The proposed Vibrant North East 2025, scheduled to be held in Guwahati next month under the aegis of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), is a laudable initiative for investment promotion in the region by showcasing its potential in different sectors. The disconnect between such showcase initiatives and actual utilisation of funds earmarked for rapid infrastructure development in the region remains a perpetual paradox. The news that eight states in the region are still to spend Rs 9,384 crores allocated under various central sector schemes under the DoNER Ministry – published in Tuesday’s edition of this newspaper – speaks volumes about this grim reality. Ironically, these central sector schemes are fully funded by the central government, and the states are only required to ensure timely submission of detailed project reports, expeditious project execution and submission of utilisation certificates for timely release of fund instalments. For a region deficient in infrastructure and various other development indices, the onus lies more on individual states than on the DoNER Ministry to fast-track project implementation. Expansion of highways, commissioning of new railway lines, electrification of railway tracks, establishment of new hospitals, and construction of educational buildings and stadiums reflect the tangible progress made in recent years. Yet, accumulated development deficits, resulting from long years of neglect in the past, demand the states build institutional capacity for a faster pace of fund utilisation to match the requirement for big-ticket investors. The North-East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS) with its two components – NESIDS (Roads) and NESIDS (Other Than Road Infrastructure); the Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for the North-East Region (PMDevINE); and Special Packages funded by the Ministry cover various infrastructure, social and livelihood development projects across various sectors such as Agriculture & Allied, Roads, Health, Tourism, Education, Sports, Handloom & Handicraft, etc. Judicious and timely utilisation of funds earmarked and allocated for these projects is a strategic need to unlock the region’s potential in trade, commerce, and tourism trapped in historical neglect. Altogether, 54 central ministries earmarking 10% of their annual budgets for expenditure in the region with the DoNER Ministry as the nodal ministry was a pragmatic decision to undo the historic neglect in development of infrastructure in this strategic region. Apart from ensuring that there is no dearth of funds for pushing infrastructure and socio-economic development in a big way, the central sector schemes sent out strong signals about the region’s strategic importance and untapped potential as a hub of growth in South and Southeast Asia. The Rising North East-Investors Summit 2025 organized in New Delhi in May, drew investment proposals worth Rs. 4.48 lakh crore through Memoranda of Understanding (MoU), letters of intent, and qualified leads from private investors, public sector undertakings, and major industrial conglomerates, according to information provided by the Ministry to the parliament, which is indicative of the region’s visibility and strategic importance for investment among public and private investors. Expeditious and timely execution of the projects funded under central sector schemes and various other infrastructure and development projects taken up with fund contribution by the NE states or funded by the states is critical to sustain the momentum gained through various showcase initiatives of the ministry or the states in the region. Evolving geopolitics in the neighbouring countries have overshadowed some of the cross-border projects aimed at deepening bilateral and multilateral cooperation for trade, commerce and tourism in the region. Nevertheless, the region, as a whole, offers a strategic market for its rich natural resources and cultural capital, which investors are increasingly keen to tap, which the NE states cannot afford to miss. The delay in project execution runs the risk of investors losing their interest for the lack of required infrastructure and logistics support. The perpetual underutilisation of funds points towards the ineffectiveness of routine review of the projects, which often fail to address issues such as gaps in interdepartmental coordination or lack of institutional capacity arising from the absence of updated technology and the non-availability of a pool of skilled and trained professionals. The review mechanism shifting from paperwork of ministry or department officials issuing reminders for submission of projects, utilisation certificates, etc. to comprehensive and real-time monitoring of the tangible progress in project execution is crucial for meaningful and result-orientated reform. The ownership of the states in the central sector projects plays the crucial role. Implementing departments or agencies of the states looking at the DoNER projects as passive beneficiaries of fully funded central government projects poses bottlenecks in accelerating the pace of infrastructure development. The real challenge for the states and their departments implementing the DoNER Ministry projects lies in going beyond the procedural compliance in project execution and playing an active role in meeting the target dates. Recalibration of the roles of the NE states as cocreators of national assets under central sector projects is the urgent need of the hour for the required reforms.