Focus North East: Why brands can’t ignore this new growth engine of India

For a very long time, the North East region has been in the backburner when it comes to national coverage and interest, only popping up periodically due to some insurgent activity or natural calamity like floods. But, not any more.

The recent times have seen considerable interest in the North East, often called the ‘Gateway to South East Asia’, by brands, businesses, politicians, tourists, national media, and even Bollywood. Thanks to the performance of some brilliant sportspersons from this region – be it Mary Kom, Mirabai Chanu, Lovlina Borgohain, Hima Das, among other – blazing in the international sports arena, as well as the current BJP Government’s concerted efforts to turn the spotlight on this region – the North East is no longer a remote part of the country, but is very much becoming a part of the mainstream.

People of Assam watched with pride as Prime Minister Narendra Modi donned the beloved Assamese ‘Gamocha’ during the International Yoga Day event. That the Government is serious in its intentions to develop the North East region became clear when it set up the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region in September 2021. The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDONER) is responsible for all matters relating to the planning, execution and monitoring of development schemes and projects in the North Eastern Region. Its vision is to accelerate the pace of socio-economic development of the Region so that it may enjoy growth parity with the rest of the country.

MDONER is now set to hold the first ever Northeast Global Investors Summit across Hyderabad, Kolkata and Dhaka. The Summit aims to showcase the potential for investments and trade in the North East region of India.

While the North East may not have any major corporate houses or industries, barring oil and tea, the potential is immense. Recent times have seen some of India’s leading business honchos such as Ratan Tata, visiting the region, particularly Assam, to scout for investment opportunities. The North East has a lot to offer to investors, brands and corporate.

Here are 5 reasons why the North East truely is the new growth engine of India:

Untapped tourism potential

As per 2011 Census, North East’s population stood at 45 million. The population is projected to be above 51 million by 2022. It is a fairly young demographic here across the eight states – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura. Literacy rate ranges from 91.3% in Mizoram to 65.4% in Arunachal Pradesh.

This region offers a rich diversity in topography, scenic beauty, culture and tradition, food and agri-based produce and products.

The North East offers immense scope for the tourism industry with mostly unexplored areas of natural beauty. The Kaziranga and Manas Wildlife Parks, Kamakhya Temple, Cherrapunjee, Tawang Monastry are some of the more famous tourist spots.

The Assam government has taken the initiative to promote tourism opportunities in the numerous tea gardens spread across the state.

In December 2022, the government launched the world’s longest river cruise from Kashi in Uttar Pradesh to Dibrugarh in Assam. This apart, there are numerous river cruises on the Brahmaputra. The North East also offers tremendous scope for adventure sports, such as river rafting, hang gliding, mountain biking, hiking and more.

Infrastructure, which has always been a pain point, is now being developed at a rapid pace to facilitate promotion of tourism.

Mega push for investment

As stated earlier, currently there are no major corporate or business presence in the North East. The two biggest industries here are the oil industry, with Indian Oil, Oil India and ONGC dominating the scene; and the tea industry, which has all the major tea brands present here, owning massive tea gardens spread across mostly Assam, which accounts for a majority share of the tea production in the country.

In a bid to bring about development in other sectors, the Assam government signed MoUs with nine companies in May this year, which will see an investment of over Rs 8,000 crore flowing into the state. These companies include PepsiCo India, Varun Beverages, Calcom Cement India, Star Cement NE Ltd, Century Float Glass, Taj Cement Manufacturing, Star Cement India, and DS Group. There are ambitious plans to shore up sectors such as beverages, snacks and food manufacturing, cement, glass, and electric vehicles, among others.

North East is primarily an agri-based economy, hence there are several industries large and small involved in agri business – from the famed black rice to silk and handloom products, horticulture produce, cane and bamboo products, fishery, piggery, poultry, canned fruit. In fact, pumpkins from upper Assam region are finding a huge market in the Middle East countries.

While start-ups are mainly centred on agri business, a few have come up in the digital and technology space:

JettWings Airways: First-ever airline from Northeast India, which is likely to start operations from October 2023

My3DSelfie: A Guwahati-based 3D selfie store that is the first to create a 3D figurine from any type of photo

Vantage Circle: An AI-powered employee recognition & wellness platform

Healbot Services: An end to end healthcare service

SmartPAPA: India’s first platform for social media Influencers to build their merchandise brand

Creator Hub: An influencer marketing agency based in Guwahati

Zizira: A Shillong-based startup dealing in spices and herbs

Runway Nagaland: A platform for local artisans in Kohima offering handmade products using indigenous technique and designs

The inaugural edition of the Northeast Global Investors Summit, which will be held in July 2023, aims to “facilitate investments that will generate economic activities, create sustainable employment opportunities, improve the standard of living, and spur overall growth in the region,” says G Kishan Reddy, Minister of DONER, Culture and Tourism, in a message on the Northeast Global Investors Summit website.

A vibrant media market

While films from the North East region might not be blockbusters in the range of Bollywood or South cinema extravaganza, nonetheless, they continue to make their mark with the local audiences, and even win international accolades. A case in point its Rima Das’ ‘Village Rockstars’, India’s official Oscar entry a few years back.

Late Dr Bhupen Hazarika put Assamese music on the national and international charts. Following in his footsteps are Angaraj Papon Mahanta and Zubeen Garg.

Film artistes like Seema Biswas, Adil Hussain, Reema Kagti (Reema Kakoti), among others, are doing remarkable work in Bollywood.

Speaking of Bollywood, recent times have seen a spate of movies being shot in the North East region. Most notable are Varun Dhawan starrer ‘Bhediya’, Ayushmann Khurana’s ‘Anek’, Shahid Kapoor-starrer ‘Rangoon’. Kangana Ranaut is said to be shooting parts of her upcoming film ‘Emergency’ in the North East region.

Earlier, Dev Anand’s massive hit film ‘Jewel Thief’ was also shot here, and so was Shah Rukh Khan-starrer ‘Dil Se’. While Ranbir Kapoor-starrer ‘Jagga Jasoos’ shows some areas purportedly to be the North East, including Katrina Kaif doing a brief Bihu jig, the scenes were not shot in the North East.

The Assamese movie industry is fighting back to come out of the Covid impact. Before Covid struck, two films by Zubeen Garg – ‘Mission China’ and ‘Kanchenjunga’ – became massive hits. Actor Jatin Bora’s ‘Ratnakar’, too, brought movie lovers to the halls in droves. In the post-pandemic period, a refreshed version of an old classic, ‘Dr Bezbaruah’, turned out to be a mega hit. Jatin Bora’s latest movie, ‘Raghav’, is also generating a lot of buzz.

OTT play

Along with movies, the OTT space is also a very active one in the North East, especially Assam. Not long ago in 2019, the film ‘Axone’ created a stir in the OTT space. The OTT ecosystem is a growing one in the North East region.

In Assam, regional OTT platforms like PridePlex, Niri 9, Prag Play, ReelDrama, Hello TV, and NK Big Star, among others, are ushering in diverse and more complex narratives and winning over the digital content consumers. Platforms like Netflix and Mubi are also upping the game for content from the North East.

A highly competitive Television landscape

Assam is home to prime news channels like News Live, North East Live, News18 Assam, DY 365, Pratidin Time, Prag News, NK TV, ND24, among others.

There are also a host of entertainment channels, including Rang TV, Rengoni TV, Indradhanush and the newly-launched Spondon. These channels air a plethora of family-based daily soaps and movies, which see a high sponsor presence.

Television is one of the most important mediums for advertisement, along with print, OOH and radio. TV offers high engagement and high eyeballs as the reach is extensive.

Some of the sectors that are the most prolific advertisers on TV include the construction and cement sector, food & beverage, FMCG, personal care, education, among others.