Development of Eastern India: Portfolio allocations raise hope

Multiple key Union ministries would now be headed by parliamentarians representing the eastern part of the country,

For years, ‘development of the East’ has been more of a catchphrase, generally heard often before elections. Even as the rest of the country prospered economically, the East, for many decades now, has had to remain reconciled to only being politically important given the significant number of Parliamentary seats in the region.

Ever since the results of the general elections were announced, though, there has been intense speculation on whether the ‘development of the East’ – which found a mere one-line mention in the Interim Budget for FY 2024-25 – could become a greater priority of the current NDA government.

The reasons for mulling on this subject is: dependence of the BJP on JD(U) for forming a government at the Centre, Bihar going in for Assembly polls next year followed by West Bengal in 2026, and the BJP’s need to prove that it can provide a better alternative in Odisha where the party has just swept to power.

Key Cabinet Portfolios for East

The allocation of portfolios of the NDA government on Monday has put to rest any doubt on this score.

Multiple key Union ministries – that include Railways, Education, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Food processing, Panchayati Raj etc. – would now be headed by parliamentarians representing the eastern part of the country, including those representing the BJP. This, in turn, could ensure that there is a stronger focus on the economic progress of the eastern region so that it can contribute in a bigger way to the Viksit Bharat (developed India) agenda of the Modi government 3.0.

While it may be argued that this is not the first time when elected representatives from the East have held key portfolios and yet the region has still lagged on multiple growth and development parameters vis-à-vis progressive states in other parts of India, there is a vital difference between previous occasions and the current one.

If the recently concluded general elections are any proof, focusing on economic development that can potentially translate into large scale job creation has now become imperative for political parties to continue finding favour with young voters who have increasingly started asking the ‘what is in it for me’ question to their political representatives. Akin to their counterparts elsewhere, the youth of the eastern region no longer just want to hear promises but see concrete noticeable progress in their own lives taking place at a rapid pace and politicians are acutely aware of this.

Areas of Development

So, what are some of the actions that the Union government can take to augment growth and development in the East?

A wish list in this connection would include:

*Investing more in infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, airports, ports, and in improving digital connectivity in the eastern region so that these can lead to more private investments in the East and the creation of more, new, and better-quality jobs and livelihood opportunities.

*Encouraging the establishment of high-end manufacturing facilities in the East through the provision of special incentives for a defined period.

*Aggressively promoting skill development programs in new-age segments to improve the employability of local youths, and

*Devising a special incentive package to promote local entrepreneurship and ensure more startups may come up from the East. In this connection, it may be relevant to mention that despite the impressive strides made by India in the startup arena, the East cannot boast of a single unicorn as on date.

Nothing could be nicer than some of these measures getting reflected in the full Union Budget for FY25 which is likely to be presented in July since there could be no better occasion than the Budget presentation exercise to showcase the NDA government’s willingness to put its best foot forward on the ‘development of the East’ aspect.

At the end of the day, an economically backward eastern region does not go well with the ‘development for all’ principle that India is committed to. Visible, proactive measures being taken to ensure that the East develops would be akin to walking the talk on the Sabka Vikas premise.