LAC, China on mind, PM Modi to visit Northeast for second time this month

Modi's visit to Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura comes amid the Centre's renewed focus on the region, with India's neighbouring nations Bangladesh and Myanmar in ferment. Archis Mohan writes

On his visit to Arunachal Pradesh on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay foundation stones for multiple development and road-connectivity projects worth over ₹5,100 crore, including a state-of-the-art convention centre at Tawang, which lies close to India’s Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. 

He will visit Tripura later in the day. 

Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh will be his first after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin on August 31. At that meeting, the Prime Minister underlined the importance of peace and tranquillity on the border areas for continued development of bilateral relations. 

According to a government press release issued on Sunday, in the “frontier district of Tawang”, the convention centre, located at over 9,820 feet, “will serve as a landmark facility to host national and international conferences, cultural festivals, and exhibitions”. 

“With a capacity to host over 1,500 delegates, the Centre will meet global standards and support the tourism and cultural potential of the region,” it said. 

China has in the past claimed Tawang to be its territory, which India rejects. There have been clashes between the two armies in the Tawang sector over the years, the most recent being on December 9, 2022. 

On February 15, 2023, the Centre had approved the “Vibrant Villages Programme” for the comprehensive development of 662 villages in 46 blocks abutting India’s northern border in 19 districts in Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and Ladakh. Of these villages, 455 are in Arunachal, 75 are in Himachal Pradesh, and the others are in Sikkim (46), Uttarakhand (51) and Ladakh (35). 

The scheme, which was viewed as a response to China developing “model villages” on its side of the LAC, envisages focused areas of intervention in the select villages for creating opportunities for livelihood generation through tourism and cultural heritage, skill development and entrepreneurship, and developing cooperative societies. 

The interventions also include providing road connectivity to unconnected villages, village infrastructures, health facilities, education infrastructure, energy including renewable energy, and television and telecom connectivity. 

“The objective of the programme is to create sufficient incentives for people to stay on in the selected villages,” the government told Parliament during its monsoon session in August. On April 2, 2025, the government approved an outlay of ₹6,839 crore till FY29. 

India and China share a disputed border in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh. At their 24th round of the Special Representatives’ dialogue on the Boundary Question in New Delhi on August 19, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had agreed to set up an expert group “to explore early harvest in boundary delimitation in the India-China border areas” and creating general level mechanisms in the eastern and middle sector, which refers to the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal and Sikkim. 

According to sources, the next India-China corps commander-level meeting on the issue is scheduled soon. 

At their meeting in Tianjin on August 31, Modi and Xi had “recognised the important decisions taken by the two Special Representatives in their talks” on August 19, and “agreed to further support their efforts.” 

Modi’s visits to Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura come amid the Centre’s renewed focus on the Northeast, with India’s bordering countries of Bangladesh and Myanmar in ferment. He visited Mizoram, Manipur, and Assam on September 13 and 14. 

In Arunachal Pradesh, he will lay the foundation stones of two major hydropower projects, worth over ₹3,700 crore, in Itanagar. The Heo Hydro Electric Project (240 Mw) and Tato-I Hydro Electric Project (186 Mw) will be developed in the Siyom sub-basin of the state. 

The Prime Minister will also launch multiple key infrastructure projects, worth over ₹1,290 crore, catering to various sectors including connectivity, health, fire safety, and working women’s hostels. 

These initiatives are expected to catalyse economic activities, improve the quality of life, and enhance connectivity in the region, the government said. 

He will address a public meeting in Itanagar and also interact with local taxpayers, traders, and industry representatives to discuss the impact of the recent rationalisation in rates of goods and services tax (GST). 

According to reports, Modi could also take stock of the progress of work on the 1,830-km Frontier Highway, or NH-913, a ₹42,000 crore project, for a two-lane road running adjacent to the India-China LAC, from Tawang district’s Nafra in the west to Vijaynagar in Changlong district. 

It is expected to improve connectivity in the border region for security forces and residents alike and help tap trade and tourism potential. China has been constructing roads on its side of the border for some years. 

In Tripura, Modi will inaugurate development work on the “Mata Tripura Sundari Temple Complex”, located in Udaipur town, Gomati district.