4 June 2026·PIB

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah chairs 73rd Plenary Session of North Eastern Council (NEC) in Shillong, capital of Meghalaya

In this note

1. At a Glance

NEC is a statutory regional planning & advisory body for the 8 North Eastern States, headquartered at Shillong, currently under the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) [2][3].
Its 73rd Plenary Session was chaired by Union Home & Cooperation Minister Amit Shah at Shillong, Meghalaya [1].
Significance for UPSC: tests intersection of regional planning, cooperative federalism, internal security (NE insurgency), Act East policy and Purvodaya/Ashtalakshmi vision.

73rd Plenary of NEC held at Shillong, chaired by HM Amit Shah; the 72nd Plenary had been held in Agartala (Tripura) in December, marking the rotational format among NE capitals [1][4].
Plenary emphasised that more than 12 peace accords have been signed in the Northeast under the present government and called for full implementation of the High-Level Task Force recommendations for NE development [1].

NEC Act, 1971 (Act No. 84 of 1971) enacted by Parliament; Council formally inaugurated on 7 November 1972 at Shillong [2].
Originally 7 states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura; Sikkim added via NEC (Amendment) Act, 2002 (Act 68 of 2002) making it the 8th member [2].
2018: Cabinet repositioned NEC — Union Home Minister became ex-officio Chairman and Minister of DoNER as Vice-Chairman [5].
Administrative parent moved from MHA to MDoNER (created 2001, full Ministry 2004) [2][5].
Plenary sequence: 69th (Shillong, 2021), 71st (Shillong), 72nd (Agartala), 73rd (Shillong) [1][4][6].

Nature: Statutory body (NOT constitutional) — NEC Act, 1971 [2].
HQ: Shillong, Meghalaya [2].
Member States: 8 — Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura [2].
Chairman: Union Home Minister (ex-officio, post-2018); Vice-Chairman: Minister, DoNER [5].
Members: Governors and Chief Ministers of the 8 states + three nominated members [2][5].
Administrative ministry: MDoNER (not MHA, despite HM chairing) [2].
Functions: Regional planning, balanced socio-economic development, security/inter-state issues, recommend NE-specific projects [3].

Strategic / Internal Security

HM cited >12 peace accords (e.g., Bodo Accord 2020, Karbi Anglong 2021, Bru-Reang 2020, Assam–Meghalaya boundary pact 2022, ULFA pact 2023, NLFT-ATTF Tripura 2024) reducing insurgency footprint [1][7][8].
Manipur ethnic violence prompted a Peace Committee under the Governor of Manipur (2023) [9].

Economic / Infrastructure

Plenary stressed enhanced rail, road, air connectivity as the spine of NE growth [1].
Reaffirmed Purvodaya (rise of the East) and Ashtalakshmi (eight forms of prosperity for 8 NE states) as the development frame [1][10].

Governance / Federalism

HM directed all CMs and Governors to regularly review the Single Window System — improving ease of doing business and project clearances in NE states [1].
Push to implement High-Level Task Force recommendations on NE development, prosperity and cultural identity in their entirety [1].

Geopolitical (Act East)

Reiterated PM's "Act East, Act First, Act Fast" formulation positioning NE as gateway to ASEAN [1].

73rd NEC Plenary, Shillong, chaired by HM Shah — High-Level Task Force, Single Window review, Purvodaya focus [1].
72nd NEC Plenary, Agartala (Tripura), December — first in Tripura in years [4][6].
NLFT–ATTF Memorandum of Settlement signed with Govt. of India and Tripura in presence of HM [7].
ULFA Memorandum of Settlement with GoI and Assam, New Delhi [8].

NEC established under NEC Act, 1971 (Act 84 of 1971) [2].
NEC formally inaugurated 7 November 1972 at Shillong [2].
Sikkim added as 8th member via NEC (Amendment) Act, 2002 [2].
Post-2018 repositioning: Union Home Minister = ex-officio Chairman; MoS DoNER = Vice-Chairman [5].
Headquarters: Shillong, Meghalaya [2].
Currently under Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER), not MHA [2].
73rd Plenary venue: Shillong; 72nd: Agartala [1][4].
HM cited >12 peace accords signed in NE under current government [1].
Triad of slogans: Act East, Act First, Act Fast → vision of Purvodaya [1].
Ashtalakshmi: eight-fold prosperity vision for the 8 NE states [10].
Single Window System review mandated for CMs/Governors of NE states [1].
NEC is a statutory (not constitutional) regional planning body [2].

GS-II: Statutory bodies; cooperative & regional federalism; centre-state relations vis-à-vis NE.
GS-III: Internal security in NE (insurgency, AFSPA, peace accords); infrastructure & connectivity.
GS-I: Society — ethnic diversity, tribal identity in NE.
Possible stems: 1. "Examine the role of the North Eastern Council in advancing balanced regional development and internal security in India's Northeast." (GS-II/III) 2. "Discuss how peace accords and connectivity initiatives have transformed the Northeast under the framework of 'Act East' and 'Purvodaya'." (GS-III) 3. "Critically evaluate the repositioning of NEC (2018) under the Union Home Minister as chairman." (GS-II)

MDoNER and PM-DevINE scheme — flagship NE development funding.
North East Industrial Development Scheme (NEIDS) / UNNATI 2024 — industrial incentives.
Act East Policy — strategic NE-ASEAN linkage (Kaladan, Trilateral Highway).
Bodo Accord 2020, Bru-Reang 2020, Assam-Meghalaya boundary pact 2022, ULFA pact 2023 — peace process trajectory.
AFSPA — phased withdrawal in NE states.
Inner Line Permit & Sixth Schedule — constitutional protections for tribal areas.
Look East → Act East evolution.
Ashtalakshmi & Purvodaya vision documents.

Confusing NEC as constitutional body — it is statutory (1971 Act) [2].
Listing MHA as parent ministry — current parent is MDoNER [2].
Forgetting Sikkim is a NEC member (added 2002) — only 7 states pre-2002 [2].
Mixing chairmen: post-2018 it is the Union Home Minister, not PM or DoNER Minister [5].
Treating Purvodaya as a NE-only scheme — it originally encompassed eastern India incl. Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, WB; the NE-specific overlay is Ashtalakshmi [1][10].