Under India's G20 presidency, north-east to host a number of meetings

With India taking up the presidency of the G20 grouping, the Narendra Modi government has decided to bring the focus back on the north-east by holding several meetings of the platform in the region, traditionally perceived to be one of the most backward in the country.

According to the Indian Express, during the year-long presidency that kicks off on December 1, a number of meetings of the G20 will be organised in the north-east, including the north-easternmost state of Arunachal Pradesh which borders China.

It also cited sources as saying that the government is mulling proposals to hold meetings in north-eastern cities such as Guwahati (Assam), Imphal (Manipur), Aizwal (Mizoram), and Agartala (Tripura).

Guwahati, which is the largest city in the region, is likely to host four meetings, the newspaper report added.

After Modi's coming to power in New Delhi in 2014, his Bharatiya Janata Party has emerged as a major player in the north-eastern region, replacing parties such as the Indian National Congress and Left.

Indian tourism minister G Kishan Reddy, who was in Aizawl for the 10th International Tourism Mart recently, told reporters about the Modi government's plan to hold some G20 meetings in the north-east. He, however, did not mention any city's name apart from Aizawl.

India will, over the next one year, host 215 G20 meetings in as many as 55 locations across the country. Ten venues have been finalised so far and they include: Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir), Goa (Goa), Siliguri (West Bengal), Hampi (Karnataka), Agra (Uttar Pradesh), Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh), Bhubaneswar (Odisha), and Amritsar (Punjab), besides the Rann of Kutch (Gujarat), and Delhi.

India has handed over the baton of presidency by Indonesia at the recently concluded Bali summit where Modi was present.