Act East Policy of India, Year, Importance, Look East Policy, UPSC Notes

India’s Act East Policy is a strategic diplomatic initiative launched in the year 2014 at the 12th ASEAN-India Summit in Myanmar. It is the upgraded version of the Look East Policy (1991), which was focused mainly on boosting economic relations with ASEAN nations. The Act East Policy, initiated under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, broadened this vision to include deeper strategic, security, cultural, and connectivity ties across the Indo-Pacific region, with ASEAN at its core. Unlike its predecessor, this policy emphasizes proactive engagement at bilateral, regional, and multilateral levels, with a special focus on enhancing connectivity through India’s Northeast.

In this article, we explore the Act East Policy’s objectives, differences from the Look East Policy, major projects, challenges, and UPSC relevance in detail.

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What is Act East Policy?

India's Act East Policy is a foreign policy initiative. It aims to strengthen India's economic and strategic ties with countries in Southeast Asia and East Asia. The policy launched in 2014 focuses on building partnerships with other countries. The countries include Japan, South Korea, and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It aims to promote economic integration and security cooperation in the region.

• The Policy aims to enhance connectivity between Northeastern states, including Arunachal Pradesh, and neighboring nations.
• It was initially an economic policy but has evolved to include cultural, political, and strategic components.
• Institutional mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation were established under this policy.
• The policy focuses on India-ASEAN cooperation in domestic initiatives. This includes infrastructure, manufacturing, trade, and smart cities.
• Major projects under the policy include: 
  • the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway Project,
  • Kaladan Multi-modal Transit Transport Project, 
  • Rhi-Tiddim Road Project, and 
  • Border Haats.

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Objectives of the Act East Policy

India's Act East Policy is a key part of its foreign policy. It was launched in 2014 to replace the earlier "Look East Policy." The main objectives are to:

• Strengthen Ties: Build stronger economic, strategic, and cultural connections with countries in the Indo-Pacific region, especially with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
• Improve Connectivity: Boost physical, digital, and cultural links between India's Northeastern states and neighboring countries.
• Foster Partnerships: Create strategic partnerships and promote security cooperation to ensure peace and stability in the region.
• Support Development: Use diplomacy and trade to help achieve long-term development goals for India's own Northeast region.

Learn more about the East Asia Summit here.

Pillars of the Act East Policy

The policy's strategy is built on three main areas of focus, or pillars:

• Economic Cooperation: This pillar is all about trade, investment, and infrastructure. Key projects include the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway and the Kaladan Multi-modal Transit Transport Project, which are designed to create direct links for trade and commerce.
• Strategic and Security Cooperation: The policy recognizes the need for security in a changing geopolitical landscape. It involves working with countries like Japan, South Korea, and Australia to ensure open and safe maritime routes and to address regional security challenges.
• Cultural and People-to-People Connections: India aims to strengthen its historical and cultural bonds with the region. This includes initiatives like providing development aid through Quick Impact Projects in nations like Cambodia and Vietnam and encouraging tourism and cultural exchanges.

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The Act East Policy is a more active and comprehensive approach compared to the earlier Look East Policy. Its key features include:

• A Broader Scope: It extends India's diplomatic reach beyond just ASEAN countries to include the wider Indo-Pacific region.
• A Holistic Approach: While the Look East Policy focused primarily on economics, the Act East Policy includes strategic, security, and cultural engagement.
• Focus on the Northeast: It places a significant emphasis on developing India's Northeastern states, treating them as a gateway to East and Southeast Asia.
• Strategic Partnerships: The policy has led to more formal, high-level strategic partnerships with several countries, a key difference from the earlier, more informal approach.

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Initiatives under the Act East Policy of India

A number of Initiatives were undertaken under the Act East Policy. Some of them are mentioned below.

• Agartala-Akhaura Rail Link between India and Bangladesh.
• Intermodal transport links and inland waterways via Bangladesh.
• Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport project – The Kaladan transport project in the Rakhine state of Myanmar is considered to be crucial in developing connectivity with the landlocked northeastern states.
• Trilateral Highway Project – This connects the North East with Myanmar and Thailand.
• Under the India-Japan Act East Forum, initiatives such as Road and Bridges and the up-gradation of hydroelectric power projects have been undertaken.
• The mahabahu-Brahmaputra inland waterway program-The launch of this waterway will be marked by the opening of the three Ro-pax vessels functioning between Neamati-Majuli island, North Guwahati-South Guwahati, and Dhubri-Hatsingimari.
• Dhubri Phulbari bridge – The foundation stone for a 19-km-long four-lane Dhubri Phulbari bridge over the Brahmaputra river. It will be India’s longest bridge work over a river, connecting Dhubri in Assam and Phulbari in Meghalaya, built at a cost of Rs 5,000 crores.

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Other Initiatives under the Act East Policy

• Support extended in the form of medicines/medical supplies to ASEAN nations over the course of the pandemic.
• India is also executing Quick Impact Projects in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam to offer development assistance to grass-root level communities in the areas of education, water resources, health, etc.
• National Bamboo Mission – The mission envisages encouraging comprehensive development of the bamboo sector by adopting an area-based, regionally distinguished strategy. The purpose is to boost the area under bamboo cultivation and marketing.
• Bru/Reang resettlement – The deal has been signed among the Government of India, the Government of Tripura and Mizoram, and Bru community representatives in New Delhi on 16th January 2020 to conclude the 23-year-old Bru refugee crisis.
• Digital North East Vision 2022 – The mission, introduced by the Union Minister for Electronics & IT in Guwahati, highlights leveraging digital technologies to transform the lives of the people of the northeast and improve the ease of living.
• NITI Forum for North East – The forum, focused on the growth of the North Eastern Region, assesses several proposals both at the central and state levels and devises plans for the rapid growth of the North Eastern Region. The forum suggested that the development projects in the NER will be premised on the concept of “HIRA” (Highways, Inland Waterways, Railways, and Airways).

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The Northeast region is central to India's Act East Policy. It acts as a land bridge between India and Southeast Asia.

• States like Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland share borders with Myanmar and China. Improved border roads and checkpoints help link India to ASEAN countries, especially through Myanmar.
• Better road, rail, and port connectivity reduces logistics cost and time. Projects like the Kaladan and Trilateral Highway make trade routes to Myanmar and Thailand more viable, supporting exports from the Northeast.
• Enhanced connectivity allows for increased tourism, academic exchanges, and cultural ties. This strengthens India's soft power in the region.
• Infrastructure development helps integrate remote tribal areas into the national economy, reducing alienation and improving internal security. Cross-border cooperation also improves border management and reduces insurgency risks.
• Connectivity has attracted infrastructure funding and industrial investments. It has created new jobs, improved market access for farmers and artisans, and supported growth in sectors like tourism, handicrafts, and agro-processing.
• The Act East Policy aims to make India a key player in the Indo-Pacific. A well-connected Northeast enhances India’s maritime and economic reach in the eastern neighbourhood, complementing QUAD and BIMSTEC engagements.

Read about India’s Trans-Pacific Partnership Here.

Achievements of India’s Act East Policy

Since its launch in 2014, India’s Act East Policy has made notable progress across economic, strategic, and connectivity domains, especially enhancing engagement with ASEAN and the broader Indo-Pacific.

• Trade & Economic Growth: India’s trade with ASEAN surged to USD 122.67 billion in 2023–24, making ASEAN India’s 4th-largest trading partner. The full implementation of the India-ASEAN Free Trade Area (including services and investments) has deepened commercial ties.
• Connectivity Projects
  • Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit: Connects Kolkata to Sittwe (Myanmar) and onward to Mizoram; Sittwe Port was inaugurated in May 2023.
  • India-Myanmar-Thailand Highway: Aims to enhance road connectivity for trade and travel.
  • Agartala-Akhaura Rail Link: Strengthens cross-border rail between Northeast India and Bangladesh, cutting costs and time.
• Strategic & Security Cooperation
  • India signed defense pacts (e.g., with Vietnam) and exported BrahMos missiles to the Philippines in 2022.
  • Regular naval exercises (like SIMBEX with Singapore) and joint patrols (e.g., with Indonesia) reinforce maritime security.
• Diplomatic Engagement
  • ASEAN ties elevated to Strategic Partnership.
  • India actively engages in forums like EAS, ARF, and ADMM+.
  • Launched the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (2019) to promote maritime safety.
• Northeast India’s Integration
  • The region is now positioned as India’s gateway to Southeast Asia.
  • Major investments have improved infrastructure, connectivity, and air/rail links across the region.

The significance of the policy has been given below:

• The Act East Policy is bolstered due to China's increasing influence in the Southeast Asian and Indian Ocean regions. 
  • The policy can help secure freedom of navigation and the rule of law in the Indo-Pacific region.
• India's engagement with QUAD is an extension of its efforts to enhance security in the Indo-Pacific region.
• The end of the Cold War and China's growing power have changed the nature of Indo-ASEAN relations. However, economic connections and security cooperation are expected to further strengthen these relations.
• India's Act East Policy aims to achieve its long-term developmental goals for the Northeastern region. 
  • It provides an additional path to accelerate economic development, countering China's rising aggression in South Asia.

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What is Look East Policy?

India’s Look East policy is an attempt to cultivate comprehensive economic and strategic relations with the countries of Southeast Asia to strengthen its standing as a regional power and a counterweight to the vital influence of the People’s Republic of China.

• Launched in 1991, it marked a critical shift in India’s outlook on the world.
• It was devised and adopted by the government under Prime Minister Narasimha Rao (1991–1996) and was strictly continued by the successive administrations of Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1998–2004) and Manmohan Singh (2004–2014).
• The outcomes of the Look East policy enthused the Mandarins of South Block to improve the policy into a more action-oriented and outcome-based one.
• After a couple of decades, India’s Act East Policy, which was announced in 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, turned out to be a successor to the Look-East Policy.

Difference between Look East Policy and Act East Policy of India

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Challenges to the Act East Policy of India

• The influence of China: The escalating influence of China in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean Region presents a direct geopolitical difficulty to India. The Act East Policy has been less efficient in addressing China’s influence in the region.
• The trade deficit with ASEAN: The share of ASEAN in India’s overall trade deficit increased from around 7% in 2009-10 to 12% in 2018-19. Among the 15 RCEP countries, India faces trade deficits apart from Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and the Philippines. China accounts for 60% of the overall deficit.
• Failure of RCEP: Act East Policy has not been capable of gathering the support of different countries in eliminating issues related to RCEP that concerned India. India became the only exception with removal from the regional trade deal owing to the failure of comprehensive negotiations concerning the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
• Limited economic engagement: In opposition to the great advancement in the field of defence and security cooperation, major economic agreements signed between India and East Asian countries are quite scarce. So far, India has only signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) on oceans and fisheries with South Korea.

Way Forward

• India’s Act East Policy will also have to tackle the constraint of how to handle the envisaged Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), led by the USA with 12 Asia-Pacific nations that involve some of the ASEAN countries along with Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
• The security sector is one from which new challenges to the Act East policy are likely to pop up. The upsurge of China has led to a military buildup in Asia, and armament transfers have gone up manifold, highlighting the insecure situation. China’s Maritime Silk Route proposal includes the construction of ports and other infrastructure assets in the sub-continent.
• China is preparing to roll out its maritime capability in the Indian Ocean. The Act East policy must, hence, include countervailing measures that build military cooperation with the USA, Japan, Korea, Australia, and ASEAN countries. The aim will be to impede China’s power projection and simultaneously establish cooperation on common areas of interest like combating piracy, maritime disaster management, and holding the Sea Lanes of Communication open for trade.
• India must also leverage its significant cultural influence to involve all Asian countries. This feature has so far not been completely leveraged.

We hope your doubts regarding the Act East Policy UPSC would have been addressed after going through this article. Testbook provides good quality preparation material for various competitive examinations. Ace your preparations for the UPSC IAS exam by downloading the Testbook App now!