India, May 27 -- In the bustling markets of Dubai, people reach for a strange treat -- the golden Queen pineapple from Tripura. Its sweetness recalls monsoon-kissed hills and tribal wisdom passed down through the years. Eleven years ago, who would have thought that this fruit from a remote part of India would be served at Middle Eastern tables? But here we are, with close to 10,000 tons of Tripura's pride travelling across continents.

The story isn't only about pineapples. This is about a region rising and awakening! Because of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi's leadership, the Northeastern Region (NER), once relegated to the corners of India's development paradigm, is shedding its peripheral skin to emerge as the nation's eastern gatew...