Economy
Arunachal Pradesh's economy is dominated by agriculture. Among the crops grown here are rice, maize, millet, wheat, pulses, sugarcane, ginger and oilseeds. Arunachal Pradesh has close to 61,000 square kilometres of forests, and forest products are the next most significant sector of the economy. Arunachal is also ideal for horticulture and fruit orchards. Its major industries are sawmills, plywood (though these two trades however have been stopped by law), rice mills, fruit preservation units and handloom handicrafts.

Agriculture accounts for a third of Assam's income and more than two thirds of its employment. Tea is its main crop (and export) but rice, rapeseed, mustard, potato, banana, papaya and turmeric are also grown. Tea and petroleum refineries are among a small number of industries in Assam. Poor infrastructure is to be found throughout the region and is a major impediment to the areas development. Whereas India's economy grew at an average rate of 6% between 1981 and 2000, Assam's only grew at a rate of 3.3%, with the 1990s showing the greatest disparity. However since 2000 this gap has been showing signs of receding. Indeed the estimated growth rate for Assam in 2005-2006 was over 6%.

Meghalaya is predominantly agrarian, with similar proportions of its income and employment coming from the agriculture sector as in Assam. Despite the focus on agriculture they are still dependent on imports for many food items such as eggs, meat and grains due to low productivity, often caused by unsustainable farming practices.