New Delhi: The Centre’s promise to accelerate industry and investment in the Northeast through the launch of a new policy in 2024 found little reflection in the annual budget presented Sunday, with only Rs 50 crore allocated for the flagship UNNATI (Uttar Poorva Transformative Industrialisation Scheme) for 2026-27.
The Union Cabinet had approved UNNATI in March 2024, promising an outlay of Rs 10,037 crore over a period of 10 years for the development of industries and the generation of at least “83,000 direct employment opportunities”.
According to records maintained by the ministry, 792 applications have been received under the scheme so far, of which 327 have been approved and 242 are in progress. The Centre had previously announced that it envisages 2,180 applications under the scheme.
The scheme replaced the North East Industrial Development Scheme (NEIDS), 2017, which was in force for five years.
Many industrial associations based in the region had termed NEIDS, the Modi government’s first industrial policy for the Northeast, a “flop show”. A parliamentary committee had also pointed out in its report that only Rs 1 crore was allotted to the scheme in 2019-20.
According to details in the expenditure budget presented in Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, Rs 8.05 crore was spent under the UNNATI scheme in 2024-25. In 2025-26, Rs 175 crore was earmarked for the scheme, but only Rs 33 crore was eventually spent. For 2026-27, Rs 50 crore has been allocated.
The UNNATI scheme is administered by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, led by Piyush Goyal.
Addressing the Advantage Assam Investment Summit in Guwahati in February 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Assam is emerging as a gateway between Southeast Asia and India and that, “to further this potential”, the government has launched UNNATI.
He said the scheme will “accelerate industry, investment and tourism across the entire Northeast region, including Assam”. Other major schemes pertaining to the Northeast fall under the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), steered by Jyotiraditya Scindia.
For 2026-27, Rs 6,812 crore has been set aside for DoNER. In 2025-26, Rs 4,479 crore was spent by the ministry against an allocation of Rs 5,915 crore. In 2024-25, Rs 3,370 crore was spent.
The two major schemes under its purview are the Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) and the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS).
PM-DevINE, which funds infrastructure and social development projects based on regional requirements, saw an allocation of Rs 2,300 crore. In 2025-26, Rs 2,296 crore was set aside for the scheme, but this was later revised to Rs 1,600 crore, indicating a shortfall in actual expenditure.
The other major outlay of DoNER went to NESIDS, which received Rs 2,500 crore. The scheme extends financial assistance for infrastructure projects relating to water supply, power and connectivity aimed at tourism. In 2025-26, Rs 1,600 crore was spent under the scheme against an allocation of Rs 2,481 crore.
The budget saw no major announcement for the region, except for a proposal to develop Buddhist circuits.
“The North Eastern Region is a civilisational confluence of Theravada and Mahayana/Vajrayana traditions. I propose to launch a scheme for the development of Buddhist circuits in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura. The scheme will cover preservation of temples and monasteries, pilgrimage interpretation centres, connectivity and pilgrim amenities,” Sitharaman said.
Besides, the government will support high-value crop Agar tree, primarily found in the Northeast region, with highest concentration in Assam. The government will also upgrade the National Mental Health Institutes in Tezpur as Regional Apex Institution.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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