New Delhi: The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has framed several plans and schemes for the people of North Eastern States during 2007. The North Eastern Region (NER) comprising of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura are all special category States and the national planning and resource allocations impart a special emphasis on their social and economic development. The development plans in the North East are centrally financed on the basis of 90% grant and 10% loan.

The NE states have been provided grants under the Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) to improve their infrastructure facilities. The Empowered Committee administering the NLCPR has since its inception in 1998-99, approved proposal worth Rs.816.66 crore for the development of educational infrastructure in the NER, out of which, funds amounting to Rs.655.84 crore have been released (as on 30.11.2007). During 2006-07 and 2007-08, an amount of Rs.159.99 crore and Rs.51.87 crore has been released for various educational projects. These major intitivaives of the ministry during 2007 are:

- Setting up of an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in NER.

- Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh, and Tripura University, Agartala, Tripura have been converted into Central Universities in 2007.

- Established a Central University in Sikkim in 2007.

- National Institute of Technology (NIT), Agartala

- Up gradation of Manipur Institute of Technology (MIT) into a National Institute of Technology (NIT)

- Setting up of Engineering and Management faculties in the North Eastern States

- The number of seats to Nagaland in Engineering has been enhanced to 120 for the academic session 2006-07 under the scheme of "Reservation of Seats in Degree/Diploma level Technical Courses for States/UTs".