The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER), North Eastern Council (NEC) and Indian Institute of Management Shillong signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for continuing the operation of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Centre for Policy Research and Analysis on 13th February 2024 at NEC Secretariat, Shillong.

MDoNER informed that the Centre that was created by a tripartite agreement on 15th October 2016 is aimed to emerge as a state-of-the-art center to assist the states of North East India and the implementing agencies to plan and executive the projects properly, promote innovations and functions as repository of best practices in the region.

Speaking at the occasion Prof D P Goyal, Director, IIM Shillong expressed his happiness and reflected upon the rich legacy of the late President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and his vision of development. He highlighted the key initiatives and interventions made by Dr Kalam Centre in recent years. He stressed that the extension of the MoU would further deepen the relation between the three important agencies and strengthen the commitment towards development of north eastern region.

Moses Chalai, Secretary NEC expressed his satisfaction on how the Centre has emerged as per the expectation. He urged the Centre to work on deliberate on the policies, guidelines of the central government as per the aspiration of the region to keep them dynamic. He expresses happiness in completing the construction of the administrative building of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Centre which was sponsored by Ministry of DoNER through NEC. He drew the attention of MDoNER for a formal inauguration of the centre.

Chanchal Kumar, Secretary, MDoNER highlighted the need for introducing North East Development Fellows through Dr Kalam Centre from IIM Shillong which will have a significant impact in administration and bringing good governance in the region. He assured all possible support from MDoNER in developing the centre.

Atul Kulkarni, Member, Board of Governors, IIM Shillong who was present virtually, underlined the importance of the Centre in meeting the aspirations of the region, be it entrepreneurship, education, policy development or training, and facilitating the state government in delivering good governance.

The Ministry said that with the extension of MoU, Dr. Kalam Centre will work under a number of key areas, including 1. Training and Development 2. Research and Consultancy 3. Policy Advocacy 5. Knowledge Dissemination and 5. Civic Engagement, with the following objectives:

• To emerge as a ‘think tank’ for the North Eastern Region (NER) through application of the best management practices, ideas providing management framework, outlook and business models for positioning the NER as an important contributor for national growth.
• To provide inputs on efficiency and sustainability of resource utilization in the NER.
• To provide framework on implementation of policies and programmes of MDoNER in its mission of accelerating the pace of socio-economic development of the NER and assist MDoNER/ NEC in developing a long term vision for overall development of NER in consultation with other institutions in NER.
• To promote Human Resource Development in the region by assisting institutions in developing curriculum, course design and capacity building of officials involved in implementation of policies and programmes of both Central and State Governments.
• To network with other institutions of excellence in various subject areas relevant to the development of the NER and to establish an institutional network for collaborative research, analysis and consultancy etc.
• To undertake research and analysis on the development agenda of the NER jointly with MDoNER, NEC and states or individually and identify gaps in the development programmes/ schemes in the villages of NER for its effective implementation.
• To support in stimulating economic development in NER through innovation and entrepreneurship in the potential sectors.
• To identify interventions needed for steady export growth from NER by gathering market intelligence.
• To assist in generating new ideas and knowledge in all the sectors for adoption in NER.
• Dr Kalam Centre and the State-of-the-art Resource Centre in NEC will work on mutually