Indian States at a Glance 2008-09: Performance, Facts and Figures presents information on the 29 states and 6 union territories of India in a set of 22 volumes. A compilation of the latest facts and figures, ranging from the basic socio-economic and demographic indicators to development parameters, these books also provide brief profiles of the states covering their history, culture, cuisine, handicrafts, places of tourist interest as well as an account of their performance vis-à-vis other states

Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura comprise the north-eastern region of India. In this volume, Assam has been excluded as it is a relatively larger state and Sikkim, though not geographically contiguous with the north-eastern states, has been included as it shares some of their unique characteristics. More importantly, Sikkim is a constituent state of the North Eastern Council (NEC), set up in 1971 with the objective of planning for rapid growth and development in the region. The north-eastern region has had a turbulent past, mainly due to disagreements between the numerous distinct groups that make up the population of the various states. Political tensions with China, Bangladesh and Myanmar have led to government restrictions in this region resulting in reduced growth opportunities so far. Yet, since 2000, there has been an improvement in the economic growth, which is a reflection of the renewed emphasis on changing patterns of production in the region.