Imphal, Nov 19 (IANS) Union Minister for Development of the North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday reinforced the “One Sport, One State” approach and urged all Northeastern states to develop a comprehensive sports strategy focused on their respective specialised disciplines.

Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla and DoNER Minister Scindia, on Wednesday, co-chaired the third and final virtual meeting of the High-Level Task Force (HLTF) on Promotion of sports in the North-Eastern region (NER).

After the meeting, the DoNER Minister in a post on his X handle said that he emphasised the “One Sport, One State” approach, urging all participating states to focus on the development of a comprehensive sports strategy based on their chosen disciplines.

“Highlighted the need to focus on high-quality coaching, talent identification and technology-enabled training for our athletes, with infrastructure complementing the effort for a result-oriented roadmap for NER,” he said.

Scindia added: “Together, we are laying the foundation for the Northeast to emerge as India’s hub of high-performance sporting excellence”.

A Raj Bhavan official in Imphal said that the meeting reviewed the progress of ongoing initiatives and discussed the development of a coordinated framework to strengthen talent pathways and high-performance systems.

Deliberations further covered key components of sports ecosystem development, including scientific coaching methodologies, competition structures, last-mile infrastructure, and the establishment of high-performance centres and academies, he said.

States were encouraged to refine their priority disciplines and prepare comprehensive proposals reflecting their comparative strengths, existing ecosystems and long-term potential.

The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to advancing the sports landscape of the Northeast through coordinated planning, evidence-based strategies and close Centre-State collaboration.

Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Raksha Nikhil Khadse; Secretary, Ministry of Youth Affairs, Hariranjan Rao; Sports Ministers of Meghalaya and Mizoram; Chief Secretary of Manipur; Ministry of DoNER, and senior officers from the other Northeastern states attended the meeting virtually.

The DoNER ministry had constituted several High-Level Task Forces to identify key interventions and formulate actionable short-term, medium-term, and long-term strategies for the integrated development of the North East Economic Corridor.

The High-Level Task Forces were constituted following the 72nd plenary session of the North-Eastern Council (NEC) held in November last year in Agartala. Union Home Minister Amit Shah presided over the NEC plenary session.

–IANS

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