NEFA stood for North East Frontier Agency, which was the administrative designation for Arunachal Pradesh before it became a full-fledged state in 1987. The agency was created in 1954 to administer the North-East Frontier region. The term 'Frontier' refers to the border area, and 'Agency' indicated its administrative status before statehood. NEFA is an important historical reference for understanding the administrative evolution of northeastern India.