With just one quarter left in the financial cycle, most of the new initiatives announced in the Budget Speech for the 2025–26 financial year, presented by Nagaland Chief Minister Dr Neiphiu Rio in the State Assembly on March 6, 2025, are yet to translate into visible implementation. (Illustration generated using AI tools.)
A couple on target, most off the mark
Moa Jamir
Dimapur | January 7
With just one quarter left in the financial cycle, a review of the Nagaland Budget 2025–26 showed that only a limited number of new initiatives announced in the budget had translated into visible implementation.
An analysis of publicly available records indicates that the majority of initiatives remain at the announcement or proposal stage, largely confined to the budget speech, with little to no evidence of rollout or implementation available in the public domain so far.
Select schemes show early movement
Among the new announcements, the Nagaland Skill Mission recorded the most tangible progress. Rolled out as the Nagaland Skill & Entrepreneurship Development Mission (NSEDM), the programme was launched with a live portal, partner institutions engaged, and training activities initiated.
The stated objective was to empower 5,000 youth in Nagaland with market-driven skills and create sustainable employment opportunities.
The NSEDM portal indicated that registration began on June 9, 2025, though information on outcomes or enrolment figures was not available.
The Nagaland Solar Power Mission also moved into early implementation, with its official launch in April, notification of a subsidy framework under the PM Surya Ghar scheme, and awareness programmes conducted across districts. However, details on applications received and the status of implementation were likely to be available only in the next budget cycle.
Meanwhile, an AI Centre of Excellence for skilling was launched in November at the at the Nagaland Tool Room & Training Centre (NTTC), Dimapur.
However, it remained unclear whether this aligned fully with the budget’s original vision, as funds for such purposes were reportedly allocated to the Information Technology and Communication Department, while the centre at NTTC Dimapur appeared to be a CSR-funded initiative.
Major proposals remain on paper
Several other high-profile announcements had not shown publicly verifiable progress. These included the Nagaland Tourism, Hospitality and Transport Scheme, the Drone Training and Logistics Programme, the Chief Minister’s Fellowship Programme, and the Living Morung Initiative, for which no guidelines, notifications or beneficiary enrolments were reported.
Similarly, proposals to expand banking facilities in 20 unbanked development blocks, roll out a Rs 15 crore inter-state border area development initiative, and install RFID posts for e-way bill compliance remained at the policy-intent stage.
The budget announcement to induct over 40 new buses into the Nagaland State Transport fleet and upgrade facilities at five NST stations was also not supported by public confirmation of procurement or deployment. The proposed Nagaland Venture Fund, to be set up in collaboration with SIDBI and NEDFi, was yet to be constituted.
Overall, of the 13 major new initiatives assessed from the 2025–26 budget, only two had clearly moved into implementation, with the rest either unclear or unimplemented as per information available in the public domain.
Besides a couple of headlining initiatives, sector-wise allocations for the year 2025–26 and their implementation status were not reviewed in the assessment.
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