Union Minister Amit Shah launched Vibrant Village Programme-II in Assam

Union Minister Amit Shah, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Ministry of Cooperation launched Vibrant Village Programme-II (VVP-II) in Nathanpur village of Cachar district, Assam to strengthen development in border areas.

• It was announced that villages on India’s borders will now become the country’s “first and best villages.”
• The focus of this initiative is to improve access to basic services, create sustainable livelihoods, enhance border security and support the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047.
• Shah said, “Villages on the border are no longer the last villages of India, they are the first villages of India. From this sacred land, we are starting a journey to make them number one in connectivity, education, healthcare, employment and development.”
• In the second phase of the programme, about 2,000 villages across more than 330 strategically important border blocks in 17 states and union territories bordering Pakistan and Bangladesh will be included, with an estimated cost of about ₹7,000 crore.
• In Assam, 140 villages across 26 blocks of nine border districts including Cachar, Sribhumi, Dhubri, South Salmara, Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, Tamulpur and Udalguri will benefit from the initiative.
• Explaining the project scope, Shah said the mission will ensure all-weather roads, uninterrupted electricity, mobile connectivity, piped drinking water, better healthcare outreach, educational infrastructure and livelihood opportunities in border areas.

About Vibrant Village Programme-II

• For this scheme, a total financial allocation of ₹6,839 crore has been made till Financial Year 2028-29 (FY29), with an estimated expenditure of about ₹3 crore per village.
• Coverage: It will include 1,954 border villages across 15 states and 2 union territories (UTs), including Arunachal Pradesh (AR), Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) (UT), Ladakh (UT), Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and West Bengal (WB).

Vibrant Village Programme (VVP)

• Vibrant Village Programme (VVP), approved on 15 February, 2023, is a central scheme aimed at comprehensive development of border villages, especially those along the China border, to improve quality of life and prevent migration.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched the programme on 10 April, 2023 in Kibithu, Arunachal Pradesh. Initial coverage (VVP-I): Focused on 662 villages across 46 blocks of 19 districts of Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Ladakh.
• The programme aims to develop border villages into developed, secure communities, promote tourism, provide internet/road connectivity and create livelihoods.
• It is designed to counter foreign (Chinese) infrastructure development near the border and strengthen the security grid, which Amit Shah often describes as transforming the “last villages” into India’s “first villages.”