Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday laid the foundation stone for the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) North East Chapter at Umsawli, Shillong, marking a landmark moment for corporate governance and institutional development in the region.
Earlier in the day, the Finance Minister inaugurated the two-day IICA Conclave at IIM Shillong, where as many as seven MoUs were signed.
“This is not just a conclave IICA is holding for the Northeast—it is IICA coming to the Northeast. It marks the setting up of an institution here. Once the building is complete and the land given by the state is developed, it will bring in the spirit and institutional presence of corporate governance to the region,” Sitharaman said.
Hailing the day as “very remarkable for the Northeast,” the Finance Minister said, “The Chief Minister in his address has captured what over decades the Northeast has faced and what is different today. When an institution like IICA comes here, it marks a milestone. I am not saying this to point fingers at the past—but yes, after years of neglect came decades of focused attention. That begins with initial infrastructure, social infrastructure, mobilizing people, and supporting policy frameworks. Then comes a time when institutional presence becomes necessary. That’s why I commend the Ministry of Corporate Affairs for taking the steps to bring IICA to Shillong to serve the entire Northeast.”
She added, “Holding the conclave and capsule after capsule discussing core issues—startups, compliance, branding, market access, connectivity, legislative support, taxation and GST compliance—these are not abstract topics. Taxation gives benefits but also expects duty, a small contribution from each of us towards nation building.”
Crucially, Sitharaman raised concerns over the logistical challenges faced by the landlocked region, especially in transporting perishable goods like pineapples, oranges, and turmeric—products already recognised on ONDC and GeM portals.
“What I would in the name of reimagining development hit at is finally coming back to the basics—we are landlocked here. The products must reach the actual destination. The buyer identifies the product digitally, says ‘I want this’, and that’s when the difficulties start,” she said.
Citing the example of Meghalaya’s famed pineapples, she observed, “I heard pineapples go all the way to Mumbai by road, and from there by sea. The threshold is reached at Guwahati. Let’s assume aggregation is happening in Arunachal, Nagaland, Tripura—once you reach Guwahati, the real challenge begins. Do they really have to travel all the way to Mumbai?”
Proposing a transformative logistics solution, she said, “Is there no other way? Can we have them airlifted from Guwahati? Like cargo flights that carry flowers from Thailand to Delhi or Lucknow, can we have cost-effective airlifting of perishables from here too? It is not the only way, but yes, if possible, let us have a central logistics hub at Guwahati where goods from all 8 states come and get airlifted to markets across India.”
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and Chief Secretary D.P. Wahlang were also present at the event.
