Northeast faced connectivity issues but that has completely changed: Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the Northeast has undergone a "dramatic transformation" to become a competitive investment destination. Connectivity has improved, allowing for economic expansion and job creation. To boost growth, 2.5 lakh students in the region will be skilled at an expenditure of ₹400 crore, funded by the Centre. The New Education Policy also includes skill development, to ensure students leave school with basic skills and are industry-ready. AI skills will also be delivered to students. The aim is to create a talented workforce to attract investments and change the regional economy.

The northeastern region has undergone a "dramatic transformation" to become a competitive destination for investments, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in Guwahati.

The Union Minister of State for IT, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, in an interview with PTI on Friday, said that connectivity was an issue in the region but that has completely changed.

Now, one can quickly reach any State capital in the Northeast from any other part of the country, creating a big transformation in terms of potential opportunities for the region, he said.

''Connectivity was holding back the growth of business, technology and infrastructure in the region but during the last nine years, physical and technological connectivity were addressed and now the next step is to ensure economic expansion and to grow the GSDPs to double digits as the combined GSDPs of all the northeastern States is only about 8% of the country's GDP," he said.

The next stage of economic growth is the creation of jobs and entrepreneurship for which well-planned skilling is very important, he said.

''The question that now arises is how do we get more investments and how do we grow the economy. The answer to both is that we need more and more talented workforce and skilled entrepreneurs who would be able to deliver products not only to other parts of the country but also to the world," he said.

Therefore skilling becomes the most important enabler for the future growth and potential of Northeast India, the Union Minister said.