No talent shortage, only ecosystem gap: CM Sangma sets bigger UPSC goal for Meghalaya
Shillong, August 12
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said on Wednesday that the state has no shortage of talent to produce successful candidates in the Union Public Service Commission and other national competitive examinations, but stressed the need for a stronger ecosystem of training, mentorship, financial assistance and guidance.
Addressing the 'Ascent 2026' seminar organised by the Meghalaya Administrative Training Institute (MATI) at Mawdiangdiang in Shillong, Sangma added that the state government's CM-Inspire programme was aimed at creating sustained institutional support for aspirants.
"'There is no dearth of talent' in Meghalaya and the state could have produced 'much, much higher' numbers of candidates clearing national competitive examinations," he said.
Sangma added that the challenge was to bring stakeholders together, create the right environment and provide aspirants with proper guidance to help them achieve their individual goals as well as contribute to the state.
As part of the programme, the Chief Minister and other dignitaries distributed CM-Inspire cheques of Rs 50,000 each to seven candidates who cleared the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination.
Drawing a parallel with sports, Chief Minister Sangma cited the state government's STAR Programme, under which nearly 30,000 young people were screened across villages to identify sporting talent.
Ten athletes were eventually selected for specialised support, including education, nutrition, psychological counselling, physiotherapy, training and coaching.
He said the state government aims to nurture these athletes with the long-term objective of seeing one of them win an Olympic medal at the 2036 Games.
Sangma added that the same approach of identifying talent, setting ambitious targets and building support systems was being extended to competitive examinations.
"It's not just about one exam," he told aspirants, saying that there are around 20-30 major competitive examinations offering opportunities that many young people may not even be aware of.
The Chief Minister also urged aspirants to understand their motivation beyond simply clearing an examination and becoming an IAS officer.
Sharing his own experience of losing the 2004 election, Sangma said setbacks should be analysed rather than feared.
He noted that the state government was seeking to build long-term ecosystems for sports, entrepreneurship, innovation, STEM and competitive examinations.
"Failure is not in our hands. But not trying is definitely in our hands," Sangma said.
— IANS
Reader Comments
The sports analogy makes sense. Screening 30,000 kids to find 10 athletes took time, and the same patience is needed for civil services prep. But I worry about the dropout rate - so many aspirants give up after 2-3 attempts. Hope the ecosystem includes mental health support too 🙏
Good initiative but let's be honest - Rs 50,000 is not enough for UPSC prep in Delhi or even proper study material. The state needs to think bigger. Also, why only 7 candidates? If we're serious about "Ascent 2026", we need to support at least 50-100 aspirants every year.
The CM's point about losing the 2004 election is powerful. In Meghalaya, we shy away from failure too much. If we want more IAS officers, we need to teach our youth that clearing prelims but failing mains is just part of the journey, not the end of it.
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