The National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj is the apex body for undertaking training, research, and action research and consultancy assignments in the rural development sector in India. It functions as an autonomous organisation supported by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. The Institute is located in the serene rural surroundings of Rajendranagar about 15 km away from the historic city of Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh. The mission of NIRD & PR is to facilitate rural development vigorously through governmental and non-governmental initiatives.

The North Eastern Regional Centre of the National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj(NIRD & PR-NERC) came into existence in July 1983 at Guwahati with the aim to orient its training and research activities to the specific needs and potentials of North Eastern States. The Centre is located at Jawaharnagar, Khanapara, adjacent to Assam Administrative Staff College and Veterinary College, Assam Agriculture University, Khanapara. It is at a distance of about 15 km from Guwahati Railway Station and Central ASTC Bus Stand and nearly 35 kms from Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport.

The North Eastern India has suffered from the problems of local disadvantage, physical isolation, political unrest, infrastructure bottlenecks and institutional decay. The region which is highly rich in bio-diversity, endowed with vast natural resources, fertile valley and inaccessible terrain has been cursed attracting more intervention in planning process. The recent years have witnessed a massive national emphasis on providing not just financial, but also professional support to the region in various fields. It has been felt that rural development in this region suffers from various inadequacies including lack of trained manpower and training infrastructure for undertaking orientation and refresher course for development personnel. It is also observed that due to physical distance and difficulties of communicating, development functionaries of northeastern states are unable to take full advantage of training facilities offered by NIRD & PR and other training institutions outside northeast. In view of all this, the National Institute of Rural Development decided to establish the North Eastern Regional Centre in Guwahati to orient its training and research activities to the needs, problems and potentials of North Eastern Region.

• Conduct and assist in the organization of training programmes, conference, seminars and workshops for senior development executives;
• Undertake aid, promote and coordinate research on its own or through other agencies
• Analyze and find out solutions to problems encountered in planning and implementation of the programmes for rural development, decentralized governance, Panchayati Raj and related issues; and
• Disseminate information through periodicals, reports and other publications in furtherance of the basic objectives of the Institute.