As Corporate India continues its frenetic search for people to fuel a booming economy, North East India is no longer isolated from the mainland, at least in terms of employment generation. Companies in services sectors like telecom, insurance, FMCG, hospitality, retail and banking are hiring extensively in the region.

According to industry body CII, the region has witnessed a major boom in corporate hiring in finance and telecom sectors over the past few years.

Says CII Assam Head Nandinee Kalita: ‘‘Recruitment across sectors has gone up. This trend would continue over the next few years as North East has proved to be a very lucrative and emerging market. All established organisations are opening shop here. Manufacturing sector is also growing and trends indicate that with favorable government policies, more investments would follow creating more jobs.’’

Take one instance: Bharti Enterprises employs 12,000-odd people, both directly and indirectly, in its North East operations, barring Arunachal Pradesh. Set up its base in April 2005, the telecom major has been constantly hiring people, says the company spokesperson.

Sops extended by Central and state governments are luring corporates to flock to the North East and, in turn, generate jobs. The entry of mega projects like Assam Gas Cracker Project and Reliance Energy’s power projects in Arunachal Pradesh are other examples of opportunities in organisations, as well as in ancillary and downstream industries.

‘‘Companies are setting up units in North East for tax benefits which require lot of manpower. As companies are growing fast throughout the country, numbers are also picking up in sales and marketing,’’ says Pankaj Bhargava, HR head, Marico Industries.

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