Guwahati, Feb 1: The Union Budget 2026–27 has placed the Northeast firmly on the national development map, announcing a set of targeted interventions spanning heritage tourism, healthcare, agriculture and employment generation. Presenting the Budget in Parliament, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government would sharpen its focus on the Purvodaya states and the North-East to accelerate growth and create new livelihood opportunities.
One of the most region-specific announcements is the launch of a Scheme for Development of Buddhist Circuits in the North-Eastern Region, recognising the area as a civilisational confluence of Theravada and Mahayana–Vajrayana traditions.
The scheme will cover Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, and includes preservation of temples and monasteries, creation of pilgrimage interpretation centres, improved connectivity and better pilgrim amenities.
“The North-Eastern Region is a civilisational confluence of Theravada and Mahayana/Vajrayana traditions,” Sitharaman said, underlining the cultural and tourism potential of the initiative. The move is expected to boost religious tourism while creating local jobs in hospitality, guiding, transport and conservation.
In a major healthcare announcement for Assam, the National Mental Health Institute in Tezpur will be upgraded as a Regional Apex Institution. This comes as part of the Centre’s renewed focus on mental health and trauma care, especially in underserved regions. The upgradation is expected to strengthen specialised mental healthcare services, training and research capacity for the entire Northeast, reducing dependence on distant national institutions and improving access for patients and families
For rural livelihoods, the Budget brings specific support for agar trees in the Northeast, placing the region alongside coastal and hill states in the push for high-value agriculture. The initiative aims to diversify farm outputs, enhance productivity and raise farmer incomes. Agarwood, prized for its aromatic resin and global demand, is already an important livelihood source in parts of Assam, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh. Budgetary support is expected to help formalise cultivation, improve value chains and generate new employment, particularly for small and marginal farmers.
Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jyotiraditya Scindia had said the Centre has set an ambitious target to boost Tripura’s annual agarwood industry turnover from the present Rs 100 crore to Rs 2,000 crore, underscoring the sector’s immense potential to drive economic growth, employment and exports in the state. He laid the foundation stone of an Agarwood Cluster Common Processing Centre at Uttar Fulbari village in Kadamtala in North Tripura district, Scindia said the common processing centres will focus on quality assurance of agarwood products, primarily fragrance and flavour.
Reiterating the Centre’s broader regional strategy, Sitharaman said the Budget places special emphasis on Purvodaya states and the North-East Region to accelerate development and employment opportunities. While several national schemes will have spillover benefits for the region, the government signalled that the Northeast would be treated as a strategic growth engine rather than a peripheral geography.
Taken together, the announcements indicate a multi-pronged approach for the Northeast—leveraging its spiritual heritage, strengthening public health infrastructure, and building farm-based livelihoods rooted in local ecology. For states long seeking greater visibility in national planning, Budget 2026–27 marks a clear signal that the Northeast is being positioned not just as a recipient of funds, but as a contributor to India’s cultural economy and future growth story.
