Shillong, August 12: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Tuesday reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to nurturing young talent for the civil services and other competitive examinations, as he attended “Ascent 2026,” a seminar aimed at building a support system for aspirants of UPSC and state-level exams, at the MATI Campus in Mawdiangdiang.
The event, organised by the Meghalaya Administrative Training Institute (MATI), also saw the distribution of CM-INSPIRE cheques to successful candidates, underlining the government’s continuing push to convert the state’s youth potential into tangible achievement.
Addressing a gathering of aspirants, students, teachers and parents, the Chief Minister commended MATI for organising the seminar, calling it a crucial step in giving direction to the state’s vision of producing more successful UPSC candidates. He was categorical that Meghalaya does not suffer from a shortage of talent, but rather from the absence of a system that identifies, guides and supports that talent.
To illustrate the point, he drew a parallel with the state’s STAR sports programme, which scouted top athletic talent from a pool of 30,000 young people and is now grooming them through structured education, nutrition and training, with an eye on Olympic success by 2036. The CM-INSPIRE initiative, he said, is built on the same philosophy — identifying UPSC aspirants early and backing them with mentorship, training and financial assistance to help them clear examinations at various stages.
The Chief Minister also spoke at length on leadership and governance, describing it as an ongoing, evolving process rather than a fixed destination — what he called “an infinite game” with continuous goals. He explained that political leadership is responsible for shaping vision and policy direction, while bureaucrats and officials bring the expertise needed to translate that vision into actionable outcomes. He emphasised that sustained monitoring and course correction are essential to make governance effective.
In a more personal segment of his address, the Chief Minister shared reflections from his own journey — on setbacks, resilience and staying anchored to a clear sense of purpose. He urged young aspirants to look inward to identify what genuinely motivates them, stressing that passion and dedication, more than anything else, sustain people through the long and often difficult road to competitive exam success.
He also spoke of building a broader culture of innovation, sports and entrepreneurship in the state, alongside academic excellence, and expressed hope that Meghalaya’s youth would go on to occupy leadership roles at the national level, contributing meaningfully to nation-building.
Concluding his address, the Chief Minister invited feedback from the audience to help refine the CM-INSPIRE programme, acknowledging that no initiative is beyond improvement. He left the young aspirants with a simple message: “Do not give up without trying. 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 Swapnil Tembe also addressed the gathering, speaking on the specific challenges Meghalaya’s candidates face in the UPSC examinations and outlining strategies to improve the state’s performance in the coming years.
As part of the programme, the Chief Minister and other dignitaries distributed CM-INSPIRE cheques of ₹50,000 each to seven candidates who had cleared the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination.
The Chief Minister also inaugurated the Digital Learning Lab at the Meghalaya Administrative Training Institute during the event, which was also attended by MATI Director General Cyril Diengdoh.
