Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday, said the government has gone beyond the conversion of the ‘Look East’ policy to ‘Act East’, and now its policy is ‘Act Fast for Northeast’ and ‘Act First for Northeast’.

Addressing a meeting of North Eastern Council (NEC) in Shillong, the Prime Minister said the Northeast is the gateway to South-East Asia and can become a centre for development of the entire region. And to realise this potential of the region, work is going on the projects like Indian-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway and Agartala-Akhaura rail project, he said.

The meeting marks the golden jubilee celebration of the North Eastern Council, which was formally inaugurated in 1972.

Hailing the contribution of NEC in the development of the North East region, the Prime Minister said this golden jubilee celebration of the NEC coincides with the ongoing Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

Stating that he often refers to the eight states of the region as ‘Asht Lakshmi’, Modi said the government should work on eight foundation pillars for its development, viz Peace, Power, Tourism, 5G connectivity, Culture, Natural farming, Sports and Potential.

Highlighting the success of the peace initiatives in the region, the prime minister said many peace agreements have been signed, inter-state boundary agreements have been done and there has been a marked reduction in instances of extremism.

Modi also discussed India’s G20 Presidency and said its meetings would witness people from all over the world coming to the Northeast. This will be an apt opportunity to showcase the nature, culture and potential of the region, he said.

Discussing India’s commitment towards net zero, the Prime Minister said Northeast can become a powerhouse of hydropower. This will make the states of the region power surplus, help in expansion of industries and generate a large number of jobs, he said.

Discussing the tourism potential of the region, he said both culture and nature of the region are attracting tourists from across the world. He added that tourism circuits are being identified and developed in the region also.

Talking about boosting connectivity in the region, the Prime Minister said iconic bridge projects which were pending since several decades have now been completed.

In the last eight years, the number of airports in the region has jumped from nine to 16, and the number of flights have increased from about 900 before 2014 to around 1900. Many North eastern states have come to the Railway map for the first time and efforts are being done to expand the waterways also. The length of national highways has increased by 50 per cent since 2014 in the region.

Modi said with the launch of the PM-DevINE scheme, the infrastructure projects in the Northeast have gained more momentum.

He added that the government is also working on improving digital connectivity in the Northeast by increasing the optical fibre network.

Talking about development of Aatmanirbhar 5G infrastructure, the Prime Minister said 5G will help further development of startup ecosystem, service sector among others in the region.