With the aim of driving policy and research with regard to sustainable and inclusive development in the North East region, Kaziranga University organized a three-day National Summit on Sustainable and Inclusive Development, with the theme, "Bio-Economy for Sustainable and Inclusive Development of North-East", in association with CSIR-NISTADS, one of India's renowned policy research institutes on 6th, 7th and 8th March 2019.

The summit highlighted North East India as a critical area for the confluence of sustainable and inclusive development; effective policy execution for which would lead to an overall holistic growth of the region. In its second edition, NESIDS 2019 also provided a platform for experts to discuss, deliberate and arrive at a policy roadmap for sustainable and inclusive development of Northeast, with a focus on Bio-Economy. The first edition of this three-day summit (NESIDS 2018) was held at Kaziranga University in April 2018, bringing together intellectual minds from diverse academic as well as non-academic niches from all over India.

The sub-themes of NESIDS 2019 this year, included Global and Regional Perspectives of Bio-Economy, Biodiversity and Sustainable Bio-Economy and its potential in the North East, Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Bio-Economy, Women Empowerment, Skill Development and Agronomical Practices and Policies in relation to Sustainable Bio-Economy.

The inaugural session of the summit was held on 6th March 2019, in the presence of several distinguished guests and dignitaries. The Chief Guest at the Inauguration was Shri S.K Barua, Managing Director, Numaligarh Refinery Limited, with Guests of Honour Shri Bhaskar Baruah, Former Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India and Dr. G. Narahari Sastry, Director, CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat. The Keynote Address was delivered by Dr. P. Goswami, Former Director, CSIR-NISTADS. The programme also saw the presence of esteemed dignitaries such as Dr. T. Madhan Mohan, Advisor, Biotechnology Programme Management Cell, Dr. Ram Boojh, National Programme Officer, UNESCO Asia, Dr. P.K Mishra, Vice-Chancellor, Kaziranga University, Ms. Rainy Khetan, Director, Kaziranga University, along with several other prominent delegates and participants from all over the country.

More than 25 distinguished researchers and speakers from different sectors from across the country attended the summit and presented their research interests and findings, aiming to aid towards forming holistic policies for the development and sustainability of the North East. These premier organizations include Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jamia Milia Islamiya , NEDFi, UNESCO Asia, Balipara Foundation among several other notable names.

In the specific context of North East India, NESIDS 2019 highlighted the importance of inclusive development policies with special attention to bio-economy. The multi-disciplinary deliberations with inputs from dignitaries, researchers and scholars definitely contributed towards the highlighting of a number of novel and significant observations during the course of the three days of the summit, which saw eight thematic sessions.

The time to consider a policy on inclusive and sustainable development for the rapidly developing North East region has never been more pronounced, and Kaziran