North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project

• 18 Dec 2020

Why in News

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the Revised Cost Estimate (RCE) of Rs. 6,700 crore for the North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project (NERPSIP).

• This is a major step towards economic development of the North Eastern Region through strengthening of Intra - State Transmission and Distribution systems.

Key Points

• North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project:
  
  • Background:
    
    • The Scheme was initially approved in December 2014 as a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Power.
  • Funded By:
    
    • The assistance of the World Bank fund and by the Government of India through the Budget support of the Ministry of Power on 50:50 basis except for the capacity building component for Rs. 89 crore, which will be entirely funded by the Government of India.
  • Implemented By:
    
    • The scheme is being implemented through Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID) in association with six beneficiary North Eastern States namely, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura and is targeted to be commissioned by December 2021.
    • POWERGRID is a 'Maharatna' Company operating under Ministry of Power, it is engaged in power transmission business with the responsibility for planning, implementation, operation and maintenance of Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS).
  • Maintenance:
    
    • After commissioning, the project will be owned and maintained by the respective North Eastern State Utilities.
  • Objective:
    
    • Government’s commitment for the total economic development of the North Eastern Region and to strengthen the Intra-State Transmission & Distribution Infrastructure in the North East Region.
  • Significance:
    
    • Implementation of this scheme will create a reliable power grid and improve NER States' connectivity to the upcoming load centers, and thus extend the benefits of the grid connected power to all categories of consumers of beneficiaries in the North Eastern Region.
    • The scheme shall also increase the per capita power consumption of these States, and shall contribute to the total economic development of the North-Eastern Region.
    • Hiring local manpower is generating a lot of employment for skilled and unskilled manpower of North-Eastern Region.
• Other Initiatives for North Eastern States:
  
  • North-East Industrial Development Scheme (NEIDS):
    
    • In order to promote employment in the North East States, the Government is incentivizing primarily the MSME Sector through this scheme.
  • International Tourism Mart (ITM):
    
    • It is organized annually with the objective of showcasing the largely untapped tourism potential of the North East region in the domestic and international markets.
    • 10% of the plan allocation of the Ministry of Tourism is marked for the NorthEast region.
    • There are also plans to hold an NER Tourism Mart where tour operators from all over the country can meet and the regional tourism can be showcased.
  • National Bamboo Mission:
    
    • The Mission envisages promoting holistic growth of the bamboo sector by adopting the area-based, regionally differentiated strategy. It aims to increase the area under bamboo cultivation and marketing.

Source:PIB