Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla said Nagaland’s Goods and Services Tax growth reached 37%, surpassing the national average, in his address to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly.
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KOHIMA — Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Monday said that the state’s GST collections as of January 31, 2026 stood at INR 987.38 crore, surpassing the 2025–26 target of INR 949 crore.
This enabled Nagaland to record the highest GST growth rates in the country at 37% up to December 2025, significantly above the national average of 6.8%.
Delivering his maiden address on the first day of the Eighth Session of Nagaland Legislative Assembly, the governor attributed the achievement to systemic, technology-driven and data-led reforms undertaken by the government.
Related: From health cover to highways: Governor Bhalla maps Nagaland’s growth story
On the infrastructure front, he said that the department of Power is constructing a 220/132/33kV substation with associated transmission lines at Tsitrongse (Diezephe) under the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region-sanctioned PM-DeVINE scheme at a cost of INR 132.37 crore.
Scheduled for completion by September 2026, the project will enhance power supply capacity for Dimapur, Chümoukedima, Niuland and Peren districts. Additionally, the transmission capacity of the 132/66/33kV, 200 MVA Nagarjan Substation in Dimapur has been upgraded to 350 MVA.
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The governor also announced that the department of New and Renewable Energy will install 400 solar water pumps to boost agricultural productivity and farmers’ incomes.
Under Jal Shakti Abhiyan, he informed that the Water Resources department is creating 42 water bodies across nine districts at a cost of INR 150 lakh.
An Integrated Model Settled Farming Project is also being implemented at Mongsenyimti village in Mokokchung district with an allocation of INR 150 lakh.
In tourism sector, the 26th edition of Hornbill Festival drew over 2 lakh visitors, including 2,528 international tourists. Hornbill Extension events held across seven districts recorded a footfall of 65,073.
A major milestone was the inauguration of The Unity Plaza at Kisama on December 1, 2025, with a seating capacity of 7,000. Bhalla added that the department plans to develop iconic tourist destinations under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) initiative.
Highlighting efforts to strengthen disaster resilience, Bhalla said that the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority established ELIONA, a state-level AI supercomputing facility for real-time climate risk analysis, and launched the Safer Nagaland Weather Mobile App for early warnings.
On capacity building, the governor informed that the Personnel & Administrative Reforms (P&AR) department signed an MoU with the Capacity Building Commission under Karmayogi Bharat to enhance the state’s training ecosystem.
Sharing the national vision of Viksit Bharat @2047, he said that a high-level steering committee headed by the chief secretary has been constituted to formulate the Viksit Nagaland @2047 document, supported by five sectoral working groups.
On law and order, Bhalla appreciated the efforts of the police and security forces, stating that in 2025, 157 cases were registered under the NDPS Act, leading to the arrest of 260 persons.
He added that the police continue to strengthen the cyber crime cell and utilise the national cyber crime reporting portal for real-time monitoring and case tracking.
He further informed that the Ministry of Home Affairs has sanctioned the installation of over 1,400 AI-enabled ANPR and CCTV cameras in Dimapur and Kohima to enhance surveillance and curb drug trafficking.
The governor added that administrative infrastructure has been strengthened with the inauguration of the DC office complex at Shamator on January 16, 2026, and the completion of ADC offices at Akuluto, Tening and Seyochung, among others.