Why in News?
On March 25, 2026, the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) provided a written reply in Parliament regarding the progress of NESIDS-OTRI. The ministry highlighted that 29 new projects have been sanctioned specifically under this component as of late 2025, with an expenditure of approximately ₹462.21 crore already incurred.
Key Information
- NESIDS-OTRI stands for North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme - Other Than Road Infrastructure)
- Structure: NESIDS was restructured in 2022-23 into two distinct components: NESIDS-Roads (for physical connectivity) and NESIDS-OTRI (for all other social and physical infrastructure).
- 100% Central Funding: As a Central Sector Scheme, it is fully funded (100%) by the Government of India, requiring no financial contribution from the state governments.
- Target Sectors: NESIDS-OTRI focuses on non-road sectors, including:
- Social Infrastructure: Primary and secondary healthcare and education.
- Physical Infrastructure: Water supply, power, solid/liquid waste management, and telecommunications.
- Economic/Misc: Industrial development, civil aviation, sports, and conservation of iconic water bodies.
- Project Scale: It generally considers projects with a size between ₹5 crore and ₹50 crore.
- Predecessor Schemes: The OTRI component subsumes uncompleted projects from older schemes like the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) and the Hill Area Development Programme (HADP).
- Administration: It is directly administered by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER), whereas the Roads component is often handled through the North Eastern Council (NEC).
- Monitoring Mechanism: Projects are tracked via the Gati Shakti Portal and inspected by Field Technical Support Units (FTSU). For projects over ₹20 crore, government engineering colleges in the region act as Third Party Technical Inspection (TPTI) agencies.
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