He said this while highlighting the various issues concerning to the state of Nagaland at the 70th Plenary of the North East Council (NEC) held in Guwahati, Assam.

He informed that the State generates only 26 MW against the peak requirement of around 115 MW. He urged the Council to include power in the thrust areas.

The Nagaland government has submitted a proposal to the Council for “Construction of 2.4MW Duilumroi HEP at Peren district” for gap funding and requested NEC to consider for sanction of the project, the governor said.

He added that power is critical for industrialization and technological advancements and for overall economic development.

Prof Mukhi further said that Nagaland is struggling with the problem of employability of the educated unemployed youth. He said the youth of today have high aspirations and expectations and when these aspirations are not met, frustration sets in and they are easily misled to take to crime and anti-national activities.

He maintained that most of the NE states are confronted with insurgent activities and if the region is to usher in peace and development, the youth must be provided with opportunities to lead productive lives.

Capacity building and skill development in the region can give gainful employment to large number of educated unemployed youth in various fields, he said.

Among the skills he listed out were tourism and hospitality, aviation, nursing, para -medics, wellness industry, music and entertainment, IT and the BPOs, sports, therapists and specialized skills in automobile sector and in the construction sector.

He also highlighted the various Naga tribes who have their own rich costumes, patterns and crafts to the Council, stating that Nagaland has immense potential to export readymade apparel, handlooms, handicrafts and textile products to South-east Asian countries.

He suggested the Council give due emphasis for development of loin-loom production of the NE States as a promotion of traditional industry.

The Governor pointed out that Nagaland is an agrarian state and the future of the State lies in exploiting the opportunities in agriculture and allied activities.

“Commercial crops like coffee and rubber needs to be given a big push. Horticulture is another area where the state has immense potential. Crops like orange, kiwi, passion fruit, cucumbers and pineapples are suited for the soil and climatic conditions of the state. Spices like ginger, turmeric and Naga King chilly are grown in abundance. Value addition has to be created and organic certification is necessary to fetch good prices,” he stated.

He also said the State is still struggling with poor internet connectivity and urged NEC to intervene in providing infrastructure for high-speed internet connectivity up to the village level in the entire region.

Prof Mukhi also shared about the launch of Nagaland Start-up Policy aimed at establishing Nagaland as a model start-up leader in the region. Under this policy, the state aims to facilitate growth of at least 500 start-ups in the next five years, with a focus on establishing innovative ‘Made in Nagaland’ products and services. In this regard, he called for the intervention of NEC in establishing an Innovation hub that can house all the start-ups under one roof on PPP mode.

Prof Mukhi further stated that while coaching plays a vital role for candidates in clearing competitive exams, most of the civil service aspirants from Nagaland cannot afford to go to New Delhi for coaching as the fees charged by these institutes are very high.

He urged the NEC to come forward in this field by tying up with a reputed coaching institute for providing online coaching classes at subsidized rates adding this will immensely help the civil service aspirants.

Mukhi further requested NEC to include sports as one of the thrust areas. Apart from creating sporting infrastructure, he said there is a need to create opportunities for developing the skills and providing exposure to young people at the national and international levels.

He also suggested NEC to organize junior level interstate football tournament in line with senior level Dr T Ao North East Football Tournament to provide necessary platform and exposure for young talents.