Northeast India positioned as growth hub for Global South: Union Minister Scindia

Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has highlighted the rapid economic growth of India’s northeastern states, describing the region as a strategic launch pad for the Global South and a key link in South-East Asia’s trade network. The eight northeastern states are currently growing at a pace of 11–12%, significantly outpacing the national average.

Speaking ahead of the Rising Northeast Investment Summit 2025, scheduled for later this month in New Delhi, Scindia stressed the economic significance and historical importance of the region. “It is through the North-East that goods and services used to travel all the way up to Europe,” he said. “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, who holds the portfolios of Development of the North Eastern Region (MDoNER) and Communications, recently met with major industry leaders, including Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, and Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran in Mumbai. The discussions focused on potential investment in agro-based industries, textiles, and tourism.

He said sustained efforts to improve infrastructure and connectivity are turning the northeast into a powerful economic engine. “Ten per cent of Gross Budget Support (GBS), which is close to one lakh crore, \[is] going into the North-East every single year,” he noted, underlining investments in railways, highways, airports, and waterways.

Scindia also emphasized that the region’s rich natural and human resources, coupled with strong economic momentum, position it as a catalyst for broader regional development. “I believe that today, as they grow, and their growth rates are in excess of 300 basis points of the national average... they present a tremendous opportunity for a launch pad for all of the Global South.”

The government is aiming to integrate all eight northeastern states into a unified development strategy, with Scindia calling the transformation underway “paramount” for India’s future. “We need to be able to actualise and make sure that we give them that launch pad... to be able to contribute to the nation's progress,” he said. (PTI)