Agartala, Mar 2 (Representative) Tripura Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy on Saturday claimed that trade between Tripura and Bangladesh has increased to a whooping over 94.04 per cent in five years under BJP’s rule while elaborating the perspective of State’s budget for next financial year. He said the volume of trade between Tripura and Bangladesh has jumped to Rs 758.09 Cr in 2022-23 from Rs 390.68 Cr in 2017-18. The value of exports from Tripura to Bangladesh has gone up to Rs 121.37 Cr in 2023-24 so far including the export of power to Bangladesh.Describing the investment profile, Singha Roy informed that Tripura State Electricity Corporation Ltd (TSECL) has been implementing three major power projects under Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank and funding from Central government. Two externally aided projects — Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Indo-German Development Cooperation (IGDC) — have been implemented in the forest and livelihood sectors.
A new project worth Rs 1764.94 Cr for Enhancing Landscape and Ecosystem Management Project funded by World Bank at final stage and to be launched soon, the minister underlined. Apart from that since 2018-19, at least 2,46,339 farmers have benefited from ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana’ in the state. An amount of Rs 640.40 crore has been deposited in the bank accounts of the beneficiary farmers. More than 12.46 lakh farmers’ crop of the state has been covered under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana’ and 3,29,860 Kisan Credit Cards have been distributed among the farmers and so far they received the loan of Rs 1649 Cr, Singha Roy pointed out.
He said that under the ‘Chief Minister’s Rubber Mission’, 600 hectares of rubber plantation has been done during 2023-24 and 916 tribal families have been benefited under various income generating activities, adding, “International trade of Agar wood (the main ingredient of perfume) has begun in Tripura and mission for promotion of Agar cultivation has been launched.” He said that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has given clearance for the first time for export of Agar oil to Dubai from Tripura. As many as 47,600 women Self Help Groups (SHGs) have been formed under Tripura Rural Livelihood Mission in the state with 4.66 lakhs rural women being associated with 51,254 SHGs in Tripura in the last five years. At least 83,000 women associated with various SHGs in the state have become ‘Lakhpati Didis’ and the state government has set a target for making 1.14 lakh more women in different SHGs to improve their annual income more than Rupees one lakh, Singha Roy added.