new delhi, Aug. 3 -- The Centre has drawn up a Rs.5,000 crore development plan for India's North-East region for FY27, with a sharp focus on improving connectivity and social infrastructure across border areas, two people familiar with the matter said. The plan envisages constructing about 270 km of roads, providing all-weather connectivity to 225 villages, and building or upgrading around 70 school infrastructure projects across the eight north-eastern states. The government expects the education projects to benefit about 292,000 students through facilities created with central support, these people said. The proposal also prioritizes healthcare infrastructure. The Centre plans to develop five hospitals equipped with modern healthcare facilities across the region. The hospitals are expected to serve more than 1.36 million people while helping five district hospitals reach the benchmark of at least 22 beds per 100,000 population. However, according to the first of the two people cited above, the locations of the proposed hospitals have yet to be finalized because consultations with the state governments are still underway. Queries sent to the ministries of finance and development of north-eastern region, the department of expenditure, and the chief secretaries of all eight north-eastern states remained unanswered till press time. Border push The spending plan comes as China continues to expand roads, villages, airports and other dual-use infrastructure along the frontier facing India's north-eastern states, intensifying New Delhi's efforts to strengthen its own border regions following heightened tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Over the past several years, Beijing has expanded highways, bridges, airports, rail links and so-called "border defence villages" across the Tibetan Plateau. India has responded by accelerating investments in roads, tunnels, telecommunications and public services on its side of the border. Experts said the strategy reflects a broader shift to treating border infrastructure as both a security imperative and a long-term economic investment. "The region's development must be viewed not merely as a border management priority, but as a long-term economic and strategic investment in India's future," said Nava Baro, founder, Northeast India Public Policy Forum, a Guwahati-based think tank. India's North-East comprises Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, and is home to about 45.8 million people, according to the 2011 Census. The proposed projects will be implemented through the Centre's two flagship programmes for the region-the Prime Minister's Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) and the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (Nesids). The Department of Expenditure has allocated Rs.2,306 crore for PM-DevINE and Rs.2,500 crore for Nesids for fiscal year 2027 (FY27)....