100 Days Achievements of Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region

The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has achieved substantial goals during the period from 9^th June, 2024 to 17^th September, 2024. Under the guidance of Union Minister of Communications and DoNER, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia and Union Minister of State for Education & DoNER,Dr.Sukanta Majumdar, the Ministry has adopted a holistic approach in building its 100 Days Plan to fulfill the vision of building a Viksit Purvottara.The achievements of MDoNER during the said period reflect that the Ministry’s focus on Policy Reforms, Impact of driven initiatives and Innovative ideas will have long-term result in building an empowered North-East India.

2. The achievements have been listed below:

1. Sanction of Projects under PM-DevINE : During this period, 6 Projects worth Rs. 419.13 Cr have been sanctioned including establishment of State Cancer Institute at Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh. These projects will provide cancer care facilities, infrastructure development of Dhanamanjuri University, upgradation of the Radiation Oncology Centre at CIHSR etc. to the people of NER.
2.  Sanction of Projects under NESIDS (OTRI) : During this period, 3 Projects worth Rs. 152.6 Cr have been sanctioned including augmentation of Water Supply System at Namsai Township in Arunachal Pradesh. These projects will provide  integrated smart drinking water Supply to Basar Township,  Namsai Township and Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh and will benefit 103018 people.
3. Sanction of Projects under NESIDS (Roads) : During this period, 5 Projects worth Rs. 370.16 Cr have been sanctioned including construction of new road from Chowkihola to Tarapung, Assam. These projects will be crucial in filling the connectivity gap in Assam, Sikkim and Manipur benefitting 56 villages with a population of 29000 people, 8 villages with population of 5871 people and 64 villages with population of Rs 2,50,000 people respectively.
4. Completion of Projects under Schemes of MDoNER/ NEC : During this period, 30 Projects comprising 1 project of PM-DevINE (worth Rs.63.39 Cr), 6 Projects of NESIDS (Roads) (worth Rs. 219.41 Cr), 3 Projects of NESIDS (OTRI) (worth Rs.48.71 Cr), 11 Projects of Schemes of NEC (worth Rs.107.25 Cr) and 8 projects of BTC & HADP (worth Rs.19.63 Cr) have been completed physically. The total worth of these 29 Projects is Rs.458.36 Cr. These projects will enhance infrastructure sector; especially Road, Ropeway system, construction of District Centre, Bamboo processing Centre, health, etc. of all States of North East and improve quality of life of the people.
5. Policy reforms for simplification of Scheme Guidelines and streamlining of release of funds:

• During this period, Guidelines of Schemes of PM-DevINE, NESIDS (OTRI), NESIDS (Road) have been simplified to consider jointly consider concept note and DPR of project proposals in one go. This will reduce the lead time in conceptualization and sanction of projects.
• On 21st August, 2024, Financial and sectoral demarcation among the schemes of MDoNER have been rationalized and issued. This will prevent duplication of sanction of projects belonging to similar sectors across multiple schemes of DoNER.
• On 29th July, 2024, the process of flow of funds for projects sanctioned under Schemes of MDoNER/NEC was simplified to enable the release of funds for projects in 4 instalments only. This has standardized the process of release of funds and will reduce the delay and pendency of release cases.
•  During this period, Ministry of DoNER has empanelled the Third Party Technical Inspection (TPTI) Agencies and Project Quality Monitors (PQMs) through NEDFi for inspection of ongoing projects. This will strengthen the monitoring and inspection mechanism of ongoing projects sanctioned under various schemes of MDoNER. Implemented since June, 2024.

6. Launch of Manipur Start Up Venture Fund : It is a part of State-specific venture fund for supporting new start-ups in NER. The initial corpus is of Rs 30 crore (NEDFiRs 15 crore + Government of Manipur Rs. 15 crore). This will encourage local entrepreneurs and help establish of a better and more robust ecosystem in NER. Two startsup received in-principle investment commitments from Manipur Startsup Venture Fund in its first Investment Committee meeting held on 27^th August, 2024.
7. Ashtalakshmi Mahotsav-2024 – Approval was granted by MDoNER to organize Ashtalakshmi Mahotsav-2024 from 6th to 8th December, 2024 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. A dedicated portal was launched by Hon’ble Minister for DoNER on 13th September, 2024.This will promote rich heritage, handicrafts, handloom, agri-produce and craft tourism of the North Eastern States.
8. North East Science and Technology (NEST) Cluster for innovation ecosystem:

The Ministry of DoNER approved NEST on 13.8.2024, North east Science & Technology Cluster (NEST cluster) ecosystem exclusively for the North eastern Region similar to the S&T Cluster of the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor. 4 Verticals have been approved viz. (i) Innovation Hub on Grassroots Technologies,  (ii) Technology Hub for Artificial Intelligence & Semiconductor (iii) CoE for Innovation in Bamboo based Technology, Entrepreneurial promotion & skill development and Skill Development and (iv) Innovation Centre on Biodegradable, eco-friendly Plastics & Solid-Waste Management. The objective of the NEST cluster is to identify and address the issues and challenges of the people of NER through the technological interventions for the holistic development of North Eastern Region.

1. Launch of North Eastern Region Agri-Commodity e-Connect (NE-RACE) Portal –

It is a transformative step for the agricultural sector in North East, aligning with Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Vocal for Local’ and opening global markets to our farmers.The North Eastern Council (NEC) under the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) in collaboration with North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Limited (NEDFi) launched on 12^th July 2024  a digital initiative called North Eastern Region Agri-Commodity E-Connect (NE-RACE) to provide market linkage for agricultural and horticultural products from the North Eastern Region (NER) in both fresh and processed forms. The NE-RACE digital platform is funded by NEC and is developed and managed by the NEDFi.

10. Special Development Package for development of Adivasi Welfare and Development Council (AWDC) -a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) was signed by Government of India, Government of Assam and various Adivasi Armed Groups of Assam. As per the MoS, the Government of India will earmark a sum of Rs.100 crore, per annum, for a period of five years starting from F.Y. 2024-25. The Special Development Package for development of Adivasi Welfare and Development Council (AWDC) was allocated for implementation to the Ministry of DoNER. Subsequently, the MDoNER has finalized the Guidelines to implement the MoS. The primary focus of the infrastructure development projects under the AWDC will be to enhance basic Infrastructure, promote economic development and improve social amenities and sustainable development of the communities.
11. Development of various Portals – On 22^nd July, 2024, a portal was launched for robust monitoring and evaluation of the projects being implemented under various scheme of Government of India’s 54 Ministries/Departments (non-exempted under 10% GBS). The said portal has been developed. All the Ministries have been sensitized through a live demo on 6^th September, 2024. This portal will help in robust monitoring and evaluation of the projects being implemented under various scheme of Government of India’s Ministries/Departments. Similarly, a portal has been developed to capture the expenditure being made under the 10% GBS of the 54 non-exempted Ministries/Departments. The expenditure details monitored will be State- wise and scheme-wise by respective Ministries/Departments. The portal will capture expenditure details State wise and scheme wise therefore ensuring effective evaluation and monitoring.
12. Strengthening State Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) in NER – In August 2024, a bipartite MoU between MDoNER and Invest India for implementation of the project has been approved by MDoNER. The objective of the proposal is to strengthen state IPAs by providing expert manpower to the States in designing good investment policies and qualitative sectoral investment policies.