Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Northeast can become India’s next growth engine by focusing on sustainable agriculture, organic farming and premium produce. | Photo Credit: Salman Ali

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the Northeast has the potential to become India's next engine of growth by leveraging its strengths in sustainable agriculture and premium organic produce.

She also asserted that Meghalaya is uniquely positioned to lead because of the trust it commands in global markets.

Inaugurating the Northeast's largest organic spice processing plant of the Eastern Ri-Bhoi Organic Farmer Producer Company Ltd here, Sitharaman said, "The future of agriculture increasingly belongs not to those who produce the most, but to those who produce the best -- cleaner, more traceable, more trusted and more premium." "When Meghalaya's farmers rise, the Northeast rises. And when the Northeast rises, India's growth acquires a new engine," she said, congratulating the Meghalaya government, women collectives and entrepreneurs for driving the state's organic farming movement forward.

Emphasising Meghalaya's competitive advantage, the finance minister said the state need not compete with large agricultural states in volume as the future increasingly belongs to trusted quality and trusted producers.

Published on June 19, 2026