<span style="color: #222222;">Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said the North East can emerge as a hub for rubber production. Addressing the 'Destination Tripura – Investment Summit' through video conferencing yesterday, Mr Goyal said, the Central Government has planned rubber plantations on a total of two lakh hectares in the North East states over five years. He said, Tripura is the second-largest producer of rubber in the country with 30 thousand hectares of cultivation.<br />''<br />''Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's clarion call of Transforming North-East into Ashth Lakhsmi of India, Mr. Goyal said that the government has accorded priority to the Focus North-East programme. He said, a dedicated Northeast Desk of Invest India has been set up to improve infrastructure and promoted industry.</span><br />