friendly environment. The Government welcomes investments into the State, from both domestic and foreign investors. Tripura Industrial Development Agency (TIDA) has been established to provide single-window service to investors in facilitating all necessary Government clearances.

Natural gas

Tripura has vast reserves of natural gas in non-associate form. The gas is of high quality, with high methane content of upto 97%. The availability of superior quality natural gas, at concessional price, offers a great opportunity to prospective investors, to set up gas-based industrial units, using natural gas as feedstock, like urea, methanol, PVC and other projects. Besides this, natural gas can also be utilized as a cheaper source of energy for various energy-intensive industrial projects.

Food Processing

The State government has identified food processing as a major thrust area. There is a vast potential for setting up of food processing units in the State.The agro-climatic conditions in Tripura are ideally suited for production of a large variety of horticultural crops. The “Queen” and “Kew” varieties of pineapple, jampui oranges, lichis and cashew of Tripura are well known in the rest of the country. These products are largely organic in nature.

Information Technology (IT)

Tripura has been considered the second best IT destination in the North East. IT sector (including IT-enabled services) has been identified as one of the major potential growth sectors by the state. The high literacy rate of the State provides additional advantage for development of the sector. IT industry being a knowledge-based industry, educated human resource is the most promising resource of the State. It also has good network of schools and colleges spread across the State, including an Engineering College, a Polytechnic and four ITIs. The State Government has also accorded special status to this industry and special incentives have been announced for IT industry in the new incentive package.

Tourism

Tripura is an attractive tourist destination. The state has a rich cultural heritage. There are number of historical Hindu and Buddhist sites. The State also has rich flora and fauna. There is also great potential for development of tourist circuits, involving all the NE states. In Tripura, hotels have been considered as industry, with a view to promote tourism . Hence, all incentives available to other industrial units are also available for setting up hotels.

Handicrafts

From time immemorial, Tripura has carved out a name for itself in the field of handicrafts. The gifted artisans produce wonderful objects of crafts from simple material like cane, bamboo and wood. Tripura’s unique topography and the gracious nature bestowed their choicest blessings on the hereditary artisans of Tripura. Excellent variety of handicrafts using bamboo and cane are made by different ethnic groups which have earned great name and fame throughout the country. The state government has initiated steps in view of the vast potential of the industry to grow, both in domestic as well as international markets. The state also welcomes private enterprise in this field.

Infrastructure

The State has good infrastructure facilities with favourable power situation, upgraded road network and improved telecommunications network. With one of the lowest power tariffs in the country, the state has developed a fairly good industrial infrastructure . Regarding industrial infrastructure, there are 5 existing industrial estates/ areas. Further, a Growth Center Project is under implementation and also, the work of setting up of an Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP), a Food Park and a Rubber Park has also been taken up. It is in the process of setting up an IT Park at Agartala.