Discoursing Act East Policy and Prospects for Rural Development in North-East India- An Overview

Abstract

In, 1990s, India adopted Look East Policy as a means of its economic reform initiatives. In spite of implementation of Look East Policy which interacts only with ASEAN countries, the north-eastern region was still remaining backward. Thus, there need to develop more strategy for the upliftment of the region and extended it ties with Asia-Pacific region. However, under the leadership of Modi Government, for emphasizing a more pro active role for India in this region there stressed the need for an Act East Policy which replaced the earlier Look East Policy. The Act East Policy was launched at the East Asia Summit in Myanmar in November 2014.  However, North- East India has more adjacency with other countries than rest of India. Due to the bad road connectivity and poor infrastructure there often face problem to supply manufacturing product to reach North-East and that hampers rural development in the region.   Thus, there is a need to become self-reliance by providing ample opportunities. With the introduction of Act East Policy helps in reducing isolation of north-eastern states from Central Government and promote all round connectivity in the region such as road, railway, telecom, power sectors. There is a paradigm shift in the developmental approach of the north-east region in the name of Act East Policy’ through the implementation of various schemes to further strengthen the socio-economic growth of the region. Various schemes and unique programmes which are aimed at enhancing the livelihood of the common people are initiated. However, this paper seeks to analysis the role of Act East Policy and its prospects for fostering rural development in the north-eastern region of India.