Assessing Infrastructural Bottlenecks and Enhancing Regional Cooperation for Economic Integration in Northeast India
Keywords:
Infrastructural Bottlenecks, Regional Cooperation, Economic Integration, Northeast India, Cross-Border ConnectivityAbstract
Northern India has tons of natural resources, plus its position is strategic, being close to Southeast Asia, thus making it highly promising in terms of economy and International trade. Nevertheless, poor infrastructure and a lack of cooperation within the region among states are the key impediments to the development of the region. The region is still an underdeveloped one due to dysfunctional infrastructure and poor application of regional policies, such as the Act East Policy, BIMSTEC, and BBIN, despite the opportunities present. A quantitative research technique was adopted in this study. There were two primary hypotheses of the research: H1: Infrastructure development is a critical component in economic integration. H2: Regional cooperation has positive effects on trade and cross-border connections. The data obtained were evaluated with the use of Pearson Correlation, T-test, Multiple Linear Regression, One-Way ANOVA and Chi-square Test. The outcomes indicated that there was a positive correlation between infrastructure and economic integration (r = 0.68, p < 0.01). It was determined in regression analysis (R 2 = 0.57, p<0.01) that transport and communication are the biggest issues that many people can relate to increased trade. According to the t-test (t = 3.94, p < 0.01), there was a variation in trade performance due to the differences in the level of infrastructure. ANOVA (F = 5.82, p < 0.05) indicated that there are variations in states, whereas Chi-square outcomes (X 2 = 18.76, p < 0.01) indicated that trade participation is associated with cooperation policy awareness. The conclusions indicate the need to take certain urgent measures for the implementation of multimodal transport, harmonisation of regional policies and reformation of institutions. The measures will assist in developing enhanced economic ties and prosperity in the Northeast, which will serve as a guide for policymaking.
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