Setting out Policy Objectives

Achievement of Policy Objective : Aligning Administration

An important component of the sustained campaign to promote Tripura as an ideal investment destination would be the initiative for conscious and comprehensive alignment of administrative set-up for investor support and facilitation. This initiative is aimed at ‘efficient’ solution to investors’ problems, reduction of ‘uncertainty’ and enhancing ‘consistency’ of response to them and thereby generating and elevating investors’ ‘comfort’ levels for doing business in Tripura.

This initiative would simultaneously operate in three dimensions. As its first dimension, it would encompass both the policy and decision levels as well as execution support levels ; as second dimension, apart from being supportive to all investment sectors in general, sectors with higher promise in Tripura would be supported through sector-specific missions – that have reach across related departments and agencies – and through public-private partnerships with expert non-government bodies ; and as third dimension, this would enjoin upon the designated agencies to perform their roles in both proactive as well as responsive outlooks.

At the policy level, the Secondary Sector Committee of the State Planning Board would continue to set the broader policy frame-work for industrial development. The Committee would be regularly apprised on a quarterly basis of the achievements in respect of outcomes identified in follow-up of its policy recommendations. The Cabinet Sub-committee constituted for industrial promotion would be the apex body for decisions on important individual investment projects.

At the execution support level, the dual-tier Tripura Industrial Development Agency (TIDA) as constituted would continue to be the first contact point for industrial investors. The higher tier for large investment proposals under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary ; and the first tier under the chairmanship of the Commissioner & Secretary Industries & Commerce for other projects would strive for adopting investor friendly and convenient single-window clearance systems on a continuously enhancing coordinated and active basis.

The Department of Industries & Commerce would be geared up for performing its role as the nodal department for industrial promotion ; and would be supported by sector-specific Mission authorities for identified investment sectors, including rubber, bamboo and horticulture where Missions are already in various stages of operationalization. Each of the sector-specific Missions would be upscaled to include a Component Mission for value addition and industrial projects mobilization in addition to the primary produce being handled by the respective specialist Departments. The Department of Industries & Commerce would target industrial and value addition projects on a sustainable basis through viable operation and revenue models, by partnering reputed non-government agencies.

The proactive role by the Department of Industries & Commerce would also cover information dissemination as well as mobilization of and participation at interaction opportunities targeted at enhanced convenience of indusutrial entrepreneurs on a cutting edge level. These opportunities would be through the Industrial Fairs, Business Meets and Seminars and Visits by potential entrepreneurs, from regional, national and international levels, to Tripura ; and State’s participation at these for generating awareness and comfort amongst potential entrepreneurs and bodies representing business. The department would synergize the efforts with Central Government, its Boards and even important chambers of trade and industry, such as FINER, CII and ICC that are active in the State and the region ; and would target specific investment projects in these endeavours.

To provide a directed focus to these efforts, and promote Tripura as investment destination and develop linkages for industrial products, a permanent Trade Promotion facility would be set up at Hapania, where land has been already identified. This would be a modern facility, with flexible and modular exhibition grounds and trade centre for business meets and seminars, providing a supportive and conducive setting for interaction among all active stakeholders. This would require assistance and support from Department of Commerce, Government of India and Regional bodies such as North-Eastern Council (NEC) and North-East Development Finance Corporation (NEDFi) to be set up.

An essential pre-requisite for a substantive achievement of desired outcomes is the organizational realignment with the strategic plan laid out. A considered roadmap for this has to be immediately defined.

The first step is to realize that the present organization structure has been inherited from a period when the industrialization in Tripura involved low technical and investment level ; the integration of regional, national and international markets was far lower and competitiveness of investment destinations and products was not a significant precondition ; and the initial interventions towards industrialization of a then industrially backward location like Tripura were incumbent upon the State Government. The second step would be a meticulous identification of organizational requirements flowing from the choice of policy and strategic plan as adopted through this document, which involve very significant reorientation and emphases. The final step would be to systematically match the requirements by balancing creation of newer units and posts but also logically dismantling contextually redundant units and surrendering the unfilled posts in these to start with. The previous recommendations for administrative reforms to have a flatter and more functional structure would also need to be incorporated in doing so.

In a broad contextual perspective, the realignment should be carried out to enable the organization to respond positively and effectively to the new emerging demands – promotion of Tripura as an ideal investment destination ; by crystallizing opportunity areas following a systematic approach involving policy and economic analyses ; supporting the potential investors by efficient, consistent and facilitatory policy and implementation interventions ; and managing execution through broad-based partnerships and inter-agency coordination. All of these clearly point to the need for induction of greater professionally qualified human resources, which could be through both possible routes appropriately – direct employment and engagement of professional services of high quality.

Considering that the Director for Industries & Commerce as the team leader needs to have only a manageable domain of senior managers to be effective, and each of these senior managers needs to be similarly positioned; and the subordinate managers need to have clearly delineated portfolios, the suggested realignment roadmap is follows:

Creation of two posts of Additional Director- It is proposed to create two posts of Addl. Directors, in addition of two existing posts with defined portfolios for four sector specific assignments - (i) Office Administration, Monitoring of PSUs/Board, DICs and Legal Section (ii) Industrial Promotion, Infrastructure Development, Administration of ITIs (iii) Projects, Geology & Mining, Financial Monitoring (iv) Foreign Trade, Plantation, Incentives Schemes. The four Additional Directors under Director would be the first tier of administrative control and monitoring of implementation, investment facilitation by creating an industry conducive environment both in terms of policy regime and infrastructure development.

Creation of four posts of Joint Directors – (i) Jt. Director (Projects) - Creation of the post of Joint Director is of utmost important considering the immense need for better industrial infrastructure. There is a competition among the N-E states for offering best infrastructure so as to attract the investors more. (ii) Jt. Director (Training) - The creation of the post of Joint Director (ITI) will help us in dealing with matters related to ITIs as the there is large expansion of activities – increase in intake capacity to 1244, introduction of a Apprenticeship Act 1961, modernization programme etc. : (iii) Jt. Director (Plantation)- Creation of the post for promotion of plantations in a productive and scientific manner, for the economic benefit of the growers and facilitating arrangement of financial needs for both plantation as well as processing and marketing has gone up presently. (iv) Jt. Director (Incentives)- One Jt. Director is also required for monitoring of the various incentive Schemes under State & Central Package. His job would mainly involve receipt of subsidy proposals, processing the proposals in time; arrange for inspection and co-coordinating sanction and disbursement at State & Central Government offices/agencies.