SMERA is a joint initiative of SIDBI, Dun & Bradstreet India and leading banks in India and is a leading provider of credible ratings and opinions backed by exhaustive research. SMERA ratings have published a report which suggests that West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Assam and other North-eastern states can contribute a quarter of India’s GDP within the next 20 years. At present, their combined share is 16.5%. The region accounts for 27% of the country’s population which is a lot in excess of its share of the GDP. Besides its people are in relative poverty. It is surprising because some of the states are rich in mineral resources. West Bengal and Bihar have a number of major industrial plants. A number of factors have set back the region’s development. One is the freight equalization policy. Iron and coal were thus made available at the same price across the country setting at naught the locational advantage. In the early 1990’s, this system was abolished but its effect has not yet been wiped out.
Add to this the Maoist menace and the step-motherly treatment of the Centre from time to time. The north-eastern economy has long been hit by militant groups, natural calamities and an unnecessary clash between those for development and environmentalists. How can the upward growth projected by SMERA be brought about? It depends on Indo/ Asean trade which is now over 80 billion dollars. If the eastern states can be a gateway to eastern Asia, the region’s growth can pick up. An industrial corridor connecting the eastern states is of paramount importance. West Bengal and Bihar may be poised for a leap forward but can the same be said about the north-eastern states with their complexity of problems?