Sikkim declares 2010 as Year of Tourism

Having declared the year 2010 as the Year of Tourism, the Sikkim government has drawn up a plan incorporating as many as 13 local festivals in the list of popular events to be staged next year to woo tourists from across the country and abroad.Officials of the tourism department said that the celebration of the Year of Tourism will commence with the Sikkim Discover Festival to be held in March/April next year and conclude with the State Flower Show to be held at the state capital in March, 2011.

Read full report on http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200907021251.htm

Mizoram spends Rs 70 cr on tobacco annually

Mizoram Chief Secretary and chairman of the state Tobacco Control Society Vanhela Pachuau on Thursday said that Mizoram spent around Rs 70 crore on tobacco products per annum. Pachuau, addressing a press conference, based his calculation on the basis of the study conducted by the Presbyterian Church in 2004 which said that 77 per cent of the church's over five lakh members in the state consumed tobacco products and spent around Rs Nine lakh per day.

Read full report on http://www.zeenews.com/news544016.html

Temi Tea Estate (South Sikkim)

Temi Tea Estate (South Sikkim)

Samdruptse (South Sikkim)

10th South East Asian Trade Fair gets underway in Shillong

Traders from South East Asian countries are participating in the 10th International Trade Fair in Shillong. Traders from several South East Asian countries including Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Kenya, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Egypt showcased a fabulous range of products at various stalls in the ten-day long fair.

Read full report on http://www.sindhtoday.net/south-asia/81649.htm

Sikkim gets a new education scheme

Sikkim girls are far ahead of the boys in school enrolment, the ratio standing at 113 girls to 100 boys. This is the highest in the entire northeast, and to maintain the trend the central government has ushered in a new scheme, according to an official.

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http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=HomePage&id=f4db69c2-0558-4add-95a5-e95f9ed83daf&Headline=Sikkim+gets+a+new+education+scheme

I-T issue to play vital role in Sikkim polls

To pay or not to pay income tax

is the question in Sikkim as assembly andparliamentary elections drew near. Sensing the mood, chief minister Pawan Chamling and Sikkim Congress president and former chief minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari, arch-rivals in the state, are pulling out all stops to make the state tax-exempt.

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http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Personal-Finance/Tax-Savers/Tax-News/I-T-issue-to-play-vital-role-in-Sikkim-polls/articleshow/4371369.cms

220 died of meningitis in Meghalaya

Health authorities in Meghalaya have strengthened surveillance in the wake of meningococcal meningitis showing no signs of receding.More than 220 people died and over 900 people have been infected ever since the outbreak January, 2008, of this air-borne bacterium disease.

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http://www.siasat.com/english/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=334069&Itemid=76&cattitle=Health

Tourists to get easier access to Arunachal Pradesh

Visiting picturesque Arunachal Pradesh will now get easier as the Government is all set to start online processing and application of the mandatory inner-line permit needed to enter the state.

Read full report on http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/businessline/blnus/14061053.htm

Tourist inflow in Sikkim rises by over ten per cent annually till last year

According to a PTI report, the economic slowdown across the world may hit the tourism industry in other parts of the country, but the tourism sector in the Himalayan state of Sikkim has risen by over ten per cent till last year, according to figure compiled by the tourism department. As per the release by state tourism department, the state received 3.87 lakh tourists in 2008 in comparison to 3.49 lakh tourists in the year before.

Read full article on
http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/tourist-inflow-in-sikkim-rises-by-over-ten-per-cent-annually-till-last-year-5108

Come home to Asia's cleanest village in Meghalaya

Resident across the country can take inspiration from the picture perfect village of Mawlynnong, which has recently earned a unique distinction of being the cleanest village in Asia. Nestled in the pristine hills of Meghalaya, the hamlet has over 80 houses and the villagers, despite their daily schedule of farming and cultivating broomsticks, have worked hard to earn this distinction. Residents of this village keep their surroundings clean by voluntarily performing all the civic duties such as sweeping the roads and lanes, watering the plants in public area and cleaning the drains.

Read full article on http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14854677

Chakma fencing victims not displaced: Mizoram govt

In Mizoram, over 35,000 Chakma tribals are going to be displaced due to the ongoing India-Bangladesh border fencing which is being constructed to prevent anti-national activities and illegal infiltration from across the border. Raising many eyebrows, the government of Mizoram has said it did not consider Chakmas who have lost their homes and land to the ongoing India-Bangladesh border fencing as “displaced”. The government of Mizoram stated this in a reply to the complaint filed by a tribal rights, NGO, Asian Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Network (AITPN) to the National Human Rights Commission alleging denial of timely compensation to the victims.
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http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=15710225

SMS causing rise to domestic problems, divorce in Mizoram

For today's lovers, sending romantic text messages may be chic, but for married couples they may bring in unwanted problems as the Mizo society is witnessing. Replacing the not-so-much secret love letters, the text messages are a new tool in the hands of young lovers to express their feelings these days. But social workers point out that when the messages are exchanged in an extra-marital affair, problems sometimes arise.

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http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/18091020.htm

Organic tea from Assam set to enter Hong Kong

Organic tea produced by traditional communities in Assam is fast gaining market, globally. After making its presence felt in Canada, the tea is now ready to enter Hong Kong. The Singpho community, credited for being pioneers in the discovery of tea, has developed a tea coin. The product is sold under the brand name Phalap (tea is called phalap in Singpho language). Two grams of tea are packed in coin shape and can be consumed by dissolving it in hot water. They produce a blend of oolong and green tea.

Read full article on http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Markets/Commodities/Organic_tea_from_Assam_set_to_enter_Hong_Kong/articleshow/4127132.cms

India delegation promotes investment opportunities to Vietnam

The ASEAN North East India Investment & Trade Opportunities Summit continued to present new investment opportunities in the northeast India February 13, at the White Palace Hotel. This is one of three activities over February 12-14. The program is co-organized by the Ministry of Development of North East Region and the Indian Chamber of Commerce, sponsored by the Consulate General of India, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam.

Read full news on http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Hochiminhcity/2009/2/68478/

Northeast leads in terror casualties, overtakes Kashmir

India's restive northeastern region saw the maximum number of fatalities in terror strikes in 2008, surpassing Jammu and Kashmir in the latest figures released by an independent security think-tank.The northeast, particularly Assam and Manipur, has turned into a veritable killing field with the region accounting for 1,057 deaths compared to 539 casualties in Kashmir in the past year.

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Northeast_leads_in_terror_casualties/articleshow/3941307.cms

Himalayan state of Sikkim to get its first airport

Over a decade after the central government sanctioned the plan to build an airport

in the eastern Himalayan state of Sikkim, construction for the first airport is to begin on January 10 at Pakyong, a town located in east Sikkim about 20 km from the capital city of Gangtok.

Read full news on http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Transportation/Airlines__Aviation/Himalayan_state_of_Sikkim_to_get_its_first_airport/articleshow/3943269.cms