New Delhi, July 18 -- India's eastern states are gaining momentum, and will be engines of growth for the country, just like eastern nations are rising globally, prime minister Narendra Modi said on Friday at a rally in poll-bound Bihar's Motihari, where he inaugurated new development projects worth over Rs.7,000 crore.

He inaugurated projects in the rail, road, rural development, fisheries, electronics and information technology sectors, the government said in a statement.Speaking in Bihar ahead of the state's assembly elections likely in October-November, Modi said that over the past decade, the Centre has allocated nearly Rs.9 trillion for the state's development, compared with Rs.2 trillion in the preceding decade.

Modi also said ove...