New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the Northeast region has evolved from being India’s distant frontier to becoming the nation’s “forward face,” symbolising connectivity, culture, and commerce.
The Prime Minister made the observation while responding to an article by Union Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, who shared his reflections on a recent visit to Assam and Meghalaya.
Quoting Scindia’s piece on X, Modi wrote: “In this insightful article, Union Minister JM Scindia shares his experience of visiting the North East, describing its beauty and the indomitable spirit of its people. Highlighting the North East as ‘Ashtalakshmi’, the Minister explains how it is becoming India’s natural gateway to Southeast Asia. He emphasises that the North East is not just India’s frontier, it is now its forward face.”
In his article, Scindia described the region as a place of “breathtaking beauty” and “unmatched human spirit.”
He said his interactions with the people of Assam and Meghalaya left him “deeply moved and profoundly inspired,” strengthening his commitment to the region’s development.
Scindia credited the transformation of the Northeast to Prime Minister Modi’s “farsighted vision” and his ability to “turn challenges into opportunities.”
He noted that under Modi’s leadership, the region was shifting from being “landlocked to land-linked,” with development now “walking hand in hand with inclusivity and dignity.”
During his visit, Scindia highlighted a model of this transformation at the Mushroom Development Centre in Upper Shillong.
Established in 1982 under the North Eastern Council, the centre now houses a Shiitake Mushroom Production and Training Centre that produces nearly 1.5 lakh sawdust blocks annually—each yielding about a kilogram of mushrooms worth up to Rs. 1,000 in the market.
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The minister said what struck him most were the stories of local farmers whose livelihoods had been transformed through the initiative.
“Their eyes gleamed with pride as they spoke about how science and community have come together to build dignified livelihoods and nurture green entrepreneurship—realising the vision of an atmanirbhar (self-reliant) Northeast,” he said.
Scindia concluded that the region’s resurgence reflects not just economic progress but a larger transformation in spirit—one that embodies India’s growing confidence and outreach to Southeast Asia.
