Pema Khandu Announces Defence Officer Coaching Scheme at ANYA Golden Jubilee
Addressing the All Nyishi Youth Association's Golden Jubilee in Itanagar, Chief Minister Pema Khandu announces government-funded coaching for aspiring Armed Forces and CAPF officers, alongside plans for a Creative Economy Cell and the Institute for Transforming Arunachal.
ITANAGAR- The Arunachal Pradesh government will sponsor coaching for young people aspiring to become officers in the Armed Forces and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), Chief Minister Pema Khandu announced during the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the All Nyishi Youth Association (ANYA) in Itanagar.
Under the proposed initiative, selected candidates will undergo skill training with the Army before being placed at reputed coaching centres in Delhi or Pune. The state government will bear the coaching fees, Khandu said, adding that discussions had been held with the Army’s Three Corps and Four Corps.
The Chief Minister said Nyishi youth were under-represented in the officer cadre relative to their population and expressed hope that the initiative would encourage more young people to pursue leadership careers in the country’s defence and paramilitary services.
The announcement was part of a broader set of priorities outlined at the final-day programme of ANYA’s Golden Jubilee celebrations at Indira Gandhi Park. The association, established in 1976, marked 50 years of its work with the Nyishi community.
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New initiatives for creativity and policymaking
Khandu announced that a Cell for the Arunachal Creative Economy would be established in the Chief Minister’s Office to help young people convert creative talent into sustainable livelihoods.
He also said the Institute for Transforming Arunachal (ITA), modelled on NITI Aayog, would soon be established with a chief executive officer and subject specialists to advise the state government on policy matters.
These proposed institutions are intended to support economic opportunities and strengthen policymaking. Their eventual impact will depend on implementation, institutional capacity and the opportunities made available to young people.
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Focus on entrepreneurship and employment
Emphasising that government jobs are limited, Khandu urged young people to become job creators rather than job seekers.
He cited the Arunachal Pradesh Entrepreneurship Development Program, launched in 2021, saying it had helped establish more than 150 startups. The programme’s annual intake has now been doubled to 100, he added.
The Chief Minister also encouraged entrepreneurs to register under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) framework to improve their access to institutional finance.
Referring to revised MSME turnover limits of ₹10 crore for micro enterprises, ₹100 crore for small enterprises and ₹500 crore for medium enterprises, he highlighted the importance of formal registration and access to finance for business growth.
Khandu also referred to the Arunachal Academic Excellence initiative, under which the state government bears scholarship costs for students admitted to universities ranked within the top 150 of the QS World University Rankings. He said more students, including those from the Nyishi community, were joining the initiative this year.
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Skill development to reduce dependence on outside workers
The Chief Minister said Arunachal Pradesh continued to depend significantly on skilled labour from outside the state despite large infrastructure projects and hydropower developments.
He cited hydropower projects with a combined capacity of 19,000 MW at various stages and stressed the need to train local youth to participate in the state’s economic development.
As an example, Khandu referred to 50 young people trained at a skill centre in Hyderabad who completed a project in Pasighat for ₹10 lakh, compared with an outside quotation of ₹18 lakh.
Of the state’s 10 functioning skill centres, three are located in Nyishi areas, including Sagalee and Yupia, while an Industrial Training Institute at Koloriang is nearing completion.
He invited ANYA and the All Nyishi Students’ Union to visit the facilities and recommend additional trades to improve employment prospects.
Tourism and local investment
Khandu urged ANYA to prepare a roadmap for developing tourism in Nyishi-inhabited areas, describing tourism as an increasingly important driver of economic activity across Arunachal Pradesh.
He cited Tawang’s accommodation sector, the Ziro Festival of Music and Anini in Dibang Valley as examples of the state’s tourism potential.
The Chief Minister said tourism development required public participation and called on communities, elected representatives, Panchayati Raj institutions and district administrations to promote hospitality under the principle of Atithi Devo Bhava.
He asked ANYA to identify a tourism sector, consult non-governmental organisations, prepare a roadmap and submit it to the state government for further development.
He also appealed to Nyishi entrepreneurs to invest in the capital region, pointing out that Itanagar still lacked a five-star hotel despite visits by Union ministers, senior officials and foreign diplomats.
Cultural preservation and responsible technology use
Alongside economic development, Khandu emphasised the importance of preserving the Nyishi language, culture and customs.
He said that although the Nyishi are Arunachal Pradesh’s largest tribal community, their cultural survival depended primarily on their own efforts and those of younger generations. He urged ANYA to organise discussions with policymakers and elected representatives on youth empowerment.
The Chief Minister also cautioned that smartphones, social media and artificial intelligence should serve people rather than control their lives. He called on parents, elders and society to encourage analytical thinking among young people.
Khandu praised ANYA president Jamru Ruja’s roadmap, particularly its focus on cultural preservation, and assured the association of government support. He also welcomed concerns over the growing number of organisations in the state.
Rural development and community accountability
Referring to the Vibrant Villages Programme, Khandu said Arunachal Pradesh was the programme’s largest beneficiary and cited road development in remote areas such as Kra Daadi and Upper Siang. He also pointed to early signs of reverse migration.
He commended the All East Kameng Social Welfare & Cultural Organization for periodically reviewing the work of the district’s legislators, describing the practice as a model of public accountability that other communities could adopt.
He also praised the organisation’s nurses for volunteering to care for elderly people and noted the release of a book examining financial inclusion and disparities in Arunachal Pradesh, which he said would inform the state’s Planning and Finance departments.
Concluding his address, Khandu acknowledged the Nyishi community’s contribution to Arunachal Pradesh’s political, social, cultural and economic development, from the North-East Frontier Agency era through Union Territory status to statehood.
The Golden Jubilee programme highlighted the association’s five-decade journey while bringing youth employment, entrepreneurship, cultural preservation and economic self-reliance into focus. The proposed initiatives will now need effective implementation to translate these priorities into tangible opportunities for young people across the state.
