Northeast at the centre of India’s growth push: President Murmu

The Northeast has emerged as a key focus of India’s development agenda, with connectivity, industry and healthcare now driving growth across the region, President Droupadi Murmu said on January 28 while addressing a joint sitting of Parliament.

Pointing to a shift in national priorities, the President said India’s early post-Independence growth was limited to a few regions, leaving large parts of the country behind. That imbalance, she said, is now being addressed with special emphasis on eastern and northeastern India.

“After Independence, the progress of India got momentum from a few cities and regions. A large part of India and a significant portion of the population did not have access to adequate opportunities,” Murmu said, adding that the government is now turning underdeveloped regions into engines of growth for a Viksit Bharat.

Highlighting the Northeast’s integration into the national development mainstream, the President cited the arrival of the Rajdhani Express in Aizawl for the first time, describing the public response as enthusiasm that “brought joy to the entire nation”.

Murmu underlined Assam’s growing strategic importance, noting its civilisational legacy and emerging industrial role. “Assam, in the northeastern region, is the land of great icons like Srimanta Sankardev. Soon, a semiconductor chip manufactured in Assam will become a lifeline for electronic products worldwide,” she said, stressing that connectivity improvements are receiving unprecedented attention.

On infrastructure, the President said more than 7,200 kilometres of national highways have been built in the Northeast over the past 11 years, easing access to remote, hilly, tribal and border areas. Under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, around 50,000 kilometres of rural roads have been constructed, improving links to markets, hospitals and schools.

Railway expansion has also accelerated. “More than Rs 80,000 crore have been invested for the development of railways in the northeastern region during the last 11 years,” Murmu said. She added that the capitals of Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Mizoram are now connected by broad-gauge rail lines, opening up new opportunities for jobs, tourism and economic activity.

Healthcare was another major focus of her address. Calling the past decade transformative for health infrastructure in the Northeast, Murmu said institutions like the State Cancer Institute in Itanagar and the medical college in Assam’s Sivasagar will help provide treatment to crores of families.

She also cited the medical college at Sichey in Sikkim and the women and children’s hospital in Agartala, saying these initiatives are steadily building a robust healthcare network across the northeastern states.