Abstract: North East Region (NER) is often looked upon as a forgotten part of India. Thanks to the seamless flow of information in the current environment, there is much more awareness amongst the citizens about the potential and challenges of India's NER besides her strategic importance. Accounting for  almost 8 percent of India's land mass and 4 percent of her population, it epitomises scenic beauty, abundance of natural resources and   a vibrant human resource, yet it lags behind the rest of the country in most spheres .NER  accounts for almost one third of India's borders with neighbours but is connected with the rest of the country through a narrow 23 Kms strip called 'Chicken's neck' or the Siliguri Corridor. Indian Prime Minister has often called it as a launch pad for India's 'Look/Act East Policy'. Prolonged insurgency in most states has challenged the rule of established law of the country.Absence of law and order leads to lack of governance and spiralling corruption.Outcome is obvious.

Speaker: Lt Gen Balbir Singh Sandhu superannuated as Director General of Supplies and Transport (DGST) in 2017. He also held the appointment of Director General of Information Technology of Indian Army. During his service, he served extensively in counter insurgency areas. He served in Assam Rifles and Rashtriya Rifles besides commanding his battalion in the Northeast. He has been a directing staff at Defence Services Staff College(DSSC) and has been Brig Adm of a pivot corps in the Western Theatre. He has done his M Phil in Defence and Strategic Studies from Madras University Chennai and PhD on Peace, Security and Economic Development of India’s Northeast with reference to BIMSTEC from Punjabi University Patiala. He is a distinguished fellow at the United Service Institution of India (USI). He writes extensively on strategic issues and is a motivational speaker.He is an outstanding polo player. As a sports sports administrator he was the Vice President of Indian Polo Association(IPA) and Equestrian Federation of India (EFI).