Union Minister for Communications and Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER), Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, undertook a one-day visit to Imphal, Manipur, reinforcing the Government of India’s commitment to accelerating development in the region.
This marks the first high-level ministerial visit to Manipur since Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah’s visit, highlighting the Centre’s continued focus on the state’s progress.
DoNER Will Be Facilitator for Manipur’s Growth
As the Minister for DoNER, Scindia reiterated the Centre’s role as a proactive enabler of Manipur’s growth journey. “We want to be partners in progress with Manipur,” he said, assuring full support from the Ministry in fast-tracking developmental priorities and addressing challenges on the ground.
Meeting with Governor, DoNER Officials, and Manipur State Government
During his visit, Scindia chaired a comprehensive review meeting with Governor of Manipur Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla, senior officials from the Government of Manipur, and representatives from MDoNER. The discussions centered around aligning state and central efforts to ensure seamless delivery of key infrastructure and welfare initiatives. With support from the Governor, the Minister also directed concerned departments to expedite progress, resolve bottlenecks, and maintain transparency and efficiency in project execution.
Minister Scindia also underlined the vast potential of Manipur across multiple sectors—particularly tourism, sports, handloom, and infrastructure. These sectors, he noted, have the capacity to drive economic growth and enhance employment in Manipur.
An in-depth analysis was presented to highlight Manipur’s comparative and competitive advantages relative to other Indian states by MDoNER.
”North East has the potential to produce Olympic-level athletes”: Scindia
As part of his visit, Minister Scindia also participated in a High-Level Sports Task Force Meeting chaired by Manipur Governor Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla, with Mizoram CM Lalduhoma, Nagaland Deputy CM T.R. Zeliang, and Meghalaya officials in attendance. Lauding Mizoram to be the first state for granting industry status to sports, the Minister outlined a two-pronged strategy for sports development in the North East—one, grassroots talent identification and two, honing excellence in coaching. Emphasizing that infrastructure development such as Stadiums comes last in the sequence, he drew from Brazil’s model of nurturing raw talent and stressed the need for coaching centers with region-specific pedagogy, public-private-partnership (PPP) investments, and a sharper, strategic focus on sportswomen. With numerous sports projects in pipeline in the region, Scindia urged state governments to move beyond comfort zones and prepare and spot athletes from the villages and prepare a future-ready sports ecosystem in the region for Olympics 2036.
Minister Scindia urged all stakeholders to work in alignment with the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of transforming the North East into the growth engine of a Viksit Bharat.
– “Partners in Progress” – Scindia reaffirms support to Manipur’s growth agenda
– As Minister of Development of North Eastern Region, Scindia chairs review meeting with Governor and State Officials in Manipur
– Scindia also participated in High-Level Task Force on Sports, said “State Governments must step out of comfort zones to identify and skill grassroots talent in sports”.
