The Covid pandemic and its subsequent scare have made government, policymakers, bureaucrats, entrepreneurs go into a ‘pause’ mode. We at North East India are managing the pandemic well but the biggest concern for the leaders of bureaucracy and the political class is the standstill of day to day affairs of the government.

The government offices were non-functional for many months and with the region known for its ‘plagued’ work culture, it is of paramount concern how do we overcome the lost man-days and how do we push the engine of growth. Northeast is completely dependent on Government businesses.

In the same concern lies the ‘Act East Policy’ of the Government of India. It was equally in the back seat last three quarters. Hardly we have heard anyone talking about anything to do with ‘Act East Policy’ beside the sprinkler mention in some press releases of the Government.

Now that we are ‘resetting’ our economic activities, the leaders of North East India will also need to rethink what is the need of the hour. How do we also align ourselves to be the part of the reset?

This is the opportune time for the people of North-East India to align the development roadmap with the rest of India and we need to understand and work in the contribution to the Act East Policy of Government of India.

It is a policy for the people of NE India and it is the people who have to work towards attaining the fruits from it.

The Chief Ministers of the region should create a separate cell to align its growth strategy to ‘Act East Policy’ and evolve best practices and policies to make the people aware on the advantages of the thought process, and its goals.

The original Look East Policy of UPA government had the bad name that the policy exists on ‘paper only’ and nothing concrete had taken shape. We can only hope that the NDA’s and Narendra Modi’s clarion call to make NE a golden region and subsequently changing the name to ‘Act East Policy’ should not just remain a ‘name change’ but an action-oriented policy.

Self-help is the best help. No one can come and develop the region or give anything in a plate. People of the region need to develop themselves and for that developing the human resource in terms of an entrepreneurial mindset and creating a peaceful region is the need of the hour.

I am hopeful and confident that there will be a sea change in the region. If not now, then when?