NEW DELHI: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressing greater concentration on helping the northeastern states, Doordarshan has sanctioned a sum of Rs 11.22 crore this month for the year 2016-17 for twelve kendras in north east India.

The amount has been given from the reserve fund of DD’s IEBR (internal extra-budgetary resources), according to a directive issued by the DD Directorate on 1 September 2016.

All the kendras have been instructed by the Directorate to keep the expenditure within the limits set for the year and send a Monthly Expenditure Statement by the fifth of the next month.

The Kendras are Aizwal, Agartala, Dibrugarh, Gangtok, Guwahati, Imphal, Itanagar, Kohim, Shillong, Silchar,.Tura and the Programme Production Centre in Guwahati.

Despite announcements to the contrary, there was only a marginal increase in the budget ananoucement for Information and Broadcasting Ministry in February this year in the lump sum provision for projects/schemes for development of North-eastern areas including Sikkim to Rs 80 crore against Rs 75 crore last year