Lights, Camera, Arunachal: Chief Minister Pema Khandu wants greater ties with M&E sector

In order to build a strong case for the Media & Entertainment Industry (M&E) to look at Arunachal Pradesh as a destination that can counter foreign locales at very low costs points, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh-Pema Khandu is in Mumbai to meet top representatives from the M&E industry.

The delegation is executing PM Narendra Modi’s vision of opening North East to newer opportunities. The high profile delegation will also hold discussions with Vinay Prabhakar Sahasrabuddhe, MP Rajya Sabha and National Vice President of Bharatiya Janata Party.

Speaking about his visit, Khandu said, “I feel very few people know about North East and people in big cities like Mumbai and Delhi think that North East is a single state.  But it is not the fact; North East has its own diversity and its own sub cultures which we need to showcase to people in big cities.”

One of his top priorities during this visit is to invite Bollywood filmmakers to shoot in Arunachal, which in his view offers unmatched idyllic locations.

“Over the years, road connectivity, air connectivity and communication connectivity has drastically improved and now my vision is to leverage this to attract investments in the state. For example, when it comes to Bollywood, Arunachal has a lot to offer. Its idyllic locations are no less than any European country and we want to build on the strengths that we have to offer,” said Khandu.

He further added, “If you look at the growth in tourism that our state has witnessed, Bollywood has played a significant role in that. In 1997 the movie Koyla was shot there and two years back another movie Rangoon was shot in Arunachal Pradesh.  Now I want to create greater engagement between Bollywood and Arunachal and we are ready to create a win-win kind of model to make it happen.”

Khandu is also hopeful that he will be able to convince more private sector players to look at Arunachal as a potential place to invest. Speaking about his vision for the economic turnaround of the state, Khandu said, “Arunachal has been blessed by lot of natural resources.  If you talk about hydro power, we have the country’s largest potential. We have around 25 lakh hectares of fertile land of which we are using 3.5 lakh hectares only, so we offer a huge scope for agro based industries.

“I have already directed the industries department to come up with a state policy that ensures ease of doing business in the state and we will release a policy paper on it soon. We want to encourage more industries to look at Arunachal and benefit from the immense opportunities that the state offers,” he further added.