Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The central government has approved six new projects in the Northeast, including one in Assam, under PM-DevINE at an approved cost of Rs 386.80 crore. Earlier, 25 projects were approved under the PM-DevINE scheme. With the addition of six new projects, the total number of projects to be implemented in the NE states now comes to 31, with a total approved cost of Rs 4502.45 crore.
The Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for the North East Region (PM-DevINE) is a central sector scheme fully funded by the Government of India.
The six projects recently accorded sanction are: Establishment of State Cancer Institute at Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, with an approved cost of Rs 217.187 crore; infrastructure development for Dhanamanjuri University (DMU) in Manipur with an approved cost of Rs 70 crore; upgrading of the Radiation Oncology Centre at CIHSR (Christian Institute Of Health Sciences & Research) in Nagaland with an approved cost of Rs 34.50 crore; educational infrastructure facility development in Polytechnics in Nagaland with an approved cost of Rs 30 crore; Skill Development Centre at Dr. B. Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI), Guwahati, Assam, at an approved cost of Rs 35.1165 crore; establishment of an Artist’s Village for promotion of the world’s most unique pottery art form Longpi Black Pottery of Manipur, at an approved cost of Rs 32.3175 crore.
All six projects have a target completion period of 2026–2027. The establishment of a Skill Development Centre at the Guwahati-based Dr. B. Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI) has a target completion date of June 30, 2026.
A Central Sector scheme, PM-DevINE, is fully funded by the Government of India and was announced in the Union Budget 2022–23. The scheme envisages funding infrastructure in the spirit of PM GatiShakti, supporting social development projects based on the felt needs of the North-East, generating livelihood opportunities for youth and women, and filling the gaps in various sectors. The scheme was approved by the Union Cabinet on October 12, 2022. The approved expenditure outlay is Rs. 6,600 crore for the period from 2022–23 to 2025–26.
The objective of PM-DevINE entails the overall vision of MDoNER, i.e., “transforming NER through development in an accelerated yet sustainable manner, affording access to ease of living to all its citizens”.
The broad objectives of “PM-DevINE” are: (i) Infrastructure development projects in the spirit of PM GatiShakti; (ii) Social development projects based on the felt needs of the region; (iii) Enhancing livelihood activities for youth and women of the region; and (iv) Filling up developmental gaps in various sectors.
PM-DevINE is an additional scheme over and above the existing schemes of the Government of India and NE state governments. Projects can be posed by the central ministries and departments or the state governments of NE, targeting the scheme’s objectives of economic infrastructure, social infrastructure, livelihood activities, and filling social development gaps in various sectors.
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