- Its outlay is Rs 12882.2 crore.
Benefit of this Extension:
i. Enable better planning for implementation of the schemes in terms of project selection
ii. Front loading of sanction of the projects
iii. Project implementation during the scheme period
Funding for different schemes:
Based on the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) recommendations, the funding for different northeastern states are as follows:
i.North East Special Infrastructure Scheme (NESIDS)– Rs.8139.5 crore including committed liabilities of ongoing projects
- The NESIDS, a Central Sector Scheme (CSS) with 100% funding from the Central Government.
- It has been restructured with two components viz. NESIDS (Roads) and NESIDS (Other than Road Infrastructure).
ii.Schemes of NEC– Rs.3202.7 crore including committed liabilities of ongoing projects
iii.Special Packages for BTC, DHATC and KAATC in Assam– Rs.1540 crore (BTC- Rs 500 crore, KAATC – Rs 750 crore and old packages of BTC, DHATC & KAATC – Rs 290 crore).
- DHATC is acronym for Dima Hasao Autonomous Territorial Council; BTC is for Bodoland Territorial Council; and KAATC is for Karbi Anglong Autonomous Territorial Council.
Key Points:
i.In October 2022, MDoNER’s new scheme ‘Prime Minister’s Development initiative for the north eastern region – PM-Devine’ with an outlay of Rs.6, 600 crore has been approved separately.
- This caters to the larger and high impact proposals under infrastructure, social development and livelihood sectors.
ii.The schemes of the MDoNER supplement the efforts of the different Central Ministries & Departments and also cater needs of the 8 NE Region States for uncovered development/welfare activities.
iii.These schemes also push the Five pillars of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan for self-reliant India, namely, Economy, Infrastructutre, System, Vibrant Demography and Demand.
iv.The actual expenditure in the last 4 years under MDoNER schemes was Rs 7534.46 cr. whereas, the fund available for expenditure in next 4 years till 2025-26 is Rs 19482.20 cr (2.60 times approx)
Improvements in NER:
i.There has been a 74% reduction in insurgency incidents, 60% reduction in incidents of attacks on security forces and 89% reduction in civilian deaths.
ii.About 8,000 youth have surrendered and joined the mainstream.
iii.Agreement with the national liberation front of Tripura in 2019, the Bodo agreement in 2020, and karbi agreement in 2021 were agreed upon.
- The Assam-Meghalaya and Assam-Arunachal border disputes have also almost ended,
iv.For improving railway connectivity, 19 new projects worth Rs. 77,930 crores have been sanctioned.
v.For improving road connectivity, 375 projects worth Rs. 1.05 lakh crores are under way. vi.In the next three years, 9,476 km roads will be laid under 209 projects.
- For this the central government is spending Rs. 1,06,004 crores.
vii.Air connectivity has also improved massively.
- Rs 2,000 crores will be invested in civil aviation in NER.
viii.Cabinet has also approved 4g connectivity in 4,525 villages in NER. Central Government has set a target of 500 days to provide complete telecom connectivity in the region by end of 2023.
ix.193 new skill development institutes have been set up.
x.Rs 645.07 crores have been spent to support / setup 978 MSME units.
- According to Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), 3,865 startups were registered from north east.
xi.North East Gas Grid (NEGG) project of Rs. 9,265 crores is underway and will improve economy in NER.
xii.The Prime Minister (PM) has announced a package of Rs. 550 crores to illuminate border villages of Arunachal Pradesh.
Recent Related News:
i.Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, announced that the Government of India (GoI) plans to launch world’s longest river cruise between Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Dibrugarh in Assam in January 2023.
ii.Nagaland Celebrates a 9-day post-harvest festival of the Lotha Nagas, Tokhü Emong to spread awareness about Nagaland’s bird diversity. It also hosted the first edition of the Tokhü Emong Bird Count (TEBC), a 4-day documentation event to list birds during the festival between 4th and 7th November 2022.
About Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER):
Union Minister– Gangapuram Kishan Reddy (Constituency- Secunderabad, Telangana)
Minister of State (MoS)– B. L. Verma (Constituency- Uttar Pradesh)
