N-E frontrunner in development: PM opens summit for investment in region
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the ‘Rising North-East Investors Summit-2025’ at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. He called the event a celebration of investment and opportunity in “one of India’s most diverse and promising regions”.
Welcoming industry leaders and state representatives, Modi expressed confidence in the region’s potential to drive national growth. “The North-East is no longer a frontier region, but a front-runner in India’s development story,” he stated.
Highlighting India’s strategic shift from “Look East” to “Act East”, the PM noted that the region had witnessed major progress in connectivity — including over 11,000 kilometres of highways, new railway lines and improved digital networks. He further cited flagship projects such as the Sela Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh and the Bhupen Hazarika Bridge in Assam.
The two-day summit, slated to conclude on May 24, aims to promote sectors like tourism, agro-processing, IT, education and energy. It brings together investors, policymakers and business leaders for sessions on partnerships and development. Modi underlined the North-East’s strengths in organic farming, renewable energy and cultural tourism. “With its biodiversity, rich traditions and ecological lifestyle, the region is a natural destination for wellness and eco-tourism,” he said, encouraging entrepreneurs to leverage the “first-mover advantage”.
He also announced plans for enhancing food processing, logistics and cross-border trade through projects like the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Project and India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway, positioning the North-East as a gateway to ASEAN markets.
Calling the summit a “movement and a mission”, Modi reaffirmed the government’s commitment to peace and progress. He emphasised that over 10,000 former militants had returned to the mainstream, opening doors for youth and start-ups in the region.
With over Rs 21,000 crore invested in education and skill-building in the past decade, the Northeast now houses AIIMS, medical colleges, IIT and India’s first sports university. “Rising North-East is more than an event — it is the engine of a Viksit Bharat,” Modi concluded. Top leaders — including union ministers and CMs from all eight north-eastern states — joined the summit.
Adani Group to invest Rs 1-lakh cr, RIL Rs 75K cr
- Billionaire Gautam Adani on Friday committed to investing an additional Rs 50,000 crore over the next 10 years in green energy, road construction & digital infrastructure in the north-eastern states.
- Reliance Industries Ltd will invest Rs 75,000 crore in the region for setting up 350 biogas plants, expanding its telecom services, retail footprint & clean energy projects, announced Mukesh Ambani.
India