Northeast: Launchpad for Global South, Says Scindia

New Delhi, May 4 (PTI) India's northeastern states -- growing at between 11-12 per cent -- present "tremendous opportunity" as launch pad for all of global South, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has said underlining its historic and "fundamental" significance in the economies and trade networks of the entire South-East Asian region.

Scindia, who is Minister for Development of the North Eastern Region (MDoNER) and of Communications, has been actively driving initiatives to enhance connectivity, infrastructure and ecosystems across the northeast, positioning the region as India's next economic powerhouse, integrating all the eight states into a unified growth vision.

Earlier this week, the minister met top honchos of India Inc., including Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla as well as Tata Sons' Chairman N Chandrasekaran in Mumbai, ahead of the Rising Northeast Investment Summit 2025 scheduled to be held in New Delhi this month.

Discussions focused on region-specific growth sectors including agro-based industries, textiles, and tourism.

In a recent interview to PTI, Scindia noted that the northeast has historically been a very fundamental part of economies and trade for the whole of South-East Asia.

"It is important to keep in mind the history of the North East...It is through the North-East that goods and services used to travel all the way up to Europe. I believe that the North-East has...under Prime Minister's leadership, the concept of what used to be the last state has become today the first state," Scindia said.

Scindia noted that the northeast, endowed with rich natural and human resources, is experiencing growth rates exceeding the national average by over 300 basis points, with each of the eight states growing at around 11-12 per cent. He emphasised that this positions the region as a strong launch pad for the entire 'Global South'.

"I believe that today, as they grow, and their growth rates are in excess of 300 basis points of the national average... that each one of our eight states are growing at between 11-12 per cent. They present a tremendous opportunity for a launch pad for all of the global south. And that has been the Prime Minister's vision, which is what we are actualising on by the tremendous amount of investment into infrastructure, be it railways, highways, airports, waterways across-the-board...Ten per cent of Gross Budget Support (GBS), which is close to one lakh crore, going into the North-East every single year," Scindia said.

The northeast is undergoing a transformation, he said outlining the tremendous capabilities the region has.

"So I think the capability of the northeast today is paramount. And we need to be able to actualise and make sure that we give them that launch pad, if you will, to be able to contribute to the nation's progress," he said.