• September 27, 2023

Tripura is one of the seven states in the northeast. Tripura acts as a gateway between Northeast India and Bangladesh. The state shares an 856-km international border with Bangladesh. This offers enormous potential for international trade. Tripura is endowed with rich and diverse bamboo resources and is the largest bamboo producing hub in India. The state has an area of 7,195 hectares to produce bamboo. Tripura holds a strong tea plantation base in India, with 58 tea gardens covering an area of >6,885 hectares, as of February 2020.

Tripura possess huge potential yet relatively unexplored sectors such as organic spices, biofuel, and eco- tourism. It is rich in natural resources such as natural gas, rubber, tea, and medicinal plants. The state is also known for its vibrant food processing, bamboo, and sericulture industries. Tripura is one of the largest natural rubber producers in the country. Production of rubber in the state stood at 74,139 million tonnes (MT) in 2018-19 compared to 46,815 MT in 2014-15

As per the third advance estimate of 2019-20, the total fruit production in the state is 562.46 thousand MT, vegetables is 811.67 thousand MT, plantation is 50.39 thousand MT and spices is 33.15 thousand MT.

The state is also rich in natural gas deposits, glass sands, limestone, plastic clay, and hard rock. With its pleasant climate and scenic landscape, Tripura is a favoured tourist destination. The state offers tourist attractions such as historical Hindu and Buddhist sites, temples, rivers, and rock carvings. In 2019, the number of foreign tourist arrival in the state was recorded to be 154,405.

As of April 2021, Tripura had a total installed power generation capacity of 723.96 MW, of which 153.01 MW was under state utilities, 566.54 MW was under central and 4.41 MW was under the private sector. Of the total installed capacity, 630.05 MW was contributed by thermal power, 68.49 MW by hydropower and 25.42 MW by renewable resources as of April 2021.

Total merchandise export from the state stood at US$ 1.75 million during 2019-20. In During April-January 2021, export stood at US$ 10.77 million.

According to Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) inflow in Tripura** stood at US$ 122 million between April 2000 and September 2019. Between October 2019 and March 2021, FDI inflows in Tripura stood at US$ 0.43 million.  

Some of the major initiatives taken by the Government to promote Tripura as an investment destination are:

• In March 2021, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi inaugurated ‘Maitri Setu’, a road link between Bangladesh and India to boost the connectivity in the Indo-Pacific region. The ‘Maitri Setu’ bridge has been built over Feni River which flows between Tripura and Bangladesh.
• In December 2020, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is likely to provide a Rs. 2,100 crore (US$ 286.12 million) loan to the Tripura government for the development of urban areas and tourism.
• In July 2019, the Ministry of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises sanctioned 50 electric buses for the state.
• According to Airport Authority of India, Agartala airport’s upcoming integrated terminal building will have modern facilities including India's first human body scanner and is expected to be operational in early 2020. Agartala airport will be third international airport in the north eastern region.
• As of May 2018, Tripura had won eight new projects worth Rs. 74.12 crore (US$ 6.38 million) under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY). Till November 2019, state had utilised Rs. 14.11 crore (US$ 2.02 million).
• In December 2019, Tripura got approval for its first Special Economic Zone (SEZ). This will be established at Jalefa, Sabroom, South Tripura District. This will be an agro-based food processing sector SEZ.

Note: MW - Megawatt, **- includes Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura