The North East Region (NER) refers collectively to the eight
states located in the midst of the East Himalayan region in the
north-eastern part of India, constituting Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
The region is well endowed with natural resources and ideal
climatic conditions for agriculture, tea and rubber plantations
and sericulture. Substantial on-land oil and natural gas reserves
and signifi cant mineral resources are available in abundance in
the region. The North East is one of the most bio-diverse regions in the world, consisting of large portions of land under tropical forests, with various valuable resources like bamboo, cane, wood and precious medicinal plants. Forest-based industries such as plywood mills, paper mills, saw mills constitute an integral part of the economy.