Northeast’s transformation since best steps
“Development and peace share a reciprocal relationship, when peace prevails, development accelerates, and when development reaches people, it strengthens peace,” said Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh, while addressing a Pre-Retirement Counselling (PRC) Workshop at Guwahati, Assam, today.
The workshop was organised by the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare in collaboration with the Assam Government, with participation from senior public representatives, officials of the State administration, banking institutions including SBI, and employees approaching superannuation. The event marked the second such programme in the State this year, reflecting the strong administrative support and effective coordination extended by the Assam Government.
Referring to the transformation witnessed in the North Eastern region over the past decade, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that those who had seen the region before 2014 could best appreciate the scale of change. Improved road connectivity between Guwahati and Shillong, expansion of railway services to States that had never seen rail connectivity earlier, new airports across the region, major bridges including the Bhupen Hazarika Bridge, and enhanced security conditions together reflect a new era of growth and integration, he said. He added that the mainstreaming of the North East has been one of the most significant contributions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has visited the region frequently to personally review development initiatives.
On Digital Life Certificates (DLC), Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the campaign has become a mass movement. Dedicated camps are organised across thousands of cities, and Face Recognition Technology has been introduced to facilitate elderly pensioners, especially where biometric authentication may fail. He said that lakhs of pensioners have benefited from this facility, enabling them to submit life certificates from the comfort of their homes using mobile devices.(UPDATED ON 23RD FEBRUARY 2026)
