“Northeast Is India’s Ashtalakshmi,” says PM Modi in Arunachal

• PM Modi launches ₹5,100 crore development works, including hydropower plants and a Tawang convention centre.
• Announces simplified GST slabs of 5% and 18% to ease household budgets.
• Praises Vibrant Villages Programme for transforming border areas and boosting tourism.

GG News Bureau
Itanagar, 22nd Sept: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday laid the foundation stone and inaugurated development works worth over ₹5,100 crore in Itanagar, underscoring the Northeast’s role as a “driving force of the nation’s development.”

Addressing a large gathering, PM Modi hailed Arunachal Pradesh as “a confluence of peace and culture” and “the pride of India.”

He said the eight northeastern states are the country’s “Ashtalakshmi,” adding that their rapid progress is essential for a developed India by 2047.

Highlighting the launch of next-generation GST reforms, the Prime Minister announced that most items will now fall under simplified 5 and 18 percent slabs, easing household budgets.

He also praised the success of the Vibrant Villages Programme for transforming border areas and checked on key infrastructure projects including the Heo (240 MW) and Tato-I (186 MW) hydropower plants and a world-class convention centre in Tawang.

PM Modi recalled past neglect of the region and said his government had raised Arunachal’s central tax share to over ₹1 lakh crore in a decade—16 times higher than before 2014.

“For us, the guiding principle is Nation First, not vote bank politics,” he said, urging citizens to adopt the mantra of Swadeshi to accelerate national growth.

Governor Lt Gen K T Parnaik (Retd), Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju were among the dignitaries present.