Narendra Modi Opens Arunachal Pradesh’s 1st Greenfield Airport, Calls It ‘New Era of Hope in Northeast’

What’s in today’s article:

• North East: An Economic Perspective
• News Summary

Why In News?

• PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the Donyi Polo airport, the first greenfield airport in Arunachal Pradesh that borders China and Myanmar.
• Built in less than four years, this airport is the fourth operational commercial airport in the frontier state.

North East (NE): An Economic Perspective

Background

• Since the colonial period, NE region has been a witness to highly inequitable rates of economic growth.
• There was a mass extraction of resources which were then exported to other parts of the country for processing. This region, however, did not get benefit from this process.
  • The British did not set up processing and manufacturing units here, nor did they pay any attention towards the development of transport and communication facilities in the region.
• With the partition of India, for a long period of time, trade with Bangladesh (East Pakistan) came to a stop which seriously damaged the economic and growth potential of the region.

Reasons behind the tardy growth of NER

• Geographical Factors:
  • The hills account for about 70% area of NER and accommodate about 30% of the population and the plains consisting the remaining 30% of area hold about 70% of its population.
  • The region’s accessibility has always remained weak due to geographical reasons and natural disasters creates considerable strain on the economy of NER states.
• Infrastructural Factors:
  • NER has about 6 per cent of the national roads and about 13 percent of the national highways. However, their quality is not good due to poor maintenance.
• Constraints on Industrial Growth:
  • Due to the partition of India, the industrial section in Assam received a serious set-back as its trade routes were cut-off from the rest of India.
  • This, in turn, hindered economic integration with other parts and also reduced the attractiveness of the region as a destination of investment.
• Agriculture:
  • The pace of agricultural growth in the eastern and North-Eastern regions has been slower than the rest of the country.
  • The Green Revolution has not benefited the North-Eastern region as it was more focused towards western region of India.
  • One of the most common agricultural practices in the North-East is shifting or Jhum cultivation which leads to a large-scale deforestation resulting in soil erosion and loss of soil fertility.
• Exploitation of Natural Resources Base:
  • The NER is underdeveloped because the resources are being indiscriminately exploited and mismanaged. The bulk of natural resources degradation is being caused by coal mining, fertilizer, paper cement industry etc. and militant activities.
• Substance Addiction
  • It is generally accepted that, more than 30 percent of its youth are narcotic drug abusers. In league with this, the pandemic of HIV/AIDS, spreading fast in Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram, is a matter of grave concern.

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News Summary

• PM Modi inaugurated the Donyi Polo Airport in Itanagar – the first Greenfield airport in Arunachal Pradesh.
  • The airport is expected to connect the bordering region with other Indian cities apart from other parts of the state and the region.
• PM Modi also dedicated the 600 MW Kameng hydropower station in Arunachal Pradesh to the nation.
• While delivering the inaugural speech, PM Modi also highlighted the government’s efforts to develop all the border villages under the ‘Vibrant Border Village Programme’.
  • Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) was announced in the Finance Minister’s Budget Speech 2022.
  • Aim: To enhance infrastructure in villages along India’s border with China, in states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Arunachal Pradesh.
  • The programme envisages coverage of border villages on Northern border having sparse population, limited connectivity and infrastructure, which often get left out from the development gains.