INDIAN STATE : TRIPURA

General information

Tripura is one of the seven states in the north eastern part of India located between 22 degree and 56 minutes and 24 degree and 32 minutes north latitude and between 90 degree and 09 minutes and 92 degree and 20 minutes east latitude. It is bounded on the north, west, south and southeast by Bangladesh whereas in the east it has a common boundary with Assam and Mizoram.

Fact File

Source: CSO Estimates

Advantage Tripura

• Strategic location
  
  
  • Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on three sides and hence providing opportunity for beneficial trade.
    
    
  • Efforts on for transit route through Bangladesh and access to Chittagong Port of Bangladesh. Efforts are also being made to start Border Trade with Bangladesh.
    
    
  • The Tripura economy will be effectively integrated with the eastern India and other countries in the region in the near future.
    
    
• Conducive physical and social infrastructure
  
  
  • The state is currently power- surplus.
    
    
  • The power tariffs are comparatively lower.
    
    
  • The national highway linking Agartala to Guwahati has been upgraded and extended up to sabroom.
    
    
  • The Agartala airport has been upgraded.
    
    
  • The telecom infrastructure has also been upgraded by laying OFC network. WLL system has also been introduced.
    
    
  • At present, there are six industrial estates in existence and proposals have been made for setting up industrial parks, food parks, etc.
    
    
• Lucrative incentive package for industries
  
  
• Investor friendly environment
  
  
• Single window approach

Economic Infrastructure

Power

Installed capacity

During the year 2005-06,the installed capacity of the state stood at 149.46 MW as compared to the previous years. A detailed statement depicting power scenario in the state is given below:-

Source: Powermin.nic.in

Installed capacity by ownership

Source: Powermin.nic.in

Power supply position

The overall power supply position in the state for the year 2005-06 is given below:-

Source: Powermin.nic.in

Major projects in Power sector

Tripura's power scenario is expected to get a major boost with the setting up of three gas-based thermal plants that are expected to turn around the state's economy. Three major thermal power projects totaling about 1,041 MW are now in the pipeline. Once power generation commences from these plants, Tripura will not only be self-sufficient, but could supply surplus power to other states

The major project is the 750 MW gas-based thermal power project at Palatana in south Tripura expected to be commissioned by 2009. The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has been assigned for the Rs.40 billion-Palatana project. After commissioning of the 750 MW project, there would be provision to increase the generation capacity to 1,100 MW,

There are two more power projects in the pipeline - a 280 MW thermal power project by the public sector North Eastern Electrical Power Corporation (NEEPCO) at Monarchak in west Tripura and a 21 MW gas-based unit at Baramura in west Tripura

Roads

The total length of roads in Tripura is 15,227 km of which major district roads constitute 454 km and other district roads are of 1,538 km.

Aviation

The states only Airport is at Agartala (Ushabazar), which is connected with Kolkata.

Seaport

Chittagong, Bangladesh (110 km from Sabroom)

River port

Ashuganj, Bangladesh (30 km from Agartala), Karimganj, and Assam (250 km from Agartala)

Social Infrastructure

Education

Number of Institution in Tripura

Source : State Survey and Statistics

Major Industries

Rubber

With suitable topography and the acceptability amongst the people, rubber has been identified as one of the thrust areas in Tripura. According to the studies about 1,00,000 hectares of area in the state can be brought under rubber plantation. Tripura is estimated to have about 26,500 hectares under rubber cultivation at present, which is the second largest after Kerala. Also, the yield per hectare and the quality of rubber are also comparable to Kerala's plantations. Infact, the Rubber Board now considers Tripura the "Second Rubber Capital of India".

During the tenth plan period, the state government has taken up an ambitious programme to considerably increase the area under rubber plantations. The rubber production at present is about 10,000 MT, and is rising fast with more and more plantations reaching the tapping stage. At present, only about 10% of rubber is locally produced in the state by industrial units and the remaining is sold outside the state. Recently, Bangladesh has also been added in the exporters list of rubber.

Availability of fine quantity of high quality rubber offers sufficient scope for setting up of rubber-based industries in the state. In order to provide necessary infrastructure of rubber-based projects the state government is in the process of setting up a rubber park.

Food processing

Tripura possess ideal suited agro-climatic conditions for production of a large range of horticultural crops. The "Queen" and "Kew" varieties of pineapple, jampui oranges, lichis and cashew are some of the products of Tripura that are popular in the rest of the country. These products are mostly organic in nature. Presently, the estimated annual production level of major horticultural crops such as Pineapple: 82,000 MT, Lichi: 3000 MT, Orange: 16,000 MT, Cashew: 1,800 MT, Jackfruit: 2,20,000 MT and, Coconut: 1,250 MT.If setting up fruit processing units creates demand the production can be further increased.

In Tripura the fruit processing industry is still at a budding stage. With regard to pineapple processing, NERAMAC (a Government of India undertaking), has set up a modern Pineapple Juice Concentrate Plant at Nalkata in North Tripura District, with a processing capacity of about 5,760 TPA. Cashew processing has also been taken up by NERAMAC by setting up a small unit. This plant is operated at a low level due to non-operation of aseptic filter. TSIC (a state government undertaking) is also operating a small fruit-canning factory that produces fresh canned pineapple juice and other pineapple products. This factory holds the processing capacity of 400 TPA.

Food processing has been identified as a major thrust area in Tripura by the state government and has been provided with state incentive package. A modern food processing technology park is being set up near Agartala, to give a boost to this sector. Also, an agri export zone for pineapple has been developed. The setting up of food processing units holds a vast potential in Tripura.

Natural gas industry

Immense reserves of natural gas are present in non-associate form in Tripura. The gas is of high quality, with high methane content of up to 97%. Since 1972,ONGC has been actively engaged in exploration activities in the State. Based on the exploration work so far, ONGC has estimated the total gas reserves as prognosticated reserves:

ONGC has stepped up the exploration activities in state, one bid block of Tripura has also been included in third round of bidding under new exploration licensing policy (NELP) of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. With this, ONGC is planning to drill five wells in Tripura in Baramura, Rokhia and Sonamura areas. Also it is planned to acquire 2D and 3D seismic data. 3D data will be acquired for the first time in Tripura. Action has also been taken to obtain ISO-14001 certificate for Konaban GCS which is for international standard for environment management systems. It is also planned to upgrade Baramura GCS for higher production capacity. With these ongoing efforts, Tripura holds significant growth in the availability of natural gas in the near future.

Utilisation

Presently, natural gas is being utilised mainly for the Power Projects of the State Government/ NEEPCO (a Central Government Undertaking). The present utilisation of natural gas is about 1.20 MMSCMD. A small quantity of gas is also being used for gas supply to domestic/ commercial/ small industrial consumers. Thus, the balance about 2.80 MMSCMD gas is presently available for setting up industrial projects, using natural gas as feedstock.

Gas Pricing

Tripura offers concessional pricing advantage in setting up a gas-based project of natural gas for northeastern region. The natural gas is available in the northeast at almost half the price as compared to other parts of the country.

Prospects

The availability of superior quality natural gas, at concessional price, offers a great opportunity to prospective investors, to set up gas-based industrial units, using natural gas as feedstock, like urea, methanol, PVC and other projects. Apart from this, Natural gas can also be utilized as a cheaper source of energy for various energy-intensive industrial projects.

Tea Industry

In Tripura the tea industry holds considerable scope for investment. The state has suitable agro-climatic conditions for development of tea plantation. The soils are generally fertile, and have no major problems of toxicities or deficiencies. In Tripura average annual rainfall is about 2100 mm, with a fairly even distribution over the year. The state is also categorized as a traditional tea-growing state - with about 60 Tea Estates and 3,000 small tea growers, producing about 7.5 million kg. of tea every year. This makes Tripura the 5th largest, among the 14 tea producing states, after Assam, West Bengal, TamilNadu & Kerala. There is a considerable scope to increase the area under tea plantation as well as productivity. The total area under plantation at present is 30,852 Ha and the total potential for plantation in the state is 1,00,000 Ha. The tea industry in Tripura is known for its good blending qualities. Some plantations in the state are going for organic production of tea.

Bamboo

Bamboo is one of the most important non-wood forest resource in Tripura. In fact, Tripura is one of the highest CVP (climate, vegetation, precipitation) index zones (a measure of potential productivity) in the country. Tripura is endowed with rich and diverse bamboo resources. Presently, the level of extraction is 184.60-million nos. p.a. The most common uses of bamboo are housing and supply to paper mill in Assam. Only about 2% of the extracted bamboo is utilized for value addition through handicrafts and other products.

Bamboo has been identified as a major thrust area by the state government for development. For the development of bamboo resources in Tripura and their optimum commercial utilisation the state has formulated a State Bamboo Policy. And has also signed an MOU with International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) for effective implementation of the Bamboo policy of the state.

According to the Government of Tripura,there are 1250 known species of Bamboo with 1500 uses.Bamboo is used by 2.5 billion people worldwide,of which 1 billion people use it for housing.Trade in Bamboo generates US$ 4.5 billion.It provides livelihood,ecological and food security and also all its products are eco-friendly.

In Tripura, the main industry based on bamboo is cane and bamboo handicrafts. In order to organize/ develop this industry on modern lines steps have been taken. Apart from this, with the availability of huge bamboo resources in the state, industrial products like bamboo tiles, laminated products, ply, boards, corrugated sheets etc can be produced, which can be used as building materials, for furniture manufacture etc. According to the studies Bamboo is a very effective alternate for timber and is, in fact, better in many respects.

Handlooms

Tripura - this ancient land, beneath the sylvan shadows, from time immemorial, there have been remarkable experiments in traditional art and the crafts that earned the lofty admiration of time-honored connoisseurs like Huen Tsang, Tavernier, Ab-Ul-Fazal and even the great poet Rabindranath Tagore.

The art of weaving occupies a very sacred place in the traditional life of Tripura. In fact in their tribal society no right or ritual is sanctioned unless it is preceded by a worship of 'Riha' the hand-woven breast cover of the family elders. The ancient folk-lorries and fables of Tripura galore with innumerable examples of glorification of the art of weaving in the tribal society.

Nature has endowed the people of this land with a very high sense of aesthetic beauty that enabled their skillful hands to translate the vision in various forms of art in conformity with the unique aesthetic equilibrium of the nature, in all the details of sense, color, perception forms and even rhythm. Today, Tripura Handloom represents a unique harmonious blend of three traditions- Tribal, Bengali and Manipuri weaving.

Tribal fabrics

The Tribal fabrics of Tripura are well known for their elegant design, bold color combination and lasting texture. The Tribal motifs skillfully depicted through stylized decorative designs are really in great demand. Modern made-up in tribal fabrics is very attractive indeed.

Manipuri fabrics

The Manipuri community of Tripura specializes in certain traditional items of distinct heritage. Today, they represent a synthesized tradition quite distinct from the handloom of Manipur. They produce colorful bedspread Lysingphee and elegant furnishing fabrics with Typical Manipuri designs.

Bengalee fabrics

With aforesaid two traditions of Handloom in Tripura, the third blending force is the one represented by Bengalee weavers who migrated erstwhile East Pakistan (Bangladesh). They have in many ways rejuvenated and supplemented handloom tradition of this land with greater Bengal weaving heritage. This has resulted into a wide variety of common use products like silk and cotton saris, lungis, Shirting's, jute carpets, bedspreads and colorful furnishing fabrics.

In Tripura, weavers of all communities have shown a remarkable courage of conviction in freely adopting motifs and techniques from each other's tradition with a view to enriching their own.

Information Technology

IT sector (including IT-enabled services) has been identified as one of major potential growth sectors by the state. The literacy rate of the state is about 74% now, which is higher than the national average. IT industry being a knowledge-based industry, educated human resource is the most promising resource of the State. It also has good network of schools and colleges spread across the State, including an Engineering College, a Polytechnic and four ITIs. For development of Human Resources for Information Technology through adoption of IT education, for boosting up investment in IT sector and also for promotion of Electronic Governance, the State Government has announced the IT Policy 2000.Tripura has been considered the second best IT destination in the North East, after Assam, in an independent study conducted by NEDFi. Encouraged by this, NEDFi is setting up an IT Park in Tripura, which will provide all necessary infrastructure facilities required for IT sector. The state government has also accorded special status to this industry and special incentives have been announced for IT industry in the new Incentive Package.

Tourism

Tripura is an attractive tourist destination. The state has a rich cultural heritage. There are number of historical Hindu, Buddhist sites. The state also has rich flora and fauna. There is also great potential for development of tourist circuits, involving all the NE states and if possible, Bangladesh as well. All this offers attractive opportunities for the Hospitality Industry.

In Tripura, hotels have been considered as Industry, with a view to promote tourism. Hence, all incentives available to other industrial units are also available for setting up hotels. The salient features of incentives are as follows:

• Capital Investment Subsidy @ 30% on Fixed Capital Investment, subject to a ceiling of Rs. 30 lakhs per unit. Additional subsidy @ 5% to Thrust sector/ Export-oriented Units.
• Reimbursement of State Sales Tax, for 5 years, subject to a specified ceiling.
• Price Preference @ 10% on purchases by the Government.
• 4% Interest Subsidy on term loans, for 5 years, subject to a ceiling of Rs. 30,000 per year per unit.
• Standard Certification Charges Reimbursement up to Rs. 50,000 per unit.
• Special incentives to IT industry in the form of 50% concession in the floor space rentals and reimbursement of standard certification charges up to Rs. 2 lakhs.
• Excise duty on liquor in the state in force is as follows:
  • IMFL other than Beer Rs.90/- per LP Liter.
  • Beer at the rate of Rs.6.35 per BK Liter.
  • There is no surcharge on sales tax but additional sales tax at the rate of 0.25% collected from those who are paying sales tax more than Rs.1, 00,000/-.

Horticulture

Tripura is land of high hills, hillocks, interspersed with rivers and valleys having moderately warm and humid climate, well distributed annual rainfall of 2500 mm. The terrain soil and climate of the state of Tripura are ideally suited for rain-fed horticulture. fruits like pineapple, jackfruit, orange, litchi, cashew nut, coconut, lime, and lemon are produced in abundance. Fruit crops in the state are grown on hillocks, availing the well-distributed rainfall without application of any fertilizers or chemicals. Therefore, Tripura fruits are mostly the products of organic farming area and productions of major horticulture crops of Tripura are as under: -

Processing infrastructure available in Tripura is: -

• Fruits Juice Concentration Plants of NERAMAC (a Government of India undertaking) capable of processing 5600 MT of fruits like pineapple, jackfruit, litchi, orange, and bamboo shoot.
• Cashew processing centre of NERAMAC (a Government of India undertaking) capable of processing 500 Kg of raw - cashew per day.
• Tripura Small Industries Corporation (T.S.I.C.) has a small Pineapple processing plants capable of processing about 500 MT of pineapple. They produce canned pineapple slice, jams, jelly etc.
  

Investment Opportunities

Natural Gas

• Tripura has vast reserves of natural gas in non-associate form.
  
• The availability of superior quality natural gas at concessional rates offers a great opportunity to prospective investors.
  
• Concessional Gas Pricing for North Eastern Region - about Rs. 1,920 per 1000 SCM.

Food Processing

• The agro-climatic conditions in Tripura are Ideally suited for production of large variety of horticulture crops.
  
• The food processing industry is still in the nascent stage and holds huge potential for investment.
  
• A modern food processing technology park is being set up near Agartala.
  
• An agri export zone for pineapple is also being developed.

Rubber

• The terrain is very suitable for the production of rubber.
  
• Studies have shown that approximately 1,00,000 hectares of area in the state can be brought under rubber plantation.
  
• Tripura is considered as the second rubber capital of India.
  
• The availability of good quantity of high quality rubber offers ample scope for setting up of rubber-based industries.
  
• A rubber park has been proposed in order to provide necessary infrastructure to rubber-based projects.
  
• Total area under plantation at present - 30,852 Ha.
  
• Total potential for plantation in the state - 1,00,000 Ha.

Tea

• The agro-climatic conditions are favorable for the development of tea plantation.
  
• The soil is fertile and the rainfall is evenly distributed over the year.
  
• There is considerable scope to increase both the area under plantation and the productivity.

Handicraft

• Cane and bamboo occupy a distinctive role in the life of Tripura.

Bamboo

• Bamboo is one of the most important non-wood forest resource in Tripura
  
• Industrial Products based on Bamboo can be developed.
  
• Tripura is one of the highest CVP (Climate, Vegetation, precipitation) index zones (a measure of potential productivity) in the country.
  
• The state is endowed with rich and diverse bamboo resources.
  
• Exports are already on and scope to organize/ modernize are underway.
  
• The state has formulated a State Bamboo Policy for development of bamboo resources and their optimum commercial utilization.

Handloom

• The tribal fabrics of Tripura are well known for their elegant design, bold color combination and lasting texture. The tribal motifs have a high demand.
  
• Manipuri and Bengali fabrics have also been identified as thrust areas.

Tourism

• Tripura is an attractive tourist destination.
  
• The state has rich cultural heritage.
  
• There is great potential for the development of tourist circuits, including all the northeast states.
  
• Attractive opportunities are available for the hospitality industry.
  
• All incentives available to other industries are also available for setting up hotel industry.

Information Technology

• IT sector (including ITES) has been identified as one of the major potential growth sector by the state.
  
• The literacy rate of the state is around 74%, which is higher than the national average.
  
• For boosting investments in the IT sector, and for promotion of electronic governance, the sate government has announced an explicit IT policy.

Investment Incentives

The state of Tripura has launched the "Tripura incentive scheme, 2002" (valid till March 2007) under which the following incentives and concessions have been provided:-

Capital Investment Subsidy

• All eligible units will be entitled to a 30 percent subsidy on fixed capital investment, subject to a ceiling of US$ 65,105.01 in each case.
  
• Additional subsidy at the rate of 5 percent will be provided on fixed capital investment to the industries in the identified thrust sectors.
  
• Export oriented units will be entitled to an additional 5 percent subsidy on fixed capital investment.

Price Preference

• Subject to the unit meeting the quality, delivery and other specifications of the purchaser state government Agencies, up to 10% price preference will be given on all purchases by state government agencies (including departments / corporations / undertakings / autonomous bodies of the state government) on products manufactured in Tripura, by eligible units, for which they are registered and the same shall be governed by the notifications/ orders issued by the government from time to time. This shall further be subject to certain prerequisites.

Exemption from Earnest Money and Security Deposits

• All eligible units will be exempted from the payment of earnest money and security deposits for items for which they are registered, on tender by the state government agencies (including departments/ corporations/ undertakings/ autonomous bodies of the state government).

Reimbursement of the Tripura Sales Tax

• Subject to the Notification to be published by the state government in the Finance department, in exercise of powers conferred under relevant sections of the Tripura sales tax act, 1976, reimbursement of state sales tax, shall be given to the industrial units, subject to the certain specified conditions.

Partial Reimbursement of Interest Paid

• All eligible units will be entitled to a reimbursement of interest paid to the banks/ financial institutions, at the rate of 4% on the term loans availed by them, for 5 years from the date of setting up, provided that the units have no interest liabilities overdue to the banks/ financial institutions and subject to a ceiling of US$ 650.256 per year per unit.

Reimbursement of Standard Certification Fees/Charges

• All eligible units will be entitled to full reimbursement of fees/ charges on account of obtaining a standard certification, subject to the condition that any other reimbursement against these from central government or any other source shall be deducted and further that the re-imbursement shall be subject to a ceiling of US$ 1083. 75 per unit.

Special Incentives for IT Industry

• The Government of Tripura will give the same status to the sector of IT-enabled services as is given to the sector of software development.
  
• IT software industry will be exempted from locational regulations.
  
• The IT software industry will be exempt from the provisions of certain acts/ regulations, like Pollution Control Act, Factories Act and Contract Labour (Regulation) Act to facilitate easy setting up of software units.
  
• Department of Industries & Commerce shall create a separate area for setting up the units for major IT companies. This area shall be designated as an IT park. The state govt. would provide basic infrastructural facilities at the designated IT park, including uninterrupted power supply. In case the unit wants to set up its own captive power generation, no permission would be required from any agency for DG sets up to 50 KVA. The land may be allotted in these areas at concessional rates for IT units, subject to their giving employment to a minimum of 20 persons from the State.
  
• The state government will also set up a software technology park in Agartala with the help of STPI, a registered society under Department of Electronics (Ministry of Information Technology, Govt of India). In this park, provisions will be made for single - window clearance for software development units to be set up, as per the existing schemes of Government of India. The state government will administer the software technology park through a designated agency / corporation.

Other Major Projects in Tripura

Policy Framework

State Bamboo Policy

Vision of the Policy

To realize the economic, social and environmental potential of the bamboo resource of Tripura,develop it into one of major economic sectors of the State, and provide employment and income generating activities for the tribals and rural poor. This vision will be implemented on a sustainable economic development basis so that market and ownership systems not only halt the process of further degradation of bamboo resources, but lead to an increase in the quantity and quality of bamboo resources, to meet the present and prospective requirements of bamboo users including the environmental needs of the State.

Goals

The main goals of the policy which stem from the vision are:

• Development and implementation of a sustainable community based production model with concomitant benefits for forest conservation.
• Development and implementation of an economic development program using bamboo for spurring industrial development.
• Enhancing employment and income generating opportunities for tribals and rural poor using bamboo as the prime resource.
  

Objectives

The basic targeted objectives that would govern the State Bamboo Policy are the
following:

• Scientific assessment of the plantation inventory by species to assess the effort involved.
• Conserving the bio-diversity of resource base.
• Enhancing the productivity and production base of the resource to meet the expected increase in demand up to a 10% annual increase of the sustainable yield from the year 2001 level.
• Enabling training, tools and other mechanical productivity enhancers, consolidation, distribution and marketing channels.
• Developing value addition in handicrafts though improved processing, product diversification, design development and enhanced shelf life, to produce quality products at par with international standards and to increase the trade in home and export market by 100% in next 5 (five) years.
• Establishing bamboo industrial products as an economic and successful new industrial sub-sector. This includes developing Small Scale Industries (SSIs) and also mediumscale operations based on bamboo such as Bamboo Mat Boards (BMBs), Bamboo laminates, Bamboo ply, Bamboo flooring and Bamboo shoot processing, among others, to be identified by the INBAR-Tripura Bamboo Mission. Smaller industries for production of chopsticks, agarbattis and baskets would be promoted at the community level.
• Developing the necessary market mechanism with support towards promotion and marketing of finished products.
• Popularizing bamboo as a cost effective and earthquake resistant building material for housing in the State, which lies in one of the high seismic zones of the country.
• Arranging financial resources as may be necessary to achieve the above objectives.
• Setting up of monitoring facilities and systems for fine tuning the devised plans and ensuring their effectiveness.

Approach

The approach of the policy in achieving the above mentioned objectives would be based on the following:

• Community and private sector participation in bamboo development
• Support to activities focussed on conservation of bamboo resource
• Plant propagation
• Enhancement of the production base
• Management Information System (MIS), inventory and database development
• Promotion of handicrafts
• Industrial utilisation and entrepreneurship development
• Bamboo utilisation in building material and low cost housing
• Development of marketing and trading plan and systems

Full text of the policy (.pdf)

IT policy 2000
The IT Policy has three broad missions:

• Development of human resource for IT through adoption of IT education in educational institutions of Tripura.
• Promotion of electronic governance for
  
  • Efficient and effective delivery of government services
    
  • Improved revenue collections
    
  • Improving financial management
    
  • Better dissemination of information on government functions, through setting up of Information and Facilitation centres (IFCs) and hosting of websites.
    
• Positioning the state as an attractive location for investment by global and national companies through attractive packages. This will be with an objective to create employment potential in the state in IT industries.
  

It would be the objective of the government to limit its role in the development of IT industry as a facilitator - providing infrastructural support, interfacing with related institutions within India and outside and providing necessary incentives / concessions to encourage private initiative in the IT sector.

Incentives for IT Industries

The Government of Tripura has already a package of incentives to set up any industry in Tripura. In addition to these incentives, the following incentives are proposed to be given to encourage young entrepreneurs to set up industry, especially for software development, in Tripura:-

Full text of the policy

Useful Web links

Government of Tripura

Department of Industries and Commerce