SHILLONG, AUG 12: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Tuesday said the state’s focus is now on building the right ecosystem for competitive exam aspirants, asserting that talent is not the issue.
“The state does not lack the talent but the ecosystem of bringing these talents together and providing them with the guidance and support was not there,” Sangma said at ‘Ascent 2026’, a seminar on UPSC and other competitive exams held at MATI Campus, Mawdiangdiang.
He compared the new push to the STAR sports program, which screened 30,000 youth and is training top athletes for the 2036 Olympics with support in education, nutrition and coaching.
“Similarly, CM-Aspire aims to support UPSC aspirants by providing the ecosystem that will help them successfully crack the examinations at different levels by providing them the guidance, training and financial support,” he said.
At the event, the CM handed over CM-Aspire cheques of ₹50,000 each to seven candidates who cleared the UPSC Civil Services Prelims. He also inaugurated a Digital Learning Lab at MATI.
Urging students to set clear goals, he said: “We need to have goals and targets with a clear vision of what we want to achieve.”
He called for a stronger culture of innovation, sports and entrepreneurship.On governance, Sangma described it as “an infinite game with ongoing goals” and stressed that political leadership must provide vision while officials ensure execution and monitoring.
He also motivated aspirants to stay resilient: “Success or failure is not in our hands but to regret that we have not tried and given our best efforts is definitely in our hands.”
MATI Director General Cyril Diengdoh and Director Swapnil Tembe attended the program.
Tembe spoke on strategies to improve Meghalaya’s UPSC results.
The CM said the government will take feedback to strengthen CM-Aspire and create pathways for Meghalaya youth to take up leadership roles in nation building.
By Our Reporter
