Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that at present Northeast region needs separate financial guidelines and parameters for banking sectors to boost up the business in the region.

Addressing the ‘North East Bankers' Conclave’ in a hotel at Agartala on Saturday , he said that the northeastern region is the export gateway of India and any products from Northeast India can easily be exported to the rest of the world by using the Chittagong international port in Bangladesh.

“The financial guidelines for loans and business by RBI and other nationalized banks should not be at par in the Northeast region along with the rest of the country. It is not fair, the RBI, SBI and other national financial institutions should carefully frame a separate and special guideline for Northeast in consideration of all aspects including economic conditions of the regions,” said Shah.

He said that the NE region has a big potential in terms of business and economic growth in all aspects and banks should stress on big investment in the regions, which will ultimately give them big returns in the coming days.

The Home Minister said that for any kind of funding or providing advance in infrastructure, agriculture, MSME or even personal loan there should be different banking parameters with separate RBI guidelines for the region.

There are maximum potentialities in the Northeastern region. Banks, financial institutions and others must consider the Northeast otherwise for its economic and all-round development, said Shah.

He said that a robust ecosystem for commerce and industries is being built in the Northeast by strengthening the banking sectors.

"A few years back, the Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchanged enclaves with Bangladesh leading to easier waterway communication with the Chittagong seaport of the neighbouring country. Transportation costs would be less if the products of the Northeast were exported to other parts of the world using the Chittagong port," the Home Minister pointed out.

As per the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) 1974 and Protocol of 2011, 51 erstwhile Bangladeshi enclaves in India and 111 erstwhile Indian enclaves in Bangladesh were physically transferred to the other country with effect from the midnight of July 31, 2015.

As the Prime Minister has given maximum thrust for the development of the Northeast, the PM himself visited the region 65 times and on his advice, Union Ministers visited the region over 700 times during the past 10 years, Shah said.

Noting that India has advanced to fifth position in the global economy from earlier 11th place, Shah said that the country is all set to become the third-largest global economy in the near future.

DoNER (Development of North Eastern Region) Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and his deputy Sukanta Majumdar, Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha, his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Prema Khandu, top Central government and banking officials were also present at the event.

Shah said that after the Narendra Modi-led government came to power at the Centre, 20 accords were signed for the peace and harmony of the Northeastern states and 10,574 cadres of various militant outfits surrendered in different states of the region and a very conducive and peaceful atmosphere prevails across the region, which is a primary step for big investment in the region.

"Connectivity is no longer a problem in the Northeastern region. The Modi government has been spending Rs 81,000 crore for implementing many railway projects and Rs 41,000 crore for road network in the NE states and now the region wants to see economic growth along with the rest of the country,” said Shah.

Shah said that the Modi government is speeding ahead with its 'Act East, Act Fast, and Act First' mantra, transforming the Northeast region into a thriving hub of economic growth and cultural exchange.

Earlier, in the day, top banking and other financial officials including rural bank officials participated in the closing session of “Northeast Bankers Conclave-2.0” and discussed in detail over expansion of the banking network in the entire Northeast region.