Shillong, Jul 17: Meghalaya is the third-best state in the North East in terms of ‘investment friendliness’, coming behind Assam and Tripura.
The inaugural Investment Friendliness Index (IFI) was released by NITI Aayog, with Meghalaya earning an overall score of 43. Assam led the region with 47.3, while Tripura was second on 45. Assam’s and Tripura’s scores put them in the ‘Frontrunners’ category, while Meghalaya was in the ‘Emerging Performer’ category. Below Meghalaya were Nagaland (41.2), Mizoram (39.9), Arunachal Pradesh (37.5), Sikkim (36.6) and Manipur (32.3). Nagaland also qualified as an ‘Emerging Performer’ while the others were ‘Aspiring States’.
The index focuses on eight parameters: infrastructure, business climate, resources, government policy, regulatory ease, institutional environment, financial health and environment resilience.
Nationally, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have emerged as the top three states, while the Union territory of Lakshadweep was the worst performer followed by Ladakh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The report said that while several North East states have made progress in improving regulatory frameworks and governance, the region continues to face common challenges, including limited industrial infrastructure, logistics bottlenecks, connectivity constraints and a relatively small domestic market.
It recommended strengthening transport infrastructure, industrial parks, logistics networks, digital governance, and grievance redressal systems to improve investor confidence and attract greater domestic and foreign investment.
