In Budget 2026, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled a focused push to position the North-East as a major spiritual and cultural tourism destination, announcing a new scheme to develop Buddhist circuits across six North-Eastern states. The initiative spans Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura, with the aim of strengthening pilgrimage tourism while preserving the region’s deep-rooted Buddhist heritage.
The scheme focuses on conservation of temples and monasteries, development of pilgrimage interpretation centres, improved connectivity, and upgraded pilgrim amenities to support year-round tourism.
Complementing this cultural push, the Budget also announced 4,000 electric buses for the North-East, reinforcing sustainable mobility and last-mile access for tourists and locals alike. Together, these measures signal a dual strategy, heritage-led tourism growth paired with green infrastructure, positioning the North-East as both spiritually significant and future-ready.
