Northeast festival in New Delhi from April 9

Odisha Channel Bureau New Delhi, Jan 21: A four-day mega Northeast festival will be held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from April 9 to 12.It will possibly be the first of its kind, aimed at showcasing the vast resource and potential of the eight Northeastern States.On the directions of Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jitendra Singh, the Secretary (DoNER) today held a detailed meeting with Delhi-based Resident Commissioners of all the eight Northeastern States as well as senior representatives from the Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Commerce, Food Processing, Culture, Information & Broadcasting, Agriculture, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and Skill Development.They discussed the modalities for smooth coordination of the event.According to a PIB release, Singh mentioned that the festival focusing on Northeast will comprise exhibitions, displays, traditional Northeast cuisines, exclusive stalls of books, art pieces and photographs, archive collections based on freedom struggle in Northeast, screening of films in various Northeastern languages and a wide variety of cultural programmes.Singh informed that letters of request to potential `Brand Ambassadors’ have been dispatched and the name that is finalised will be disclosed after the formal consent is received.In order to make the festival professionally oriented, Singh said that a series of Business summits and discussions on investment opportunities in Northeast will also be held at which entrepreneurs from Northeast as well as from other parts of the country will have an opportunity to interact with each other.The Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM) will also participate in the business summits, he added.On the fourth and the last day of the festival, Singh said that a gala cultural programme will be held, the hallmark of which will be fusion music of the eight Northeastern States.The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region is responsible for the matters relating to the planning, execution and monitoring of development schemes and projects in the region.Its vision is to accelerate the pace of socio-economic development of the region so that it may enjoy growth parity with the rest of the country.