Road and railway connectivity to the Northeastern states have improved in the past 11 years and states have come up with good and stable policy regimes, which is helping develop the industrial ecosystem, says Chanchal Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Development of North East Region (DoNER).
In an interview with Business Today, Kumar explains the initiatives being taken to attract investments to the states and the actual impact. Edited excerpts:
Q. What measures are being taken by DoNER to boost investments in the region?
A. This ministry has the mandate of ensuring a holistic and whole-of-government approach for development activities in the Northeast. In the past 11 years, we have improved both road and rail connectivity to the region. States have also come up with good and stable policy regimes; there is now more certainty, more predictability and transparency in letting people know about the industrial ecosystem of the region. In the last couple of years, we have had many roadshows, meetings with ambassadors, two bilateral chambers roundtables and we also went to different cities across the country, along with a team comprising of members from the eight states, where they pitched the investment scenarios of their states. The Rising North East Investor Summit 2025 was held in Delhi, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And collectively, in the summit, as well as in the pre-event roadshows, we gathered investment interest for about Rs 4.48 lakh crore through MoUs, Letters of Intent from private investors and also from industrial houses as well as public sector undertakings. Now we are seeing these investments come in, and we are following up regularly with the state governments.
Q. You spoke about Rs 4.48 lakh crore of investment. What sectors are these investments targeted at?
When we went to these states and talked to them about their USPs, about the potential that they have, they summed up their requirements themselves. And when we went on the roadshows, the sectors pitched to potential investors were tourism and hospitality, agriculture, food processing, textiles, handloom, handicraft, healthcare, education and skill development, IT and ITeS, entertainment and sports, infrastructure and logistics, and also energy, particularly renewable energy. Most of the MoUs are in these areas.
Q. What are the actual investments that have started coming now?
A. Based on the MoUs and proposals, over Rs 8,600 crore or $1 billion of investments is coming. Some of the major projects include Rs 2,100 crore of investments in Tripura, including the Shija Hospitals and Research Institute entailing Rs 900 crore worth of investments and a data centre project by Bharti Airtel for about Rs 200 crore. In Sikkim, the MoU amount is about Rs 2,000 crore including green energy solutions by TEN Energy for about Rs 800 crore of investments and a five-star hotel in Gangtok by RK Group for Rs 500 crore. Another key project coming up in Assam is the Rs 27,000 crore Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test (TSAT) project in Morigaon.
Q. Do investors also have a preference for certain states?
A. Different states have different policies depending on their priorities. For example, some states would focus on the hospitality sector because they think they get many tourists. Some states that have good agriculture and horticulture focus on investments in food processing. Others, like Arunachal Pradesh, for example, has one of the largest potentials for hydropower in the country. So states have their investment and sectoral policies, based on their inherent strength of the states and investors go to these for those sectors.
Q. The Cabinet recently approved the construction of Tato-II Hydro Electric Project (HEP) in Shi Yomi District of Arunachal Pradesh. By when is it likely to be completed?
A. Arunachal Pradesh accounts for more than 40% of India’s total hydropower potential. Based on that, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved an investment of Rs 8,146.21 crore for the development of the Tato-II Hydro Electric Project (HEP) in the Shi Yomi District of Arunachal Pradesh. With a total installed capacity of 700 MW (4 units of 175 MW each), the project is projected to generate 2,738.06 million units of electricity annually. It will take around six years to materialise if all goes as per plan and there no issues around forest cover or statutory clearances. Materials have to be carried over a long distance in the Northeast and so the normal gestation period for a project in the region is slightly more than what it is in the rest of the country.