Parliament Question: Industrial development in NER

Government of India Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 219 To be answered on Thursday, March 12, 2026/ 21 Phalguna, 1947 (Saka) Industrial development in NER

219. Shri Birendra Prasad Baishya:

Will the Minister of Development of North Eastern Region be pleased to state:

(a) the steps taken by the Central Government to promote industrial development in the North-Eastern Region (NER) under various schemes;

(b) the incentives and fiscal support provided to attract investments and the details of industries established and employment generated, so far, State-wise; and

(c) the measures proposed to address challenges related to infrastructure, logistics and market access in the region? ANSWER The Minister of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia)

(a) to (c) A statement is laid on the table of the House.STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) to (C) IN RESPECT OF RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION No. 219 FOR ANSWER ON 12.03.2026 REGARDING INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT IN NER ASKED BY SHRI BIRENDRA PRASAD BAISHYA.

(a) and (b) Setting up of industries being a State subject, the primary responsibility of industrial development rests with the State Governments. Government of India supplements their efforts through various schemes to promote industrialization in the country, including the North Eastern Region (NER). Government of India launched North East Industrial Development Scheme (NEIDS), 2017, which came into effect on April 1, 2017, and remained operational until March 31, 2022. The NEIDS, 2017 covered new units in the manufacturing and service sectors. The scheme provided incentives like Central Capital Investment Incentive for access to credit, Central Interest Incentive, Central Comprehensive Insurance Incentive, Goods and Services Tax Reimbursement, Income Tax Reimbursement, Transport Incentive and Employment Incentive. A total 976 have been registered units under the NEIDS, 2017, as per following details:

State Total Arunachal Pradesh 20 Assam 797 Meghalaya 29 Manipur 12 Mizoram 24 Nagaland 4 Sikkim 26 Tripura 64 Total 976 The details of subsidy disbursement under NEIDS, 2017 are as under:

State Total (Rs. In crore) Arunachal Pradesh 25.47 Assam 895.06 Manipur 18.92 Meghalaya 45.84 Mizoram 26.99Nagaland 2.09 Tripura 35.33 Sikkim 21.73 Total 1071.43 The Uttar Poorva Transformative Industrialization Scheme (UNNATI), 2024, a Central Sector Scheme, was launched on March 9, 2024 for the development of industries and generation of employment in North Eastern Region. The incentives provided under UNNATI scheme are (i) Capital Investment Incentive (CII), (ii) Capital Interest Subvention

(CIS), and (iii) Manufacturing & Services Linked incentive (MSLI).As on 06.03.2026, total of 910 applications for registration have been received on the UNNATI, 2024 portal, of which 359 applications have been granted registration.

Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) organized Rising Northeast Investors Summit 2025 to catalyze trade and investment in the North Eastern Region. Collectively, the Summit and its pre-event roadshows garnered investment interests of ₹ 4.48 lakh crore through Memoranda of Understanding (MoU), letters of intent, and qualified leads from private investors, public sector undertakings, and major industrial conglomerates. The investment will enhance industrial capacity of North Eastern Region as well as provide employment opportunities.

(c) Government of India is implementing various flagship programmes and schemes for the development of the North Eastern Region. As per extant policy of the Government of India, fifty-five non-exempted Central Ministries/Departments are mandated to spend at least 10% of their Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) for Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored Schemes in the North Eastern Region for the overall development of the region. Under the 10% GBS, since 2014-2015 to 2024-2025 Accumulative Expenditure (AE) of ₹ 6.11 lakh crore has been made against the cumulative allocation of ₹ 6.02 lakh crore (RE) by the non- exempted Ministries/Departments for development of NER. The details is tabulated below:

FY RE (₹ in cr.) AE (₹in cr.) 2004-05 to 2013-14 1,57,856.47 1,39,661.12 2014-15 27,359.17 24,819.18 2015-16 29,669.22 28,673.73 2016-17 32,180.08 29,367.90 2017-18 40,971.69 39,753.44 2018-19 47,087.95 46,054.802019-20 53,374.19 48,533.80 2020-21 51,270.90 48,563.82 2021-22 68,440.26 70,874.32 2022-23 72,540.28 82,690.37 2023-24 91,802.00 1,02,749.00 2024-25 87735.96 89734.37 2014-15 to 2024-25 6,02,431.70 6,11,814.73 Further, Government of India is implementing various flagship programmes and schemes for the development of the North Eastern Region. Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region is also implementing various schemes viz. North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS), Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) and schemes of North Eastern Council, to improve connectivity and infrastructure in the North Eastern Region.

Under the various schemes of Government of India several infrastructure projects

have been completed under the following sectors: Road, Railways connectivity, Civil Aviation, Telecom etc. i) Road Connectivity:

The length of National Highways (NH) in NER has increased from 10,905 km in 2014 to 16,207 km as on 31.03.2025. Flagship NH projects completed during the period in

NER are tabulated below:

S. Project Name State Length Cost Status Significance No. (km) (₹ in Cr.) 1 Connectivity to Bangladesh- Tripura 1.89 129 Completed Connectivity from NE Feni Bridge Project(Maitri Region to Chittagong Bridge –I) portion Bangladesh 2 Construction of bridge Assam 28.51 1,989 Completed Direct inter-state between Dhola and Sadia connectivity between ghats in Assam Assam and Arunachal Pradesh 3 Atal Setu Viaduct Bengal on Sikkim 1.1 133 Completed Enhance connectivity NH 10, Sikkim for defense forces to the border region4 Shillong - Nongstoin– Meghalaya 261 2,320 Completed Reduce travel time Rongjeng- Tura in Meghalaya between Shillong and Tura from 12 hrs to 6 hrs 5 Dibang-Lohit River Arunachal 29.64 1,508 Completed Bridged Gap between Bridge(NH-13), Arunachal Pradesh Digaru to Chowkham Pradesh reducing travel time ii) Railway Connectivity:

The Ministry of Railways have informed that the budget allocation during the last five years has increased significantly in the North Eastern Region. Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/partly in North Eastern Region (NER) is

as under:- Period Outlay 2009-14 ₹2,122 crore/year 2025-26 ₹10,440 crore (about 5 times) The details of commissioning/laying of new track falling fully/partly in North Eastern Region

(NER) during 2009-14 and 2014-2025 is as under:- Period New track Commissioned Average commissioning of new tracks 2009-14 333 Km 66.6 Km/year 2014-25 1,840 Km 167.27 Km/year (about 2.5 times) As on 01.04.2025, 12 Railway projects (08 New Lines, 04 Doubling), of a total length of 777 Km, costing ₹69,342 crore falling fully/partly in North Eastern Region (NER) have been sanctioned. The summary is as under:- Category No. of Total Length Exp. upto sanctioned Length Commissioned Mar’25 projects (in Km) upto Mar’25 (in (₹ in Cr.) Km)New Lines 08 448 113 38,078 Doubling/Multitracking 04 329 165 3,598 Total 12 777 278 41,676 Projects commissioned falling fully/partly in North Eastern Region since 2014, are as under:

S. No. Project Cost (₹ in crore) 1 Bhairabi-Sairang New Line (51 Km) 8,071 2 Agartala-Sabroom New Line(112 Km) 3,170 3 Agartala-Akhaura New Line (5 Km) 865 4 Rangiya-Murkongselek Gauge Conversion (510 Km) 3,019 5 Kumarghat-Agartala Gauge Conversion (109 Km) 1,242 6 Katakhal-Bharabi Gauge Conversion (84 Km) 348 7 Lumding-Badarpur-Silchar&Badarpur-Kumarghat Gauge Conversion 6500 (412 Km) 8 Lumding-Hojai Doubling (45 Km) 410 9 Digaru-Hojai Doubling (102 Km) 1,873 10 New Bongaigaon-Agthori Doubling (143 Km) 2,048 11 Bogibeel Bridge (92 Km) 5,820 Some of the main projects falling fully/partlyin the North Eastern Region which have been

taken up are as under:- S.No. Name of the project Cost (₹ In crore) 1 Jiribam-Imphal New Line (111 Km) 22,275 2 Dimapur-Kohima New Line (82 Km) 6,663 3 Murkongselek-Pasighat New Line (27 Km) 1,265 4 New Bongaigaon-Goalpara-Kamakhaya Doubling (176 Km) 4,961 5 Agthori – Kamakhya including Rail cum Road Bridge at Saraighat 1,474 Doubling (7 Km) Further, during the last three years i.e. 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and the current financial year 2025-26, 20 surveys (14 New Line, and 6 Doubling) of total length 2,575 Km fallingfully/ partly in North Eastern Region including the projects in the State of Assam and Barak Valley Region, have been sanctioned.

iii) Telecom Connectivity:

As of Dec, 2025, 6355 Gram Panchayats have been made service ready for providing high speed internet services in North Eastern Region. Till Dec-2025, 3718 mobile towers have been commissioned in NER covering 5366 villages/locations under various Government funded mobile projects. The details of Fund disbursed for North Eastern Region during FY 2014-15 to 2025-26 upto 31.12.2025 under various projects in the North Eastern Region is

tabulated below: (Rs. in crores) Sl. Name of Name of Total Assa *NE-I *NE-II Sikki DO Total No. Scheme Projects Proj m (Meghal (Aruna m T ect aya, chal HQ Cost Mizora Prades m and h, Tripura) Manipu r and Nagala nd) Project-wise Fund disbursement 1 Compens BharatNet 1880 333.2 288.07 480.57 90.1 1192.

ation to 41 5 1 00 2 Service 4G 130.1 150.28 655.80 6.10 200. 1142.

3062 Providers Saturation 4 16 48 0 for Project 3 creation BOP/BIP 26.2 26.20 737 and 0 4 augmenta Mobile 135.4 179.70 315.1 tion of Services in 3 3 Telecom Arunachal 667 Infrastruc Pradesh and ture3 2 District of Assam 5 Mobile 398 240.57 240.5Services in 7 Meghalaya 6 Mobile 373.0 148.09 437.69 4.32 5.71 968.8 Services in 6 7 1122 NER

(NESA) 7 10 Gbps 17 17.6 17.65 International 5 Bandwidth for Internet Connectivity to Agartala from BSCCL 8 25000 Wi-Fi 3.61 0.68 1.23 5.52 11.04 at Rural Exchanges of BSNL 9 Shared 3.87 2.08 5.95 11.90 Mobile Infrastructur e Scheme 10 Village 0.37 0.84 0.81 2.02 4.05 Public Telephone 11 OFC Assam 37.52 37.5 75.05 2 12 OFC NE-I 18.42 18.4 36.84 2 13 OFC NE-II 13.04 13.0 26.08 4 14 Solar 0.00 0.03 0.03 0.06 Mobile Charging Facilities

(SMCF)15 Setting up of 1.39 0.97 0.14 2.49 4.99 Wi-Fi by Railtel at Railway Stations 16 Rural 2.26 1.09 1.62 4.97 9.93 Wireline Broadband Total 2216 1017. 852.91 1772.68 100. 339. 4082.

02 03 53 68 84

Major Completed Projects: The project for providing 2G mobile connectivity in uncovered villages and along National Highways across Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura was undertaken at a cost of ₹1,655.66 crore (excluding taxes) and was completed in March 2021.

iv) Air Connectivity:

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) launched the Regional Connectivity Scheme

(UDAN) on 21st October, 2016. UDAN is a market-driven initiative where the development of regional air connectivity routes is determined by market forces. Airlines assess the demand and supply needs for specific routes and lead the process under the scheme. Airlines are selected through a transparent bidding process.

The following airports and heliports have been identified for development and operation of

RCS flights in the NE states under the UDAN scheme:

AIRPORTS Passighat, Tezu, Hollongi, Jorhat, Lilabari, Rupsi, Tezpur, Dimapur, Shillong and Pakyong HELIPORTS  Arunachal Pradesh: Ziro, Walong, Itanagar (Naharlagun), Tuting, Yinghiong, Daparizo, Miao &Vijaynagar  Assam : Geleki & Nagaon  Meghalaya: Tura & Shillong (H)  Manipur: Tamenglong, Jiribam, Thanlon, Parbung, Moreh & Churachandpur  Nagaland:Phek, Kohima, Zunheboto, Tuensang, Mokokchung  Sikkim: Gangtok East, Pelling West &Namchi SouthAll the above-mentioned 10 airports in the North Eastern States have been operationalized under the UDAN scheme and are currently operational, except Pakyong Airport.

In addition, two heliports, namely Jiribam and Tamenglong, have also been operationalized under Non-Scheduled Operator Permit (NSOP) operations.

2004-2014 2014-2025 S. No State Amount Amount No. of Projects No. of Projects (₹ in cr.) (₹ in cr.) Arunachal 1 1 96 4 884.9 Pradesh 2 Assam 10 271.89 18 413.48 3 Manipur 2 26.08 14 207.66 4 Meghalaya 2 40.63 4 66.15 5 Mizoram 0 0 0 0 6 Nagaland 1 12.96 1 48.37 7 Sikkim 0 0 1 553.53 8 Tripura 2 37.89 11 745.21 Total 18 485.45 52 2919.30

Major Initiatives:

1. Construction of Greenfield Airport at Hollongi, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh

2. Development and Operationalization of Tezu Airport in Lohit District of Arunachal Pradesh

3. Construction of New Integrated Terminal Building and allied works at Agartala Airport, Tripura

4. Construction of New Integrated Terminal Building and allied works at Imphal Airport, Manipur

5. Construction of Hangars at Agartala Airport, Guwahati Airport and Dibrugarh Airport.

6. Construction of Greenfield Airport at Doloo, Silchar, Assam.

7. Development of New Civil Enclave at Jorhat, Assam

8. Construction of Greenfield Airport at Pakyong, Sikkim

9. Operationalization of Baljek Airport, Tura, Meghalaya10. Development of Barapani (Shillong) Airport (Extension of Runway and Terminal Building), Meghalaya.

11. Development & Upgradation of Lengpui Airport, Mizoram v) Power:

A number of Hydro Electric Projects with a total installed capacity of 5796 MW have been taken up in NER. The major projects include Subansiri Lower (1750 MW), Dibang Multi-Purpose project (2880 MW), Teesta Stage VI (500 MW) etc. Under the NER Power System Improvement Project for six States (Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland) for strengthening of the Intra-State Transmission and Distribution Systems (33kV and above) at an estimated cost of ₹6700 crore. The comprehensive scheme for Strengthening of Transmission and Distribution System in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim at an estimated cost of ₹9129.32 crore has been sanctioned.

vi) Inland Waterways The number of National Waterways in the NER has increased from 1 to 20 and ₹1,040 cr have been spent on various Waterways Projects in NER. *****