The North-East - Projects and Development

[kronik]

Respect to the seventh IIM at Shillong.

http://www.pagalguy.com/content/iims/iims1.html

Currently operating in the Mayurbhanj Palace campus at the North-East Hill University with the first batch of 60 students.

[Jai]

Underground expressway proposed between Siliguri & Sikkim

11 Jul, 2008, 1221 hrs IST, PTI

GAGTOK: Sikkim's overdependence on the vital National Highway 31A for connectivity with the rest of the country may soon be addressed with an overseas construction company proposing to build a state of the art underground expressway between Sevoke in West Bengal and Gangtok by 2012.

In the first of its kind road infrastructure for the North-East, US-based construction major 'Star universal Resources Company' has proposed to build the 53 km expressway having tunnels and bridges between Sevoke and Gangtok, official sources said.

It would built at the estimated cost of Rs 1550 crore to be borne by the company itself under private-public -partnership (PPP), the sources said.
The proposed expressway between Coronation bridge (Bag Pul) at Sevoke to Gangtok would have two pairs of tunnels of about 100 square km each of which one pair would be used for road traffic and the other standard broad gauge railway tracks, they said.

The mega project, for which the memorandum of understanding (mou) would be signed between Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling and the Star Universal Resource company at Gangtok on July 15, would be built on the build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, the sources said.

As per the MoU, the developers would be responsible for construction and maintenance of the expressway for a period of 45 years from the date of the signing of the agreement between the two parties, they said.

[SarafIndian]

By Aparajita Gupta

Kolkata, July 16 (IANS) The Kolkata-based Ruia Group, on an acquisition spree over the past few years, is setting up a Rs.4 billion greenfield tyre plant in Assam, company chairman Pawan Kumar Ruia said here. The plant will come up in an industrial area being constructed by the Assam government near the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International airport in Guwahati.

“We will invest Rs.4 billion for this project, which is likely to be completed within a year and a half,” Ruia said in an interview with IANS.

The company has already acquired a 60-acre plot for constructing the plant, which would have a production capacity of 50 tonne units per day initially. Later, the capacity would be increased to 100 tonnes per day.

The project report has already been completed, he added.

Asked what prompted him to venture to the northeast, Ruia said: “The government is supportive. The market is also extremely good over there. And since my company is headquartered in Kolkata, doing business in the northeast is advantageous for me.”

He predicted a lot of investment in the northeast from various companies across several sectors in the next five to 10 years, with power being the thrust area.

“I am very bullish on the northeast,” he added.

Turning to the group’s overall plans in the next two years, Ruia said around Rs.22-23 billion would be pumped in for organic growth.

It would invest Rs.8 billion in sugar, Rs.10-12 billion in tyre and Rs.3-4 billion for heavy engineering and infrastructure.

The group is already building a Rs.8-billion sugar complex at Shariyatpur in East Champaran district of Bihar. The project would include 10,000 tonne cane crushing capacity per day, an ethanol manufacturing unit with a daily capacity of 240 kilolitres and a 50 megawatt power plant.

The complex, set to be completed in two years, is coming up on 180 acres, of which 102 acres has been acquired so far, he said.

“We are trying to catch next season, that is, 2009-10,” Ruia said.

Besides, the group already has a sugar plant - the Kamlapur Sugar and Industries Ltd in Uttar Pradesh - which has a daily capacity of crushing 4,000 tonne of cane.

Ruia acquired sick heavy engineering and infrastructure company Jessop and Co. in 2003 and turned it into a profit-making business. Ruia plans to invest Rs.3-4 billion for brownfield expansion of Jessop in the next couple of years.

The group ventured into tyre industries in 2005 with the acquisition of Dunlop India Ltd and Falcon Tyres Ltd. In 2007, it acquired Monotona Tyres in Mumbai and in the same year bought a controlling stake in electronics company Industronics Berhad in Malaysia.

“We will increase the production capacity of Falcon Tyres to 150-200 tonne per day. This will require an investment of Rs.5-6 billion,” Ruia said.

Falcon Tyres currently produces 100 tonne units per day. The total production for a month stands at 750,000 pieces of tyres and the same number of tubes.

At Dunlop, the focus would be more on radial tyre and off-the-road (OTR) tyre variety this year, Ruia said.

This year, the group acquired British auto component company Schlegel Automotive Europe Ltd.

“I love to take risks and challenges. I am fond of creating values in areas and companies where others think there is no value,” he said.

Acquisition, ownership or partnership with foreign companies would help the group imbibe their technological know-how, which would prove extremely beneficial for business growth, he said.

After acquiring Schlegel Automotive, manufacturer and supplier of auto components to some of the major auto companies in the world, the company has received at least 10 proposals from various overseas companies located in the US and Europe including the UK, Ruia said.

The turnover of the group as a whole was Rs.15 billion last fiscal. In the current fiscal it is expected to touch Rs.20 billion.


http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/..._10072124.html

[zhiemi]

Originally Posted by Marathaman

Zhiemi, how is the state of public utilities like garbage collection, roadworks etc. in comparison with the rest of India?

Apart from Nagaland, I haven't been to other places in the region except Guwahati. But from what I hear from friends from Manipur, Sikkim, Mizoram and Meghalaya, it varies from place to place. Road maintenance is extremely poor especially in Nagaland. NH39 that runs between the capital, Kohima, and the commercial capital, Dimapur is worse than the better state highways of other states. The BRO looks after the highway and I'm not at all happy with their performance.

Me and my friends would agree that our towns and cities dotting the hills are beautiful from far off, but once you enter them, there is nothing beautiful about them. There is no sense of urban planning. Demolition drives and other measures are taking place now, and I hope things will get a little better soon. I have nothing good to speak of Kohima and Dimapur when it comes to cleanliness, but the third largest town in the state, Mokokchung, is quite clean. Gangtok is very clean. My friend who lives there said that garbage trailers would routinely visit the colonies everyday. Aizawl is pretty clean too, but the city is very congested. Water supply is a problem again, not because there is lack of water resources, but because of lack of proper infrastructure.

[phaedrus]

interesting. so did you see a lot of development work happening around the city this time around or is it quite minimal?

[zhiemi]

Well, every time I pay my annual visit, I see one thing or the other has changed for good. There is development but it needs to be at a faster pace. But maybe my state is the worst performing of all the NE states I think the Central government is doing its part in developing the region, maybe it can do more, but I would blame the local authorities, they need to be more effective. In Nagaland, about 90% of the land is privately own, so, every time the government tries to widen roads or build office complexes etc., it will face opposition from the land owners. The demolition drive going on in Dimapur is also faced with stiff opposition, but the chairman of the municipal council is strong and it is going quite well.

[zhiemi]

Tripura to produce high quality rubber wood products

India's second biggest rubber wood factory set up in Tripura with technological support from China, Germany and Taiwan, would help in boosting rubber wood based products, officials said.

The factory, set up in west Tripura's Anandanagar area, 15 km east of here, would help in producing solid wood boards from treated rubber wood using advanced international technology, said Jitendra Chowdhury, Tripura forest and industry minister. The country's biggest rubber wood factory is in Kerala, India's largest natural rubber producing and cultivating state.

China, Germany and Taiwan have provided rubber wood processing technologies, besides machineries. Tripura is the second largest rubber producer in the country after Kerala with 41,000 hectares of land so far brought under rubber cultivation and the northeastern state is now producing 23,000 tones rubber latex per year.

Tripura Forest Development and Plantation Corporation (TFDPC), a state government owned PSU, has commissioned the factory at a cost of Rs 65 million. 'A Hongkong based organisation is expected to be assigned for international marketing tie-up for the products,' the minister said after formally launching the production of the factory Tuesday.

He said : 'Talks are on for domestic marketing of the products with Chennai, Mylapore, Mumbai, and Gujrat based companies.'

To boost the industry, India's second rubber-based industrial park is being set up in Tripura. The rubber park, a joint venture between the Tripura Industrial Development Corporation (TIDC) and the Rubber Board, is the second of its kind in the country after the rubber park at Irapuram in Kerala, where over 520,000 hectares are now under cultivation.

Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (ILFS) is the project management agency of the park, where at least 20 rubber-based industrial projects would be set up within the next three years.

'The rubber park is to be built in an area of 50 acres of land in the Bodhjunjnagar industrial growth centre in western Tripura and over Rs.500 million are expected to be invested in the park over a period of three years,' said Pabitra Kar, chairman of the TIDC.

[zhiemi]

India’s first bulletproof train chugs out of Lumding

India's first bulletproof passenger train chugged out of the Lumding station today crawling up the militant-affected North Cachar hills district and reaching the mountain station of Haflong. Beginning a new era of anti-insurgency measures, the NF Railway made the entire locomotive of the Lumding-Haflong train bulletproof replacing the looking glass with bulletproof material and covering the engine with bulletproof sheets.

''We stopped train service in this important hill section in May following a series of attacks by the Dimasa militants on our installations as well as Railway drivers,'' said N F Railway Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Samir Goswami. Passenger train service on the Lumding-Badarpur-Silchar section was suspended from May 15 as driver N N Bora was shot dead and three other employees were injured by the extremists on the section, Goswami said.

Railway connection between the Brahamputra and Barak valley remained cut off since. Links to Tripura also remained snappped due to the insurgents' threat. However, railway sources today said at the initial stage of resumption of passenger services, only three trains would run a day with a speed of 15 km per hour. The stations in the Hill section, which were closed following deteriorating the law and order situation, are being reopened in phases.

Bulletproof engines had already been pressed into service in the goods trains being run in the section. At present, the Railways are running ten goods trains, including a security special train, in the section every day. Meanwhile, official sources said all possible security arrangements had been made in the area to ensure safety of trains and Railway personnel. All goods trains running in the area are being accompanied by armed security. The sources pointed out that Railway employees were demanding adequate security arrangements in the stations to ensure their safety. Keeping this in mind, five companies of RPSF personnel had been deployed in the area to be posted as static guards in 15 vulnerable stations. The sources said security personnel, including government railway police, had been deployed in other vulnerable stations. 25 sections of security personnel had been deployed to accompany the gang men deployed for track patrolling, while, the telecom and signal staff are also being accompanied by armed security personnel.

''The idea of introducing bulletproof engines is to instill some confidence in our engine drivers and boost their morale,'' NF Railway General Manager Ashutosh Swami recently told the media. Twenty-seven railway stations were also closed down following the attack, as agitated railway workers vandalised Lumding railway division, demanding withdrawal of staff from the 'killing zone'. Though the Dimasa militants were lying low for the past one month, railways employees were still nervous.

[zhiemi]

Tripura seeks more investment in tea sector

Tripura, the country’s fifth largest tea producing state is seeking more private investment in its tea plantations to increase the area under tea.

The state has 17,393 hectare identified for tea cultivation, while only 37% is actually under cultivation.

“We have appealed to the planters for cultivation in rest of the areas identified for cultivation,” said Jitendra Chaudhury, minister of commerce and industry.

Tripura received investments worth Rs 30 lakh last year in the tea sector.

“We have urged industrialists to increase plantation in the state,” Chaudhury added.

Though Tripura is keen to boost its tea plantation industry, but rickety infrastructure remains a big bottleneck for growth. To address that the state had made a provision of Rs 2,000 crore in its budget this fiscal to upgrade its infrastructure. “Definitely there are constraints like infrastructure facilities, but we will take care of that,” he said.

Tripura, produces 7.7 million kg of tea, from its 58 tea estates covering 6,565 hectare while 14 tea estates over 1,383 hectare are run by the workers’ co-operative. Average yield of tea in the state is around 1,100 kg per hectare, significantly lower than the national average of 1,900 kg per hectare.

While 30 tea estates are below the size of 100 hectare, 19 are between 100-200 hectare, 7 are between 200-300 hectare and only 2 estates are over 300 hectare.

Basudeb Banerjee, chairman of the Tea Board of India said, “The 2,500 feet restriction for heavy pruning in the hillocks has been withdrawn to encourage more plantations in the state.”

So far, Tea Board has received merely 15 applications under the Rs 4,700 crore special purpose tea fund (SPTF) scheme for re-plantation and rejuvenation of the ageing tea bushes in the country. “We hope to receive more applications after the restriction for heavy pruning is withdrawn,” Banerjee said.

Price realisation for Tripura tea has also been less as it has traded at Rs 55 per kg at the Guwahati auction centre against a national average of Rs 75 per kg. “We hope prices will appreciate for Tripura tea after e-auction is operational.”

[zhiemi]

Global certification to boost export of spices from Northeast

Organic spice exports from India are likely to get a big boost with 300 hectare of land in the North East receiving organic certification from global certifying agency Indocert.

Indocert, accepted both in the US and Europe, has certified lands in Meghalaya for turmeric and ginger cultivation, Manipur for ginger and turmeric cultivation, and Arunachal Pradesh for black pepper.

According to the Spices Board, currently the total area under conversion or certification process is 2220.58 hectare (ha), while around 1483.55 hectare of new area will be brought under certification in the current financial year.

The north-eastern states managed to achieve this distinction of emerging as hub of organic spices in India because of concerted efforts by the Spices Board in promoting the north east states as a hub for production and export of organic spices.

Organic spices are grown without using chemicals and fertilisers. Demand for organically produced foods is growing rapidly in developed countries and the products command a premium.

The board estimates that the region can create exportable surpluses at competitive prices so that the top slot occupied by the country in the international spice market would be maintained.

By default, the land and agriculture practice is organic and with some efforts from the state, the region could export organic spices, board source said.

The Spices Board expects to export organic spices worth Rs 240-260 crore by 2012. The board will select one district in each of the states and the programmes will be implemented through non-governmental organisations that will mobilise self-help groups to collect the produce from growers and undertake the grading and primary processing.

The collectives would be provided with adequate planting material and training in good agricultural practices (GAP) and post-harvest management. Efforts would also focus on creating awareness on productivity, food safety, quality and marketability of the spices, board sources said.

The efforts also have some backing and focus with the entry of ITC into the field. ITC has entered into an agreement with the Nagaland government for developing organic cultivation of turmeric and chilli.

[phaedrus]

interesting name for a radio station!



Netherlands public broadcaster ties up with Radio Misty

Radio Netherlands Worldwide, a Dutch international service involved in radio and television programming, has joined hands with Radio Misty 94.3 FM, which is being aired in northern West Bengal and Sikkim.

Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) is keen to work in India considering the rapid growth of FM stations and multimedia platforms in the country, RNW Country Manager (India) Amitabh Srivastava said in a press meet here.

RNW, which has over 3,000 global partners, would offer music programmes ranging from tracks in the European pop charts to classical, Jazz and world music, Srivastava said.

The broadcast major would provide Radio Misty with programmes involving discussions on various issues and also broadcast Radio Misty programmes to the global audience, he said.

Radio Misty 94.3 FM Chief Executive Officer Nishant Mittal said it was proud to be Radio Netherlands Worldwide's first partner in India and said he hoped the partnership would bring a lot of innovative programmes to listeners in northern West Bengal and Sikkim.

Radio Misty airs programmes in Hindi, English, Bengali and Nepali.

source economictimes.com

[SarafIndian]

Originally Posted by sn1101

interesting name for a radio station!



Netherlands public broadcaster ties up with Radio Misty



source economictimes.com

WOW!! I really like the name. "Radio Misti"..

[phaedrus]

Sikkim govt to review decision to scrap hydel projects

The Pawan Kumar Chamling Government in Sikkim has decided to review its decision to scrap 11 hydel power projects in a bid to mollify the private developers one of whom has moved the High Court challenging termination of its project in East district.

The Chief Minister, who also holds Power and Energy portfolio, would himself review the scrapping of 11 hydel projects and take appropriate decision in this regard, Power and Energy Department Secretary Pema Wangchen said.

Asked whether the private developers would get back their individual projects for execution, Wangchen said it was for the chief minister to decide on it.

Sources, however, said that the state government had been rattled by the private developers' threat to take the matter of termination of their projects to the Court for adjudication and so decided to return the scrapped projects to the individual developers for execution.

One of the developers - Madhya Bharat Power Corporation Ltd - whose project at Rongnichu (96 MW) in East district was among the projects terminated by the state government last month, has filed a petition in the Sikkim High Court challenging scrapping of the project.

source economictimes.com

[zhiemi]

ONGC scales up gas production in Tripura

India’s exploration and production (E&P) major Oil & Natural Gas Corporation has scaled up its project to monetise gas reserves in Tripura by increasing the present gas handling facilities of 1.6 million metric standard cubic meter per day (mmscmd) to 7.5 mmscmd (6 mmscmd) in phased manner. The project cost has been increased to Rs 4,376.01 crore from Rs 1,817.16 crore.

In order to meet reserve accretion plan and also to generate production potential to produce the amount of gas considered in gas profile of 6 mmscmd, a total of 172 wells have been considered for drilling upto 2026-27.

[zhiemi]

Powergrid forms JV for Teesta power project

The state-owned Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) has set up a joint venture for evacuation of electricity from the power plant being constructed in Teesta basin in north Sikkim.

PGCIL or Powergrid Wednesday announced that it would be entering into a shareholder's agreement with Teesta Urja Limited (TUL) to form joint venture firm Teestavalley Power Transmission Limited or TPTL.

"TPTL will develop associated transmission system for evacuation of power from 1200 mega watt (MW) Teesta-III hydro electric project (HEP) being developed in Sikkim by TUL," said an official press communique.

Powergrid and TUL will have 26 percent and 74 percent stake in the joint venture respectively. Powergrid chief managing director (CMD) will be the chairman of the new firm.

V.M. Kaul, an executive director with Powergrid, and Y.N. Apparao, managing director of TUL, signed the agreement for the joint venture.

The Teesta power evacuation project is to be built at an estimated cost of Rs. 7.08 billion, and is scheduled for completion by September 2011.

"This project will be an important part of the common transmission system for evacuation of more than 3000 MW generation from a large number of upcoming HEPs in Sikkim to supply power to the beneficiaries of northern and western regions," said the statement.

TUL is a consortium of five companies, including AP Gen Co., Larsen & Toubro, IL&FS, Power Trading Company and Athena Power Project.

[zhiemi]

Seven sisters, Sikkim to get ADB loan for infrastructure

The government trying to put its best foot forward, in the north east region, has decided to take up its development on a fast track. Plagued by multiple problems under the ongoing urban infrastructure development scheme — Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission — stalling the progress of the scheme in the eight north-eastern states, the government has approached the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a substantial loan for up-gradation of cities identified under JNNURM.

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Speaking to The Indian Express, urban development secretary M Ramachandran confirmed the development. ADB will be providing credit to the tune of $200-300 million to the government to carry out its urban infrastructure and governance related projects in the region. “The projects under this scheme will be spread over seven to eight years. The process for identifying projects has already started,” informed Ramachandran.

The ministry has initiated the consultation process with concerned states and asked for appraisal reports of selected cities. Later, the projects will be identified and the concerned cities will have to submit Detailed Project Reports (DPR). The government will fund these schemes up to ten per cent of the total project cost and some portion may be funded from concerned state’s Plan fund. For this, the proposal will be taken to Expenditure Finance Committee and cabinet committee approval will be sought thereupon. For the appraisal process of these cities, progress of reform process of ongoing projects under JNNURM will be taken note of. Under JNNURM, these cities have registered little progress as many of them do not have local governance set up or a municipality, a pre-requisite for sanctioning of projects. However, three of the states, Manipur, Mizoram and Sikkim have already committed to forming the third tier of governance in the state and have legislated for formation of such a body.

[phaedrus]

Factional clashes take toll on N-E business hub

WITH continuing clashes between secessionist groups and fresh taxes, both legal and illegal, plus the added weight of taxes and extortions, business establishments in this commercial hub of northeastern India are being squeezed dry. The closely packed Hongkong Market, which earlier used to attract shoppers and traders not only from all over Nagaland but also from Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, now wears a desolate look. Customers are scared to venture out.
Hongkong Market alone used to attract over 15 percent of all shoppers Nagaland.
But now, shopkeepers in Hongkong Market say that sales have fallen 30-40 percent due to the volatile situation in the state, particularly in Dimapur. With business prospects looking bleak, some Tibetan traders have already left town. There used to be over 100 Tibetan families living and doing business in Dimapur. The number has come down to about 60. S Dorjee, president, Tibetan Association Hongkong Market, agreed that some families have left Dimapur. However, he said the reason was “heavy market competition and slowing down of business” rather than the security situation, extortion or intimidation.
“People feel Hongkong Market belongs to Tibetans, but we are actually a minority here. There is stiff market competition here now and business has become bleak. So, some traders have left for greener pastures,” he said.
But shopkeepers say three to four underground secessionist groups are collecting “taxes” from business establishments in Dimapur, though collections in the form of donations to various unions or associations have gone down due to strict checks by the district administration and student bodies.
The overall security situation has deteriorated due to the fighting between various secessionist groups. The official death toll in clashes between various National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) factions in the last six months has crossed 70. This includes one Nagaland Armed Police constable and seven civilians.

source economictimes epaper

[zhiemi]

I'm as pissed with these factions as I am with the terrorists

The reason why they are fighting in the city is solely for personal gains, it is because of the abhorrence the leaders of these groups have towards each other. Being the commercial capital of the state, Dimapur is the largest source of revenue for all these groups. Traders begrudge almost all their earnings to extortion and illegal taxes leaving them bankrupt and worse off. No wonder, people are leaving.

I wish they just take their vengeance or whatever to the forests away from civilization and be thoroughly purged.

[zhiemi]

Northeastern states join hands on power front

Agartala, Aug 10 (IANS): India's eight northeastern states are working jointly to make the region's power system economic, efficient and reliable, Tripura Power Minister Manik Dey said here Sunday.

'The power ministers of the northeastern states held a meeting at Gugaon Saturday and finalised strategies to commission the under-construction power projects and transmission lines (by 2012),' Dey said.

Besides the power ministers, senior officials of companies like Power Grid Corp of India Ltd (PGCIL), Central Electricity Authority of India, National Hydroelectric Power Corp (NHPC) and North Eastern Electric Power Corp (Neepco) as well as officials from state governments and central power agencies attended the meeting.

Dey said the power ministers had asked the central electrical authorities to strengthen the transmission system of upcoming power projects - Palatana (740 MW) and Monarchak (104 MW) in Tripura, Subansiri Lower (2,000 MW) and Kameng (600 MW) in Arunachal Pradesh, and Bongaigaon (750 MW) in Assam with the central funding of 90:10 (grant:loan) pattern.

According to him, the meeting discussed a wide range of issues including inter-state transmission line, intra-state transmission and patterns of financing to develop small hydro electric projects.

'It was demanded in the meeting that the same yardstick applied to other developed states were not feasible for the backward and land-locked northeast region,' Dey added.

The northeast power ministers also decided to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to update him of the grim power situation in the region and to seek more funds for new projects and upgrading the existing power projects.

The power ministers also demanded that priority be given to the northeastern states for the allocation of power generated from the region, he said.

They also wanted that surplus power could be allocated to other parts of the country and the cost of transmission corridor would be shared by the beneficiaries.

The northeastern region, known as 'power house of India', has a huge hydropower potential of about 60,000 MW.

According to an official report of Neepco, the central government plans to pump in Rs.280 billion to add 5,615 MW of power during the 11th Five-Year Plan. This includes 4,055 MW of hydro electric and 1,560 MW of thermal power.

'In addition, the region also has abundant resource of coal, oil and gas for thermal power generation. In spite of such huge potential, the region ranks lowest in the country in terms of per capita energy consumption. This has been mainly due to inhospitable climatic conditions, remote position and inaccessibility of geographical locations,' the report added.

[kronik]

North-East's first NIFT centre takes off

North-East India's first centre of the National Institute of Fashion Technology has taken off in Shillong with an intake capacity of 60 students.

The Shillong centre is among the four centres of the prestigeous institute proposed to set be set up in the country besides the existing eight.

"The region is endowed with one of the finest art and crafts. This Centre will help the region to catch up with the rest of the country in fashion," said Chief Minister Donkupar Roy, while inagurating the centre last evening.

He said the centre would open new avenues for the youth of the region who are 'extremely conscious about fashion'.

NIFT director general Rajeev Takru said initially, the centre would have an intake of 60 students to be selected through a rigorous all-India level entrance. It would provide two flagship courses - fashion design and accessory design, but the range of courses would be widened from the second year.

"The centre is expected to play a major role in grass-root level training of the traditional craftsmen. It is an advent of a relevant and professional line to a region which required it most," Takru said.

State planning board chairman PA Sangma said although the region is blessed with four varieties of silk, including the exclusive muga, yet lack of technology for its conversion has hampered the progress of the industry.