Guwahati, July 19 -- Meghalaya has emerged as the top-performing Northeastern and hilly state in the regulatory ease category of NITI Aayog's first-ever Investment Friendliness Index (IFI), reflecting the state's progress in creating a more business-friendly regulatory environment.

The report awarded Meghalaya a score of 8.5 under the Regulatory Ease pillar, the highest among the region's states. Nagaland and Tripura followed with 8.2 each, while Himachal Pradesh secured 7.9. Assam and Uttarakhand shared the next position with 7.7 points.

The Regulatory Ease pillar measures how effectively state regulations support investments by evaluating the transparency, consistency and efficiency of administrative systems. It assesses whether busin...