4 Jun 2026Polity & Governance3 questions

Union Home Minister Amit Shah Chairs 73rd Plenary Session of North Eastern Council (NEC) in Shillong

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Article summary

Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired the 73rd Plenary Session of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in Shillong, Meghalaya, marking a significant high-level engagement with the development and security architecture of India's Northeast. The NEC, established under the North Eastern Council Act, 1971, is the apex-level body for economic and social planning in the eight northeastern states — Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura. The session serves as a platform to review ongoing development projects, address inter-state issues, and align regional priorities with national schemes. The NEC functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs and plays a critical role in bridging infrastructure, connectivity, and governance gaps in a strategically sensitive border region. For UPSC aspirants, this event underscores the importance of statutory regional bodies, cooperative federalism, and India's Act East Policy in the context of Northeast development.

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recallTests whether you read the article and retained key facts.

applicationTests whether you can apply the concept to a new scenario.

analysisTests whether you can reason across multiple related facts.

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Polity & GovernanceRecallEasy

Q1. With reference to the North Eastern Council (NEC), which one of the following statements is correct?

AThe NEC was established under the North Eastern Council Act, 1971, and Sikkim was included as its eighth member state through an amendment in 2002.

BThe NEC was established under the North Eastern Council Act, 1971, and has comprised eight states since its inception, including Sikkim.

CThe NEC functions under the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) and is chaired by the Union Minister for that ministry.

DThe NEC is a constitutional body whose headquarters is located in Guwahati, Assam, and it was operationalised in 1975.

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Polity & GovernanceApplicationMedium

Q2. A parliamentary committee examining Centre-state coordination mechanisms in India's Northeast is reviewing the institutional mandates of three bodies: the North Eastern Council (NEC), the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), and the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA). Which of the following characterisations correctly distinguishes these three bodies?

ANEC is a statutory body for regional planning under the Home Ministry; DoNER is a Union Ministry focused on Northeast development created in 2001; NEDA is a political alliance and not a governmental or statutory body.

BNEC is a constitutional body under the Home Ministry; DoNER is a statutory authority under the Finance Ministry; NEDA is a non-governmental organisation for Northeast civil society.

CNEC is a statutory body under the DoNER Ministry; DoNER was carved out of the Home Ministry in 2001 and now supervises NEC; NEDA is a statutory political coordination body under the Election Commission.

DNEC is a statutory body under the Home Ministry with its headquarters in Guwahati; DoNER was established in 1971 alongside NEC; NEDA is a political alliance with no developmental mandate.

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Polity & GovernanceAnalysisHard

Q3. Consider the following statements regarding the North Eastern Council (NEC) and its role in India's federal and strategic architecture: 1. The NEC is a statutory body whose plenary sessions constitute the highest decision-making forum of the council, bringing together Chief Ministers, Governors, and Union Ministers in a combined vertical and horizontal federal dialogue. 2. The NEC's developmental agenda is insulated from strategic and security considerations because its mandate under the NE Council Act, 1971, is confined exclusively to regional economic planning. 3. The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), created in 2001, subsumed the NEC's functions and became the apex body for Northeast governance, with NEC reduced to an advisory role. 4. The Northeast region's borders with five countries — China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal — make NEC plenary deliberations relevant to India's Act East Policy beyond purely domestic developmental concerns. Which of the statements given above are correct?

A1 and 4 only

B1, 2, and 4 only

C2 and 3 only

D1, 3, and 4 only

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