State Industrial Profile

Transcription

1 State Industrial Profile Human Resources: The State has a total population of about lakhs as per the 2001 census, which is the 2 nd highest after Assam among the states of the North-Eastern region. The density of population is very high at 304 per Sq. Km owing to the small geographical area of the state and even out of which about 60% is under forest and hilly terrain. The constitution of ST category people out of the State population is to the tune of 31% and that of SC is 15%. The Literacy rate of the total population is as high as 74% which is much higher than the national average and only next to the rate of Mizoram among the North eastern region states.the State has a good social Infrastructure in terms educational and health institutions. The intake capacity of the technical institutions mainly the engineering colleges is being enhanced to make available sufficient technical manpower in the state. However the problem of unemployment has been nagging this State for a long time, as there is no scope outside the Governments, i.e. in the Private Sector.The classification of the main workers, cultivators and agricultural labourers can be seen from the Table No 1.2(A) appended hereto. Similarly, the Table No 6.1 shows the no. of applicants on the live register at the end of each year from 1995 to 2000 category wise and District wise. Material Resources: Tripura is basically an agrarian economy. Apart from Agriculture, Horticulture, Rubber and Tea Plantations have a lot of significance in the State's resource list. The land left for agricultural purposes is a mere 2,80,000 hectares only being the net sown area, whereas the gross cropped area accounts to about 4,80,000 hectares with an extent of 2,00,000 hectares being sown more than once. A chunk of 60% of the total geographical area is either under forests or hilly terrain.paddy ranks first as the major crop of Tripura being sown in an area of about 2.41 lakh hectares. The Production of paddy in the year is above 5.13 lakh metric tons. Oil seeds, potato, need a mention with areas of 6,250 ha and 5,600 ha, and their production being 4,500 and 1 lakh M.tons respectively. Jute, Mesta are the main cash crops with 12,500 bales and 11,120 bales of 180 kg each respectively during this period. The table showing the details of production of each of the crops is appended here to.bamboo is the important forest produce of the State. It is being used in construction, housing apart from being used as a raw material for producing exquisite handicrafts which have international recognition and acclaim. Mulberry Silk and a large variety of other resources are available in the forest of Tripura which can be used for industrial purposes. The forest resources of Tripura offer vast scope for setting up forest based industries. The relevant table is appended. Fruits and plantation crops have a place for themselves in the list of natural resources of the state. Pineapple 82,000 MT, Orange 16,000 MT and Jackfruit 2, 20,000 MT need worthful mention among the horticulture resources of the state. There are other fruit crops like litchi, lemon, mango, cashew nut, coconut and areca nut grown in the State. The table showing the details of production of each of the crops is appended here to.tea and Rubber are the plantation crops contributing to the State s economy to a large extent. Tripura, a traditional tea growing area had 59 tea gardens during Tea produced in the state has good blending qualities. Production of bio-tea having no chemical residue is taken up as special venture. 7 tea gardens out of the above are run by TTDC (Tripura Tea Development Corporation) while 9 gardens are in the co-operative sector. The remaining 43 tea gardens are in the private sector.

2 Around 3,500 small tea growers have come up in the last 4 years who contribute about 14% of the 7.2 million kg. of tea produced in the State. Steps have been initiated to set up two tea processing factories at Durgabari and Mayachhari in the State.An overview of last 4 years in respect of small tea growers is given below districtwise. Year West Tripura South Tripura North Tripura Dhalai Number Area Number Area Number Area Number Area India ranks third in terms of production of natural rubber in the world after Thailand and Indonesia. In fact Tripura is only next to the State of Kerala in terms of the natural rubber production in the country. An area of 17,701 hec. was estimated to be under rubber plantation in the state during The total rubber production in the State was 17,489 mt. and total value of rubber is put add Rs crores. Raw rubber being produced is being sent out of the state for value addition. There is lot of scope in the years to come if necessary action is taken to convert natural rubber in to value added finished products igniting industrial revolution in the State. The scope and availability of livestock and fisheries though have no significant mention to make the statistics pertaining to these resources is appended. Free natural gas is available in the state with high methane content of about 97%. A total area of 4,747 sq. kms has been issued licenses for petroleum exploration and mining leases by the Government in the State and about 6.04 crore rupees is earned as revenue. Projects having possibility to come up include Urea complex, Urea PVC complex, Urea methanol complex, liquid / solid hydro carbon complex, etc. The gas as of now is being used for generation of power by the Power Department and NEEPCO. INFRASTRUCTURE Physical Infrastructure: In the recent years a number of initiatives have been taken to improve the basic as well as the industrial infrastructure in the state of Tripura. The present status is as under: a) Basic Infrastructure: The State is presently power surplus out side five hour peak period and also the tariffs are much lower compare to other states. The national highway linking Agartala to Guwahati has been upgraded and extended up to Subroom which is the southern most point of the state. This means that this road is just 75 kms away from the Chittagong port of Bangladesh. The railway line is also being extended up to Agartala

3 for which the Govt. of India is constantly being pursued. The Agartala Airport has been upgraded with the extension of the air strip and also provision night-landing facilities. The infrastructure on the front of telecommunications is being by upgraded by laying OFC network connecting all the towns of the state strengthened strong internet backbone etc. The WLL system is already operational and mobile telephone service is expected in a short time. b) Industrial infrastructure: A Growth Centre covering an area of about 240 acres with a cost of 15 crores under Centrally Sponsored Scheme has been set up at Bodhjunagar, West Tripura. This Growth Centre is equipped with gas pipe line and dedicated power supply alongwith common facilities like water and telecommunications. An Export Promotion Industrial Park of over 125 acres is under implementation adjacent to the above growth centre with an out lay of 10 crores sanctioned by Govt. of India. Steps are also being taken to set up IIDCs in the Districts of North, South Tripura and Dhalai Districts with a project cost of 5 crores each. There are six industrial estates / areas established in the state. A Food Processing Technology Park is also being worked upon for setting up. A Rubber Technology park, Software Technology Park has been approved and may shortly materialize. NEDFi is on the process of setting up an IT park at Agartala. To facilitate import and export trade with Bangladesh the facilities at the L C. stations are being upgraded. The intake capacity of the technical institutions mainly the engineering colleges is being enhanced to make available sufficient technical manpower in the state. The State Govt. is making all possible efforts to promote use of natural gas for industrial purposes as replacement of coal, power, etc. It is seen the use of natural gas by the SSI units as a source of energy, provides cost competitiveness and thereby achieve viability. A joint sector project of the Governments of Assam and Tripura named Tripura Natural Gas Company Limited (TNGC) is arranging supply of natural gas. The EPIP, Growth Centre and other infrastructure project are being supplied with the natural gas. Financial Infrastructure: a) United Bank of India (Lead Bank of Tripura State): Constraints faced by the banks in extending more credit to SSI sector are reported by the lead bank as under: i) Poor infrastructure, communication, shortage of power, etc. ii) iii) Lack of Entrepreneurial skills, Non-availability of backward forward linkage,

4 iv) Limited marketing scope(absence of organized market) v) Locational disadvantages, vi) Law and order problem in the rural area. Sl. No. Name of the Scheme operated Loan disbursed under SSI No. of Account Amount(Rs.in Lakh) 1 PMRY Direct Total The financial requirement of SSI units is being met by the commercial banks and also Tripura State Co-operative Bank and Tripura Gramin Bank to a large extent. Tripura Industrial Development Corporation had advanced an amount of Rs. 23 crores to about 850 units so far in the State. NEDFi, started for financing projects of this State also has not made any significant contribution so far with just 3.8% of sanctions and 2.7 % disbursements upto 31 st March, b) Assam Financial Corporation, Agartala: Assam Financial Corporation assists entrepreneurs in the State of Tripura also in SSI Sector through various schemes. The Corporation extends financial assistance to small scale and medium scale industries through different schemes Financial Assistance to Technocrats, Composite Loan Scheme Including Artisan, Village & Cottage Industries And Tiny Sector Industries, etc., Financial Assistance For Projects Promoted By SC & ST, Special Capital Scheme, Equipment Finance Scheme, Single Window Scheme for Fixed Assets and Working Capital. Summary with reference to AFC, Agartala Branch is tabulated below: (Lakh Rs)

5 Sl.No. Sector No. of Units Sanctioned Disbursed Balance Outstanding. 1 SSI MSI Total c) Small Industries Development Bank of India, Agartala. From a predominantly refinancing Institution in , SIDBI has now emerged as a purveyor of wide variety of financial services to the Small Scale Sector. The Bank has taken proactive and progressive initiatives aimed at promoting an orderly and healthy growth of the sector, primarily focusing on five factors, viz entrepreneurship, credit, technology, market and infrastructure. In the State of Tripura, SIDBI is performing its major functions i.e. refinancing the various Banks and Tripura Industrial Development Corporation. In addition, it is also extending grant support to various established NGOs for conducting various training programs for benefit of the small scale industries. d) The National Small Industries Corporation Limited Guwahati, Assam. NSIC Regional Office, Guwahati was set up in the year 1984 and now it has a Branch Office at Imphal and two sub offices at Itanagar and Shillong, for development of SSI Sector in NE Region. Performance of NSIC with respect to Tripura State is as under: No. of Units assisted : 21 Total Investment Sectors Assisted : lakhs, : Automobile, Printing, Ice-Factory, Mechanical Engineering and other Allied Service Sectors. 2) NSIC is going to organize training courses for the unemployed youths of NorthEastern Region, which are being sponsored by North-Eastern Council. (NEC) like: Hospitality and Tourism Management, Electrical Goods Repairing, TV Repairing, Advanced welding, etc. The appended tables will provide a basic idea about the infrastructure in place in the State of Tripura.

6 PRESENT INDUSTRIAL SCENARIO Industrial sector plays a key role in bringing about economic prosperity and development. But the State of Tripura being a small state of the country with an inherent disadvantage in its geographic location has not witnessed any progress on this front. Poor accessibility has taken its toll on the industrial development which is evident from the absence of any significant establishment of large / medium scale industrial activity in the private sector. The level of industrialisation of the State is evident from its contribution to the GSDP at current prices which was only 2.12% in the year which is a very low proportion. However, there are some projects in the public sector like ONGC, GAIL, Jute Mill, NERAMAC etc. as a consolation. Natural resources like rubber, tea, bamboo, horticultural produce, gas, etc. along with the human resources like the skilled artisans, educated youth have not been tapped to their optimum levels and the potential for industrial development abounds on this count. Most of the industrial development in the state has taken place only in the SSI sector. The number of permanently registered SSI units at the end of 31 st March, 2004 is 2,195. The total investment in these units is to the tune of crores and the installed capacity is estimated at crores in terms of rupees. About 11,600 persons are getting employment in the SSI sector. A majority of these SSI units are located in the capital district of West Tripura the number of units registered in SSI being This is followed by 423 units in North Tripura District, 269 in South Tripura District and a meager 14 units have been registered in the District of Dhalai since inception. The composition of SSI Sector is resource based engaged in Tea processing, fruit processing, saw mills and bamboo based units, rubber based industries, etc. There are market based units in large numbers catering to the local demand and the Govt. requirement, engaged in PVC pipes, wire and cables cement poles, conductors, spices, biscuits, handlooms, etc. However, the majority of SSI units are in the service sector catering to the local needs of automobile repair, tyre re-treading, DTP, internet café, fast food centers, etc. Even within the SSI Sector, the self-employment sector is the major player in the limited industrial development of the State. Credit worth of Rs. 15 crore has been disbursed under PMRY, and another 16

7 crores under MMS of KVIC, to this sector up to the year , the details of which are appended hereto. North-Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Ltd, Agartala. North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Ltd (NERAMAC) was incorporated on as a Govt. of India Enterprise with it's Registered Head Office at Guwahati. NERAMAC has setup a Fruit Juice Concentration Plant (FJCP) at Nalkata, District Dhalai Tripura in 1988 with an installed capacity of processing 40MT pineapple per day. This unit has started commercial production of Pineapple Juice Concentrate (PJC) w.e.f NERAMAC procures pineapple from the growers through village committee, growers society and Cooperative Societies by giving remunarative price. Around families most of whom are tribal people of the villages namely Darchai, Nalkata, Kanchanchara, Betchara & Nepaltila in Dhalai and North Tripura District and Kamrangatali, Silghati & Bairangi Bazar, in South and West Tripura Districts are benefited, in respect of selling their products. Not only this, NERAMAC's presence in the pineapple market provides an opportunity to growers to get reasonable prices for pineapple in the open market. Thus NERAMAC plays an important role to strengthen the economic condition of the tribal people of the state. 1. Diversification of the Plant : A) Canning line is to be installed for production of pineapple slice, jam jelly, titbits etc. and estimated cost for this purpose would be around Rs.50 Lacs. Apart from processing pineapple other Horticultural crops like Ginger, Orange etc. may also be processed in this plant. B) At present there is no market for pineapple juice concentrate with preservative. All reputed companies want 100% natural juice and to meet their demand new aseptic filter is required to be installed in the plant. Estimated cost would be around Rs.1.25 Crores. 2. Other Projects : There is a cold storage of 30 MT capacity in the plant, where pineapple juice concentrates and other products can be stored at 4 0 C. But as per demand in the market the cold storage is to be renovated so that various products can be stored at (-) 25 0 C and estimated cost for this purpose would be around Rs.10 Lacs. NERAMAC has a cashew processing Unit at Industrial Estate, A.D. Nagar, Agartala where processing of cashewnut is being carried out since Nearly 50 women workers are engaged in the unit per day.