Continuing her whirlwind tour of the Northeast, Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Smt Raksha Nikhil Khadse arrived in Sribhumi today under the Centre’s Poorvottar Sampark Setu outreach initiative—an ambitious programme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to deepen administrative ties and accelerate development across the region.

During a robust one-day engagement in Sribhumi, Smt Khadse chaired a review meeting with officials from 26 departments. The meeting brought into sharp focus the district’s recent strides in agriculture, health, education, fisheries, and welfare schemes. On agriculture, Sribhumi has notched a 103 percent saturation under PM-KISAN and surpassed the 126 percent target for Sali paddy insurance enrolment through PMFBY. Food security is equally robust: nearly 97.9 percent of allotted NFSA rice has reached more than one million beneficiaries. In health, 33,662 expectant mothers registered for antenatal care in 2024–25, with over 94 percent enrolling in their first trimester; departments are now tackling rising hypertension and anemia cases.

Smt Khadse stressed the need for field-level accountability and urged intensified coordination in border and tea-garden areas. She underlined youth and sports as key drivers of social upliftment and assured enhanced support for sports infrastructure and youth-centric initiatives.

Fresh from inspections in Unakoti and a surprise visit to Agartala’s SAI Sports Training Centre earlier this week, Smt Khadse’s Sribhumi visit brought into sharp focus the district’s recent strides.

Education officials reported 223,034 students enrolled across primary to higher secondary schools, with attendance holding steady at 72 percent. Teacher presence remains high at 88 percent an encouraging sign as authorities push to close learning gaps.

Fisheries underpin local livelihoods: last year’s production of 19,430 MT dominated by pond and tank yields sustains nearly the entire population’s dietary needs. Meanwhile, the Khel Maharan 2.0 programme has galvanized 246,500 youth registrations across eight disciplines, from kabaddi to road cycling, highlighting sports’ rising allure in rural Assam.

“Sribhumi exemplifies how committed governance and community energy can rewrite development narratives,” Smt Khadse told reporters. “From Unakoti’s model schools to Agartala’s athlete training and now Sribhumi’s agricultural and health successes, we are one step closer to realizing Modi ji’s vision of a truly Viksit Bharat in the Northeast.”

Looking ahead, the Minister urged district officials to fast-track pending household tap connections under Jal Jeevan Mission, shore up maternal-health infrastructure, and harness digital platforms for seamless Aadhaar-based payments which already stand at 96 percent coverage in rural livelihoods schemes.

Her day in Sribhumi concluded with grassroots interactions—meeting members of civil society organisations to gather firsthand feedback on service delivery. As the Poorvottar Sampark Setu caravan moves on, Assam’s northeastern hamlets remain firmly in the national spotlight.

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Manish Gautam/Divyanshu Kumar