ABSTRACT
The most striking contribution of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-II Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with respect to India’s Indo-Pacific policy in general and ASEAN policy in particular, has been the re-christening, re-defining and re-activating of the Look East Policy, by taxonomically transforming it into “Act East” Policy in course of Prime Minister Modi’s address at the 9th East Asia Summit meeting at Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, in 2014.
Under the domain of the “Look East” Policy (Phases I and II), India’s Northeast region had received the rudimentary emphasis of its development, which has been accentuated and further sustained within the ambit of “Act East” with more emphasis on connectivity. As part of the “Act East” Policy, India’s northeast has emerged as a major thrust area, bolstered by a conscious and proactive effort to harness the immense natural potential of this region and facilitate its development, by enhancing the region’s inclusiveness within the wider national topography. In fact, the Northeast region forms India’s natural gateway to its eastern and southeastern neighbourhood, particularly Bangladesh and Myanmar. Given these imperatives, the chapter undertakes an analysis of the prioritisation of the development of Northeast India within the “Act East” Policy. In doing so, it conducts sector-wise analysis of the regional development projects (proposed and ongoing), part of India’s ASEAN engagement that aims to facilitate India’s enhanced cooperation with its eastern neighbours, particularly Myanmar and Northeast India.
