Centre pushes Nagaland to fast-track PM-DevINE, MDoNER projects amid funding gap
Synopsis
The Centre has put Nagaland on notice: fast-track PM-DevINE and MDoNER projects or risk losing unspent Finance Commission allocations. Nagaland fired back with a stark data point — it received just ₹5,339.50 crore over 27 years, making it the third-lowest funded state in the Northeast despite being one of the region's oldest, raising hard questions about equitable development spending.
Key Takeaways
DoNER Ministry Joint Secretary Vipul Aggarwal met Nagaland officials on 21 October 2026 in Kohima to review PM-DevINE and MDoNER project execution.
State departments were directed to submit priority project lists to the 16th Finance Commission by end of October 2026 .
Liabilities under the 14th and 15th Finance Commissions will not be carried forward to the 17th, raising urgency for resolution.
Nagaland received ₹5,339.50 crore under MDoNER from 1998 to 2025 — the third-lowest in the Northeast region.
The state is exploring coffee, tea, rubber, agarwood , and eco-tourism as alternatives to saturating government employment.
The Centre on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, directed the Nagaland government to urgently prioritise implementation of projects under the Prime Minister's Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) and the Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region (MDoNER), as officials flagged sluggish execution and looming Finance Commission deadlines. The directive came during a high-level review meeting held in Kohima.
Key Directives from the Centre
Vipul Aggarwal, Joint Secretary at the DoNER Ministry, chaired the meeting with state government officials and underscored the urgency of timely project delivery. He called for a clear roadmap for project completion, with priority to be given to older, near-completion works and those capable of being wrapped up by the next financial year.
Aggarwal stressed that departments should not wait for final allocation figures before submitting their priority lists to the 16th Finance Commission, and set a deadline of end of October for all proposals. He also warned that financial liabilities under the 14th and 15th Finance Commissions would not be carried forward to the 17th Finance Commission — a signal that pending dues must be resolved within the current cycle.
Major projects under PM-DevINE were singled out for close monitoring. Aggarwal called for objective, need-based proposals and targeted interventions to address critical gaps in Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) performance, noting that several other Northeastern states had made comparatively more progress.
Nagaland's Funding Grievance
Y. Kikheto Sema, Principal Secretary and Development Commissioner of Nagaland, thanked the Centre for its financial support since the DoNER Ministry's establishment in 1998, but stated plainly that the funding had not matched the state's developmental needs.
Sema disclosed that Nagaland had received a total of ₹5,339.50 crore under MDoNER from 1998 to 2025 — a figure he described as comparatively lower than what several other Northeastern states had received. He pointed out that Nagaland was the third-lowest recipient of MDoNER funding in the region, despite being the second-oldest Northeastern state after Assam, and called for greater financial support.
Priority Sectors and Economic Diversification
Sema emphasised the need to accelerate development in critical sectors including healthcare, road connectivity, education, and essential infrastructure. With government employment opportunities reportedly nearing saturation, he said the state was actively exploring alternative livelihoods for the youth.
He highlighted the potential of plantation and commercial crops — coffee, tea, rubber, and agarwood — alongside eco-tourism, as viable avenues for entrepreneurship, income generation, and sustainable economic growth.
What Happens Next
The immediate deadline is the end of October 2026, by which state departments must submit their priority project lists for the 16th Finance Commission. The Centre's message was clear: delays in submission and execution will carry fiscal consequences. Nagaland's ability to translate these directives into on-ground progress — and its push for higher MDoNER allocations — will be closely watched as Commission consultations advance.
Point of View
The conversation needs to shift from 'spend faster' to 'allocate more equitably'.
NationPress
21 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is PM-DevINE and why is it relevant to Nagaland?
PM-DevINE, or the Prime Minister's Development Initiative for North East Region, is a central scheme channelling infrastructure and social sector funding to Northeastern states. It is relevant to Nagaland because the state has been directed to prioritise and accelerate project submissions and completions under the scheme amid concerns about slow implementation.
What is the deadline for Nagaland's Finance Commission proposals?
The Centre has asked Nagaland's state departments to submit their priority project lists by the end of October 2026 for consideration under the 16th Finance Commission. Officials warned that liabilities from the 14th and 15th Finance Commissions will not be carried over to the 17th.
How much MDoNER funding has Nagaland received historically?
Nagaland received a total of ₹5,339.50 crore under the Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region from 1998 to 2025. State officials described this as the third-lowest among Northeastern states, calling it insufficient relative to the state's developmental needs.
Which sectors has Nagaland identified as development priorities?
Nagaland has prioritised healthcare, road connectivity, education, and essential infrastructure. The state is also exploring plantation crops such as coffee, tea, rubber, and agarwood, and eco-tourism, as alternative livelihood avenues given that government employment opportunities are reportedly nearing saturation.
Why does Nagaland say its MDoNER funding has been inadequate?
Principal Secretary Y. Kikheto Sema argued that Nagaland, despite being the second-oldest Northeastern state after Assam, has received disproportionately low MDoNER funding. He called the ₹5,339.50 crore received over 27 years 'comparatively lower' than allocations to several peer states, and urged the Centre to provide greater financial support.
