‘Pride of Hills’: Centre earmarks Rs 25,000 crore for hill states; Arunachal gets Rs 4,900 crore

A new financial assistance component titled Pride of Hills has been introduced under the Special Assistance for Capital Investment (SASCI) framework, with a total outlay of Rs 25,000 crore aimed at supporting nine Himalayan states.

The initiative targets long-standing structural challenges in hill regions, including difficult terrain, limited connectivity, low population density and constrained revenue generation.

Officials said these factors have historically weakened fiscal indicators in such states, leading to higher dependence on central transfers and relatively lower own tax revenues.

The scheme focuses on boosting capital expenditure and easing financial stress by supporting committed liabilities, with allocations made over and above existing SASCI provisions for 2026–27.

Arunachal Pradesh has been assigned the largest share at Rs 4,900 crore. Other allocations include Himachal Pradesh (Rs 3,920 crore), Nagaland (Rs 3,880 crore), Uttarakhand (Rs 3,460 crore), Tripura (Rs 3,450 crore), Manipur (Rs 2,400 crore), Meghalaya (Rs 2,070 crore), Sikkim (Rs 820 crore) and Mizoram (Rs 100 crore).

Reacting to the announcement, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said in a post that the funding would strengthen the state’s fiscal position. “My heartfelt gratitude to our visionary Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji and Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman Ji for allocating Rs. 25,000 Cr. under a new SASCI component ‘Pride of Hills’ for 9 Himalayan States,” he wrote.

He added that “the allocation of Rs 4,900 Cr. for Arunachal Pradesh will help us improve fiscal stability and invest further in creating revenue generating assets.”

The government expects the additional funding to accelerate infrastructure creation and improve long-term economic sustainability across the hill states.