Nagaland positioned as new hub for AI skilling as Sitharaman opens Future Skills Centre

Nagaland has been placed on the national tech-skilling map with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s launch of the AI & Future Skills Centre of Excellence in Dimapur on November 15 — a move officials say marks one of the Centre’s most direct efforts to decentralise advanced technology training beyond major metros.

During her visit to the Nagaland Tool Room & Training Centre (NTTC), Sitharaman said the state’s inclusion in India’s AI- and semiconductor-linked skill ecosystem reflects a policy shift triggered after concerns in 2019–20 that CSR funding was bypassing the Northeast. She noted that the 2022 CSR Conclave in Kohima had reversed that trend, resulting in targeted partnerships with major companies that previously had no presence in the state.

The centre inaugurated in Dimapur will offer training in AI-linked manufacturing processes, 3D printing, coding and modernised handloom techniques — areas the minister described as essential for ensuring that youths in smaller states are not left out of the technological transition shaping global industry.

Sitharaman highlighted ongoing CSR-backed programmes at NIELIT Kohima, where Tata Group experts are set to train students in semiconductor-related skills, and confirmed that tech leader B.V.R. Mohan Reddy had agreed to replicate his foundation’s high-end training modules in Nagaland. “Distance from corporate hubs is no barrier when intent is clear,” she said, adding that Naga youth would benefit from combining local craftsmanship with modern digital tools.

SIDBI Deputy Managing Director Sudatta Mandal said the new centre, set up with SCINT, would train 100–150 students annually in each of its two initial trades — Handloom & Handicraft and Software Coding & Robotics. He said the programme is designed to address a clear gap: industries in Nagaland and across the Northeast lack trained technical manpower, even as MSMEs expand.

Mandal added that AI-assisted design and digital training would help artisans increase productivity and commercial value, building on SIDBI’s broader support to over 27,000 MSMEs under its industry-association programme.

Speaking at the event, Cyient founder and IIT board chairman BVR Mohan Reddy linked the initiative to India’s wider economic push, saying steady GDP growth and investment in semiconductors, electronics, and R&D had created demand for specialised skills nationwide. He urged students to keep pace with rapid technological shifts.

Three MoUs were signed between SIDBI and state industry bodies — the Business Association of Nagas, Women Entrepreneurs Network Nagaland and the Nagaland Hotels & Restaurant Association — to expand collaboration and improve access to funding.

Officials said the agreements, combined with the new centre’s training capacity, are expected to support the state’s attempts to reduce educated unemployment and develop a pipeline of industry-ready talent.

The programme closed with a vote of thanks from P Tokugha Sema, Director of Industries & Commerce and CEO of NTTC.