President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday said the Northeast has emerged as a central pillar of India’s development strategy, with major investments in connectivity, industry and healthcare aimed at correcting regional imbalances and driving balanced national growth.
Addressing a joint sitting of Parliament, the President said India’s early post-Independence growth had been concentrated in a few regions, leaving large sections of the population without adequate opportunities, a gap the government is now seeking to bridge with a renewed focus 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 underdeveloped regions were being transformed into engines of growth for a Viksit Bharat.
Highlighting the Northeast’s integration into the national mainstream, she cited the arrival of the Rajdhani Express in Aizawl for the first time, saying the public enthusiasm surrounding the event “brought joy to the entire nation”.
Murmu underlined Assam’s rising strategic and industrial importance, referring to its civilisational legacy and emerging role in advanced manufacturing.
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“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.
On infrastructure, the President said more than 7,200 kilometres of national highways have been built in the Northeast over the past 11 years, improving connectivity in remote, hilly, tribal and border areas. She added that nearly 50,000 kilometres of rural roads have been constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
Railway expansion has also gathered pace, with Murmu noting that over Rs 80,000 crore has been invested in the sector in the region during the same period. She said the capitals of Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Mizoram are now connected through broad-gauge rail networks, boosting employment, tourism and economic activity.
Healthcare infrastructure featured prominently in the address. Murmu said the past decade had been transformative for healthcare delivery in the Northeast, citing institutions such as the State Cancer Institute in Itanagar and the medical college in Assam’s Sivasagar.
She also referred to the medical college at Sichey in Sikkim and the women and children’s hospital in Agartala, saying these initiatives were strengthening access to quality healthcare for crores of families across the region.
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