National, Feb 1: The Union Budget for 2026–27 once again placed the Northeast within the government’s broader development narrative, emphasising connectivity, culture, agriculture and strategic integration, even as the region’s overall share of central expenditure remained largely static.
Presenting the Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reiterated the government’s emphasis on what she termed the “Purvodaya States and the North-Eastern Region to accelerate development and employment opportunities”, positioning the region as part of a wider eastern growth corridor rather than a standalone fiscal priority.
At the core of the Centre’s spending for the region is the allocation for the Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region (DoNER). The ministry received Rs 6,812.30 crore in the 2026–27 Budget, up from Rs 5,915 crore in 2025–26. However, against an expanded Union Budget outlay of Rs 53,47,315 crore, DoNER’s share rose only marginally to about 0.13 per cent, compared to roughly 0.12 per cent in the previous year. While the increase is notable in absolute terms, the Northeast continues to account for little more than a tenth of one per cent of total central spending.
Rather than a consolidated package, budgetary interventions for the region are spread across sector-specific themes. Agriculture emerged as a key focus, particularly crops linked to the Northeast’s ecological and cultural landscape. Sitharaman announced support for agar trees in the region, placing the agarwood economy alongside other high-value crops such as cocoa, cashew and nuts promoted elsewhere in the country. The move signals an attempt to integrate local biodiversity into national value-addition and export strategies.
Tourism and culture formed another visible pillar of the Budget’s approach. Highlighting the region’s historical and spiritual significance, the finance minister described the Northeast as a “civilisational confluence of Theravada and Mahayana/Vajrayana traditions”. She announced a new scheme for developing Buddhist circuits across Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, covering the preservation of monasteries and temples, improved connectivity and better pilgrim amenities.
Infrastructure commitments affecting the Northeast were largely routed through national programmes rather than region-specific announcements. Broader initiatives on waterways, logistics corridors and tourism infrastructure are expected to benefit the region, though without dedicated budget lines exclusively earmarked for the Northeast. The region is thus framed as a beneficiary of wider eastern and border-area development strategies.
The Budget also included an institutional intervention, with Sitharaman announcing the upgradation of the National Mental Health Institute in Tezpur as a regional apex institution. The move places Assam on the national mental healthcare map while addressing long-standing gaps in specialised services in the Northeast.
Overall, Budget 2026–27 offers continuity for the Northeast, with incremental financial increases, thematic inclusion and symbolic recognition of its cultural and ecological distinctiveness. Yet, despite repeated assurances and rising allocations in absolute terms, the region’s proportion of the Union Budget remains virtually unchanged, reflecting a continuing tension between rhetorical prominence and fiscal marginality in New Delhi’s engagement with India’s eastern frontier.
