Dhankar meets Meghalaya SHGs, lauds CM over state’s 13% GSDP growth
Shillong, May 13: Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar has termed Meghalaya “a heaven for tourists and a bountiful gift of nature” while interacting with a delegation of self-help groups (SHGs) from Meghalaya, in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Chief minister Conrad Sangma was among the dignitaries present during the Vice-President’s meeting with the SHG members from Khasi-Jaintia and Garo Hills regions.
Referring to the Centre’s Act East Policy, he said, “North East part of our country is our jewel. In 90s, that is about three decades ago, the Government of India had a policy and that policy was ‘Look East’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave an additional dimension to this policy – ‘Look East’ to ‘Act East’. And that action has taken place very effectively.”
“Meghalaya, let me tell you, is heaven for tourists; a bountiful gift of nature,” he told the delegation.
Highlighting the progress made under the ‘Look East, Act East’ policy, the Vice-President emphasised that Meghalaya holds immense potential in tourism, mining, IT, and services.
He also lauded the state’s achievements in economic growth and women’s empowerment, crediting visionary leadership at both the Centre and the state level.
Underlining that freebies cannot bring empowerment, the Vice-President said, “To empower the pocket of a person by freebies, by doles, is not true empowerment. True empowerment is that you hand-hold the person so that the person gets himself or herself empowered. That brings joy, that brings satisfaction, that gives you inner strength, and also makes you pride of your families.”
He lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for spearheading the decade-long governance reforms and development achieved by the country, saying, “It is the visionary leadership that catalyses the officials to act in the right direction. Fortunately in our country, this is happening for the last decade and it is happening in your state (Meghalaya) also.”
“Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the country in the last decade has achieved milestones that are envy of the world in economy, infrastructure, technology, and women development, women empowerment. Our tribal culture is resplendent; our tribal culture is our wealth,” he added.
Appreciating the state government for playing a key road in the state’s economic progress, the Vice-President said, “Economy of a state is determined by gross state domestic product, GSDP. And for that, the state of Meghalaya has seen a rise of 13% year-on-year, which is very greatly commendable.”
“Congratulations to the chief minister for his deep commitment to improve the economy of the state,” the Vice-President said.
Stating that Meghalaya’s GSDP is projected to be more than Rs 66,000 crore, he said, “The state is a large state when it comes to heart, but otherwise geographically not that large. But the size of your economy is good. You’ve set a great target. And your target is the state is aiming for $10 billion economy by 2028.”
Reflecting on the importance of inclusive growth, the Vice-President expressed, “The state has enormous talent, enormous potential in tourism, in mining, in IT, in the service sector. But what is more important is, human resources must be nurtured. And in that category also, societal growth, economic development is balanced when women come forward.”
