The Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emerged as \u201c<\/em>the grand architect of a new and resurgent Northeast,\u201d transforming a region once neglected for decades into a major driver of India\u2019s growth, connectivity and national pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking on the development outcomes achieved over the last decade, Sonowal said the Northeast has transitioned \u201cfrom the margins of policymaking to the mainstream of national priorities,\u201d reflecting the prime minister\u2019s commitment to infrastructure expansion, economic reform, cultural revival and long-term peace-building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c<\/em>The Northeast suffered seven decades of under-representation and underinvestment,\u201d Sarbananda Sonowal said. \u201c<\/em>Under Modi ji, the region is recognized as the Ashtalakshmi of India \u2014 not just a border region but a new engine of national growth. From railway capital connectivity and airports to highways, power, digital networks and inland waterways, the transformation has been historic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said connectivity has been the cornerstone of the prime minister\u2019s roadmap.All major gauge conversion work in the region has been completed, with Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur and Mizoram connected to the broad gauge network and goods and passenger trains reaching the region\u2019s interiors for the first time. The Bogibeel rail-cum-road bridge \u2014 completed in 2018 \u2014 and the commissioning of the Bhairabi\u2013Sairang link in June 2025 have expanded access across Assam and Mizoram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Four capital connectivity rail projects \u2014 Nagaland, Manipur, Sikkim and Meghalaya \u2014 are underway, while the India\u2013Bangladesh Agartala\u2013Akhaura rail link was inaugurated jointly by the prime ministers of both nations in November 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On roads, more than 11,000 km of upgraded national and strategic highways have been taken up in the last decade. Major corridors include the Shillong\u2013Nongstoin\u2013Tura section, the Nechipu\u2013Hoj NH\u201313 project, and the capital connectivity highways to Kohima, Itanagar and Gangtok, several of which are nearing completion in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Air connectivity has undergone what Sarbananda Sonowal described as \u201c<\/em>a revolution.\u201d From nine airports in 2014, the Northeast now has 19 operational airports. Greenfield airports at Pakyong and Hollongi, along with the upgraded Tezu, Rupsi and Agartala terminals, were operationalized under the UDAN scheme. A network of heliports and water aerodromes has been added to extend links to remote districts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Economic and Industrial Infrastructure. Sonowal said the Prime Minister Modi\u2019s vision has attracted historic investment to the Northeast. The bio-refinery at Numaligarh, India\u2019s first bamboo-based ethanol plant, has created new income streams for farmers. The Numaligarh Refinery Expansion, costing \u20b922,594 crore, has tripled its capacity, positioning the region as a strategic energy hub.The semiconductor assembly and test facility at Jagiroad \u2014 a \u20b927,000 crore investment \u2014 will produce 15 billion chips annually and generate 27,000 jobs, placing the Northeast on the global technology map. Agriculture and organics are central to the region\u2019s development. The Northeast now leads India\u2019s organic value chain, supported by farmer-producer organisations, bamboo industry deregulation and dedicated missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said stability in the Northeast has improved due to peace accords with Bodo, Karbi, Bru and other groups, while AFSPA has been reduced by 75 percent since 2014.\u201c<\/em>A cultural renaissance is underway,\u201d Sarbananda Sonowal said, noting national recognition for icons such as Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika, the commemoration of Lachit Barphukon, and the inscription of Assam\u2019s Maidams on the UNESCO World Heritage List.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The Modi decade has unlocked unprecedented economic potential for the Northeast \u2014 from the bamboo-based bio-refinery at Numaligarh to the first semiconductor plant at Jagiroad. These are not isolated projects; they reflect a renewed national confidence in our region. Alongside peace accords, cultural revival, and global recognition of icons like Lachit Barphukon and Bhupen Hazarika, we are witnessing a renaissance of identity, pride, opportunity and investment in our land,\u201d said Sarbananda Sonowal<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sonowal said the Prime Minister Modi\u2019s more than 70 visits to the region and consistent ministerial review reflect \u201c<\/em>governance that shows up where people live.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gateway to Southeast Asia<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the Act East Policy, Sonowal said, the Northeast is becoming a logistics and cultural gateway to Southeast Asia, through integrated check posts, border infrastructure and multimodal connectivity linking waterways, highways and rail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c<\/em>The story of the Northeast today is the story of a resurgent India,\u201d Sonowal said. \u201c<\/em>This transformation carries the signature of Prime Minister Modi \u2014 a leader who placed faith, focus and future in the hands of the Northeast\u2019<\/em>s people.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cRail, Road, Air and Waterways Turn \u2018Ashtalakshmi\u2019 Region into a New Engine of India\u2019s Growth\u201d: Sarbananda Sonowal \u201cModi Decade of Connectivity, Capital Investment and Cultural Renaissance Reshapes the Northeast, as Northeast witnessed a historic reversal of decades of neglect\u201d: Sarbananda Sonowal The Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said Prime Minister Narendra …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":88105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[80],"post_format":[],"flags":[],"class_list":["post-88104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india-news","tag-india"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=88104"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88106,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88104\/revisions\/88106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/88105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=88104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=88104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=88104"},{"taxonomy":"post_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fpost_format&post=88104"},{"taxonomy":"flags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fflags&post=88104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
“Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, the Northeast has witnessed a historic reversal of decades of neglect. From rail connectivity reaching state capitals to world-class highways, airports and waterways, the region has emerged as a new engine driving India\u2019<\/em>s growth. The completion of landmark projects like Bogibeel, the expansion of AIIMS Guwahati, and the rapid pace of road and airport infrastructure demonstrate the scale of transformation underway,\u201d said Sarbananda Sonowal<\/p>\n\n\n\n