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Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of Communications and Development of the northeastern region, on Thursday said that Guwahati and Agartala are being made gateways to Southeast Asian nations, given their proximity to these countries.
Speaking at the CII Annual Business Summit 2025 in New Delhi, Scindia underscored the significance of the Northeast as a centre piece of India's progress with the decadal growth rate exceeding 12-13 per cent. "You'll be astonished that flying time from Guwahati to Mumbai is the same as the flying time from Guwahati to Singapore. The flying time from Agartala to Chennai is the same as the flying time from Agartala to Bangkok. And so it is our government's resolve that Guwahati and Agartala will be made into international gateways to connect to the rest of Southeast Asia, " the minister said. He added that the eight states of the Northeast would emerge as the engine driving India's ambition of Viksit Bharat. The Prime Minister has transformed the Northeast through landmark initiatives -- gross budgetary support for infrastructure investments has gone up significantly in areas such as airports, national highways, etc. Tax devolution to NER states has grown multifold, while grants-in-aid have nearly doubled. The Northeast is being visualised as the gateway for trade with South-East Asia. The minister alluded that India is leading the revolution in technology and telecommunications space at present. He said that India is seen as a digital-first economy, and there is a telecom revolution currently underway. The minister further added that scalability has reduced the cost of communication, which is among the lowest in the world. He added that the country has achieved 'Atmanirbharta' (self-reliance) in telecom and is among the four countries manufacturing the technology stack. Technology is also transforming the postal department with new services being introduced in the postal system, added the Minister. Congratulating CII on the AGM theme of building trust, the Minister stated that CII has made a remarkable contribution to developmental efforts, which impact every citizen in the country and said that building trust is founded on the principle of consistency. India, emerging as the fourth largest economy in the world, is a commendable achievement, he said. Sanjiv Puri, President, CII, while congratulating the Minister for garnering investment interest of Rs 4.3 lakh crore from the Rising North-East Investors Summit 2025, stated that the North-East was transforming into India's strategic gateway to South-East Asia, powering trade, connectivity and our ambition for Viksit Bharat. There is tremendous scope for industry participation in areas such as developing skill hubs in hospitality, food processing etc, which should be leveraged for maximum advantage, he added. (ANI)
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