Ministry of Overaeas Indian Affairs is a young ministry. Established in May 2004 as the 'Ministry Of Non-Residential lndian Affairs' (MOIA in September'2004. Acknowledging the welfare of the overseas Indian mainstream, the mission of the Ministry is to promote, nurture and sustain a mutoality beneficial and symbolic relationship between India and its Diaspora. The focus of the Ministry is to establish an institutional framework to benefit from networks with and among Overseas Indians based on three value proposition:

* Through multi-tasking market driven entities spawned by MOlA and with knowledge partners from the private sector.
* States Will be stakeholder partner as Overseas Indian supported initiatives have to be anchored in the states.
* MOIA will stay small, facilitate activity on the ground and drive policy changes.

Overseas Indians are essentially consumers of products and services across the economic, social and cultural space constituting a heterogenous and ditferentiated group. MOIA works with market partners to identify and fill gaps in the provision of these products and services for the group.

India’s North-Eastern Region, comprising of the eight States- Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura and Sikkim- is a rainbow country, extraordinarily diverse and colourful. It stretches from the foothills of the Himalaya in the eastern range and is surrounded by Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal and Myanmar. The Region is rich in natural resources, covered with dense forests, has the highest rainfall in the country, with large and small river systems nesting the land and is a treasure house of flora and fauna.

The Region has huge untapped potential in hydropower generation (60,000 MW), horticulture, rubber, tea and coffee and medicinal & aromatic plants. It has substantial reserves of hydrocarbons and other important minerals. With its moderate climate most of the year, scenic splendour, richness of flora and fauna and robust and varied cultural attractions, the region is ideal for tourism. Its long international borders and historical ties with Southeast Asia put the Region in a unique position to take advantage of India’s expanding economic relations with these countries.

The Government has taken a number of measures towards rapid socio-economic development of the Region. As a result, public investment in the Region has gone up considerably. An ambitious programme has been taken up to address the infrastructure needs of the Region including road, railways, civil aviation, inland water transport and power.

The Government is also providing huge concessions to investors in the Region through the North East Industrial Investment & Promotion Policy (NEIIPP), 2007. Taken together with its other advantages, the Region is becoming a hotspot for investment in manufacturing as well as services sectors.