Arunachal Pradesh Cabinet approves Rs 7,834 crore for 4 major schemes; 20% reservation for retired Agniveers in state police

The decision was taken in the State Cabinet meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Pema Khandu in Itanagar on Friday.

According to the CMO, Arunachal Pradesh, the State Cabinet approved cumulative investments of Rs 7,834 crore for the implementation of four CM Comprehensive Schemes for the period 2026-29.

"This includes an outlay of Rs 2,334 crore for Phase-II of the CM Comprehensive State Road Development Plan (CMCSRDP) for improvement of connectivity of District Headquarters Township Roads, DC/ADC/SDO headquarters and improvement and de-congestion of Capital Complex Roads. The Phase-II of the CMCSRDP aims to build on the success of Phase-I of the programme under which 67 roads and bridges were sanctioned with a cumulative outlay of Rs 899.58 crore during 2019-24," the CMO said in a press release.

"The Cabinet appreciated the completion of 62 projects under Phase-I of the scheme and issued directions that the remaining projects be completed by March 2027. In addition, an outlay of Rs 2,000 crore was approved for the CM Comprehensive State Rural Road Development Programme (CMCSRRDP) over the next 3 years for the construction of roads and bridges to provide all-weather connectivity to habitations not covered under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)," it added.

The Arunachal Pradesh Cabinet on Friday unanimously passed a resolution marking the historic occasion of 'Team Arunachal' completing 10 years in office under the leadership of Chief Minister Pema Khandu.

The Cabinet extended its warm congratulations to the Chief Minister and reaffirmed its collective commitment to peace, dignity, prosperity and development of the people of Arunachal Pradesh.

The resolution also joined the people of India in congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi on completing 4,399 days of continuous service as an elected Prime Minister on June 10, 2026, becoming the longest-serving elected Prime Minister for consecutive terms.

The Cabinet sincerely acknowledged the wholehearted and constant support of the Government of India in the development of the North Eastern region, especially Arunachal Pradesh, since 2014. It recorded that the past decade has brought a new dawn of hopes and aspirations for the State, guided by the mantra of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas' and the spirit of 'Reform, Perform and Transform'.

The Cabinet, reaffirming the vision of building a Viksit Arunachal Pradesh by 2047, pledged to continue working with unity, discipline, dedication, innovation and empathy. The resolution concluded with the commitment to build an Arunachal Pradesh that is Sundar, Swachh, Surakshit, Shikshit, Swasth and Samridh.

The State Cabinet also approved the investment of Rs 2,000 crore under the ambitious CM Comprehensive State Power Development Programme (CMCSPDP) for upgradation and modernisation of critical power backbone infrastructure to improve reliability of household electricity supplies, aiming at reducing AT & C losses in the State to 18% by March 2029 in a phased manner.

"The Cabinet was briefed on the success of Phase I of the Mission Shikshit Arunachal by 2029, under which Rs 3,112.50 crore was invested in the upgradation and enhancement of school infrastructure during the period 2023-26. Mission Shikshit Arunachal is a transformative programme, aiming for 100% saturation of school infrastructure gaps by 2029, a balanced Student-Teacher Ratio in schools, New Education Policy 2020 compliance and improved learning outcomes exceeding national benchmarks," the press release said.

"It has approved an additional outlay of Rs 1,500 crore for Phase II of Mission Shikshit Arunachal for the period 2026-29 for infrastructure gap-filling of left-out schools, along with enhanced focus on teacher training and capacity enhancement and enhanced real-time monitoring through Arunachal Vidya Nidhi (AVN) platform to improve learning outcomes for students. The cumulative investment of Rs 7,834 crore in the four CM Comprehensive Schemes aims at converging existing Central and State schemes and filling critical gaps in the infrastructure and education sectors. This represents one of the largest investments by the Pema Khandu Government in recent times towards upgrading and enhancing the infrastructure sector in Arunachal Pradesh," it added.

The State rollout of the E-HRMS 2.0 platform (Enterprise Human Resources Management System or Manav Sampada) was carried out during the meeting.

The E-HRMS 2.0 is an AI-powered platform that automates the entire employee lifecycle, streamlining operations from recruitment to retirement, thereby enhancing efficiency, transparency and accessibility for Government employees. The Cabinet gave directions for the expeditious adoption of E-HRMS 2.0 by all Departments in the State.

The Cabinet also approved the launch of the Chief Minister's Frontier Sainik School Scholarship Scheme to provide financial support to Arunachali students studying in 8 notified Sainik Schools and the Rashtriya Indian Military College, Dehradun.

It further approved the launch of an Indian Army-led mentorship programme through a collaborative officer-level coaching-cum-mentorship programme for Arunachal students. Building on the civil-military bonhomie existing in Arunachal Pradesh for decades, the Scheme aims to enable Arunachali youth to gain admission in Sainik and Military Schools and ultimately to become officers in the Indian Armed Forces, therefore fulfilling an important announcement during the 2026 State Budget.

Fulfilling another strategic announcement made during the State Budget of 2026, the State Cabinet approved the launch of the ARUN MSME Mission to provide revival and capacity upgradation support to 500 MSMEs per year. In addition, the Mission aims to provide support in market linkages, capacity enhancement and export assistance for MSMEs to further enhance local entrepreneurship, employment and economic transformation opportunities for the youth of Arunachal Pradesh, the release said.

The Cabinet approved the transformative Arunachal Human Capital and Economic Transformation Vision 2036 aimed at creating a future-ready workforce, globally competitive entrepreneurs and an innovation-driven economy aligned with local opportunities, national growth sectors and international labour market demand by 2036.

The Vision unveiled today aims to skill 1 lakh youths, create 10,000 entrepreneurs, facilitate 10,000 apprenticeships, enable 10,000 overseas placements, establish 100 industry partnerships and upgrade all 10 ITIs in the State to Modern Skill Hubs and Centres of Excellence.

The State Cabinet approved the reservation of 20% posts for retired Agniveers from Arunachal Pradesh in the constabulary and equivalent posts in the Arunachal Police, Arunachal Armed Police Battalion, Indian Reserve Battalion and Fire & Emergency Services, Mineral Guards, Forest Guards, Special Tiger Protection Force, Forester and Prison Warden in recruitment against vacancies. The Cabinet clarified that in case of insufficient candidates qualifying in the selection exam under ex-Agniveer quota, the remaining posts would be filled up from candidates under the normal APST quota, the release said.

This extension of reservation for retired Agniveers aims to recognise the valuable skills and discipline exhibited by them during the period of deployment in the Armed Forces and provide meaningful employment opportunities and support systems to enhance their career prospects within the State," said the press release.

The State Cabinet also approved the launch of the Arunachal Pradesh Apiculture and Honey Policy, 2026, aimed at transforming the State into a leading hub for beekeeping and honey production through the development of a sustainable, scientific, and commercially viable apiculture sector and positioning Arunachal honey as a premium, traceable product.

The Apiculture and Honey Policy aims to converge and integrate existing programmes and schemes of all Departments in the apiculture sector to significantly enhance farmers' and women SHG members' incomes and make Arunachal a leading producer of honey in the North East region.

It also approved significant measures to enhance the ease of doing business in the State for entrepreneurs and investors. The "Non-applicability of Trade Licence (for Statutory Licence Holders) Notification, 2026" approved today exempts businesses possessing valid statutory Licences under specified Central and State Laws from the need to obtain a separate Trade Licence for notified business activities. In addition, the Cabinet approved 56 items for exemption from Trade License Issuance to eliminate duplication of regulatory requirements while maintaining necessary oversight through the existing statutory licensing framework.

"The Cabinet also recommended the promulgation of the Arunachal Pradesh Fire and Emergency Services (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026, to amend the Arunachal Pradesh Fire and Emergency Services Act,2026 (Act No. 12 of2026). The proposed amendment seeks the deletion of the words 'National Building Code' from the Act in compliance with the Compliance Reduction and Deregulation Initiative of the Government of India aimed at reducing regulatory burden and improving ease of compliance. These twin measures align with the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat by creating a more efficient, business-friendly, and competitive regulatory environment," the CMO, Arunachal Pradesh, said in the press release.

The State Cabinet also approved the proposed amendment of Arunachal Pradesh Staff Selection Board (APSSB) Rules, 2018, to enhance the reserved list or wait list for each category of posts equal to 20% of the total vacancy or up to 5 candidates, whichever is higher, from the previous wait list of 10% of the total vacancy or 2 names. It also approved an enhancement in the operational period of the wait list from 6 months to 1 year.

The amendment will allow vacant posts to be filled from the waitlist in case the selected candidate does not join, resigns, dies or has her candidature cancelled within a period of 1 year or until publication of results of the next examination. This reform would create further job opportunities for youth appearing for the APSSB examination, enhance the overall efficiency of administration, and improve citizen service delivery.

Aiming to enhance emergency relief and disaster preparedness, the Cabinet approved the establishment of 6 new Fire Stations with state-of-the-art facilities, along with requisite manpower at Nyapin, Dambuk, Nari, Kaying, Jairampur and Menchuka, the release said.

The Cabinet approved the framing of a "Common Examination Scheme for Direct Recruitment to Group A and Group B, Technical posts (Gazetted, Non-Ministerial) Rules, 2026", to enable smooth and cost-effective conduct of recruitment examinations by the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission. The Cabinet also approved the enactment of the Arunachal Pradesh Advocates Protection Bill (Act), 2026, to act as a deterrent for the protection of the lives and properties of Advocates.

Once enacted, this would become the first Act in the State for the protection of advocates practising within the State. In addition, it approved the Arunachal Pradesh State Legal Services Authority, High Court Legal Services Committee and District Legal Services Authority (Officers and Employees) Service Rules, 2026 and the amendment of the Junior Librarian (Law) Recruitment Rules, 2020.

"Aiming to further enhance administrative functioning of various Departments of the State, the Cabinet approved proposals for creation of 36 posts of Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI), Group 'C', Non-Gazetted, Level-5 under the 1st and 2nd Arunachal Armed Police Battalion (AAPBn) and grant of special grade designation to Jail Warden, Jail Driver, Head Warden and Chief Head Warden of prisons and correctional administration," the press release said.

With the launch of Mission SURAKSHA (State Unified Response Against Drugs, Substance Harm & Addiction), the cabinet has announced a comprehensive mission-mode framework to strengthen Arunachal Pradesh's response to substance use and related health and social challenges.

Recognising the increasing complexity of substance use and its intersection with youth wellbeing, mental health, HIV, family welfare and community safety, the mission seeks to bring together prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, recovery and enforcement under a unified governance structure.

The initiative builds upon the State's ongoing investments in substance use prevention and treatment services, including opioid substitution therapy, anti-retroviral therapy, de-addiction and rehabilitation centres, community-led recovery initiatives and multi-sectoral coordination mechanisms.

Mission SURAKSHA will be anchored on the existing three pillars of Demand Reduction, Harm Reduction and Supply Reduction.

The Cabinet approved the establishment of coordinated implementation structures, including district-level task forces, SATARK mechanisms, Sankalp community reporting systems and rapid response/flying squad mechanisms, to facilitate prevention, treatment access, recovery support and coordinated action against substance abuse.

The Mission includes interventions such as prevention and awareness programmes, youth engagement initiatives, integrated recovery and after-care support systems, community-based reporting and vigilance platforms, and strengthened district-level enforcement and response mechanisms.

Through a whole-of-government and whole-of-community approach, including NGOs, civil societies, CBOs, panchayats and municipal bodies, the Mission aims to create a healthier, safer and drug-free Arunachal Pradesh. (ANI)