“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The line gets used often, but it holds up because not much has changed. Progress and instability still show up together.
Over the past few weeks, tensions in the Gulf have pushed oil prices upward and made markets uneasy. For India, that matters almost immediately. We import most of our crude, and a large part of that supply comes from that region. The effect isn’t as dramatic at first. It shows up in small ways fuel becomes a little more expensive, transport costs rise, and businesses start adjusting gradually.
In places like the North East, it can feel distant. But the connection is real. Higher fuel costs don’t stay limited to petrol pumps. They move through everything – goods, logistics, even basic household expenses. What’s worth paying attention to is how quickly behaviour starts to adjust when these changes continue for a while. Take transport. When fuel prices are stable, most people don’t think twice about it. When they aren’t, the calculations begin.
Delivery businesses look at routes more carefully. Fleet owners start considering alternatives, even if they’re not ready to switch completely. Electric vehicles, which are often discussed as a long-term shift, begin to enter more practical conversations. Not in a big, visible way, but in smaller decision like testing a vehicle, trying out a different model for short routes, or simply exploring costs more seriously than before.
The same thing happens at the household level. India’s reliance on LPG has always been there, but it only becomes part of everyday thinking when prices move up or supply feels uncertain. In the past couple of years, there have been periods where people started looking at other options more actively. Induction stoves, electric cooking, and other alternatives began to sell more in certain pockets.
In Assam and parts of Nagaland, a few local appliance sellers noticed this during one of the recent price increases. Induction cooktops, which usually moved slowly, started picking up. Not because of a marketing push, but because people were trying to manage costs in a more predictable way. Some of these sellers began keeping more stock and offering simple bundles with cookware. It wasn’t a large-scale shift, but it was enough to show how quickly demand can move when circumstances change.
Logistics is another area where these shifts are easier to miss but important to understand. Global disruptions tend to slow down larger supply chains. When that happens, local networks become more important. In the North East, where terrain and infrastructure already make delivery challenging, smaller courier and logistics services have an advantage if they can operate consistently. Businesses that understand local routes, weather conditions, and last-mile challenges tend to hold on to customers more easily during these periods. Reliability becomes more valuable than expansion. For someone building in this space, that matters more than scale in the early stages.
There’s also a broader pattern that shows up during these periods. People become more open to trying things they would usually ignore. Not everything works, but the willingness to experiment increases. That applies to both consumers and businesses. A small shift in cost or availability is often enough to make someone reconsider a decision they’ve been putting off. For entrepreneurs, this is where timing becomes important. Many of these changes don’t look significant at first. They happen in smaller pockets one product selling more in a town, one service getting more demand in a district, one route becoming more important than others. But over time, these patterns become clearer.
The North East is in an interesting position here. There are natural advantages solar potential, a younger population, and a growing interest in building locally. There are also gaps, especially in energy, logistics, and small-scale services. When global events create pressure, these gaps become more visible. Some of the most practical opportunities come from working within those gaps. It could be something as straightforward as improving local delivery networks, or building around energy use like solar installations, small backup systems, or even retail around energy-efficient appliances. These are not always high-visibility businesses, but they tend to hold steady because they are tied to everyday needs.
Looking at it more broadly, this pattern is not new. Periods of instability often bring out the weaknesses in existing systems. At the same time, they make it easier to see where things can be improved. Businesses that pay attention to that tend to find their footing earlier.
The larger point is simple. Events in one part of the world don’t stay there for long. They move through prices, supply chains, and decisions people make every day. By the time they reach places like the North East, they’ve already started changing behaviour in small but noticeable ways. And that’s usually where the more interesting business ideas begin not in the event itself, but in how people respond to it over time.
- Entrepreneur School of Business, Dimapur
Rongensangla – Media & Communication
Lead, ESB