The region of the Northeast is opening up with massive investment in infrastructure development – roads, power, rail and airports. Plan expenditure is expected to grow to 2.00 lac crore, nearly 2.5 times of the Tenth Plan. Public Sector companies - NHAI, NHPC, ONGC, Oil India - are investing resources in the area. Effective and easy communication will generate interest in the industry. Investment in power projects will provide surplus power in the region. Efforts are on to develop the service sector in the region. A parallel exercise of ‘Look East Policy’ is providing integration with the rest of South-Asia. An effective project implementation capability and capacity building in the region is critical to the success of these efforts. The next two decades will see major economic transformation in the region. As India moves its determined march towards an inclusive and rapid growth, the strategy for growth in the northeast region has also undergone major shift. An area slightly less than one - tenth of the country and people which are only 4%, the region offers special challenges for growth.
There are major constraints. Nearly two - thirds of the region is covered with forest, whose direct exploitation is feasible only consistent with ecological and environmental requirements. Its connectivity with the rest of the country is only through a 20
km stretch.