Prime Minister Narendra Modi draws his political power from the landlocked north, which is home to massive but poor states such as Uttar Pradesh, with a population larger than Brazil’s.
But India’s largely coastal south, where people are richer and live longer on average, is the bedrock of Modi’s goal to boost India’s economy into the world’s third-largest.
The region is where factories are popping up to supply U.S. firms such as Apple, and Amazon.com has located its largest global office.