Interaction session of North east students with Ministry of DoNER organized today 

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the youth from all over the country should visit and stay in the North east to understand the culture and other aspects of the North East. He was speaking during an interactive session of North east students with Ministry of DoNER here today.

The students were on a conducted tour organised by the Ministry of DoNER to take them around and acquaint them with various offices of Northeast Ministry as well as other Ministries. The students were informed about various steps taken by the Ministry for the welfare of the North east. The aim of the visit was to make the students of North east aware about the schemes and initiatives taken by the DoNER Ministry for the people of north east. This was the first such visit organised by the Ministry. More than 100 North east students from the Delhi University and the Jawaharlal Nehru University participated in this visit and took a round of the Ministry.

Lauding the student community from Northeast as the cultural ambassadors of their respective States, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the contribution made by these young boys and girls in the social arena within and outside the university campus has actually given them a Pan-India persona and made them an essential component of mainstream India’s onward march to become a global power. He said, some of the best faculty and some of the best research scholars in some of the most reputed colleges and universities in Delhi and other important cities hail from Northeast.

Calling upon the youth of Northeast to own the Union Ministry of DoNER and become active participants in the programmes and activities of the Ministry, Dr Jitendra Singh said, in today’s age of public participation, a region based Ministry like DoNER will not be able to fulfill its objectives in toto without inputs and feedback from the youth of the region who are the most crucial stakeholders for any development programme for the region. He informed that the DoNER Ministry headquarters in Vigyan Bhawan has started a new hi-tech online “e- Portal” for submission, surveillance and follow up of development projects relating to Northeast falling under the category of Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resource (NLCPR) in order to facilitate the participation of civil society and at the same time to ensure transparency and accountability.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, soon an institutionalised mechanism will be developed to involve youth in the decision making processes of the DoNER Ministry because he is convinced that the suggestions and inputs provided by these young minds are always unaffected, unbiased and uninfluenced and hence extremely valuable. He said that the people of north east have contributed to a lot to India by their skills and they are excelling in all walks of life. He said that the students from North east have enriched the Delhi’s academic life. He also informed that for the first time the Jamia Millia Islamia University is going to start a Post Graduate course on North-east from the coming session.

While appreciating the efforts taken by the Ministry of DoNER, the students said that quality of education needs to be improved in the North east states and the Government schemes should also reach the remote areas of the North east. The students also gave their suggestions and raised certain issues related to the quality of education in North east.

The participants also suggested that such interactions should be more frequently organized with equal participation of the students from North-east and other parts of the country, so that it can provide a common platform for them to interact.

Shri Naveen Verma, Secretary, DoNER and senior officials of the Ministry were also present on the occasion.