Economic performance of the north-eastern region in the post-liberalisation period

This chapter examines the economic performance of the region in the post-liberalisation period. It provides a brief background of the economy of the region in the pre-liberalisation period. The chapter outlines the development prospects of the region in light of policy initiatives. Partition of the country at the time of independence struck a huge blow to the economic prospects of the region. The traditional approach route of the region to the rest of the country through East Bengal was cut off, resulting in only a small corridor of North Bengal connecting the region to the rest of the country. The growth rate of per capita net state domestic product (NSDP) in the state lagged behind the rest of the country by the 1960s. The growth rate of NSDP in the region in the 1980s in the pre-liberalisation period was mainly induced by a higher and accelerating growth rate of the tertiary sector and marginal growth of the secondary sector.