Meghalaya, Telangana sign tripartite MoU to boost human development & govt innovation

Guwahati: The Governments of Meghalaya and Telangana signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on November 22, 2025, to strengthen state-to-state collaboration on human development and government innovation.

The signing took place on the sidelines of the Telangana–NorthEast Connect Festival in Hyderabad.

The MoU brings together the State Capability Enhancement Project – Government Innovation Lab (SCEP–GIL), Government of Meghalaya; the Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP), Government of Telangana; and the Department of Women Development & Child Welfare (WDCW), Telangana.

Dr. Sampath Kumar, Principal Secretary & Development Commissioner of Meghalaya, Anita Ramachandran, Secretary to the Government of Telangana, WCD&SC department, and Divya Devarajan, CEO of SERP, signed the MoU in the presence of Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma.

The partnership establishes a Human Development Exchange between the two states, enabling them to share field-tested innovations, data-driven tools, and facilitation processes that strengthen citizen–state engagement.

The collaboration includes structured exposure visits for government officials and community leaders, joint learning labs on themes such as maternal and child health, social protection, early childhood and adolescent development, women’s collectives, and livelihoods.

It also promotes co-created guidelines for frontline teams working with the poorest and most vulnerable households.

Meghalaya will share insights from its Human Development Leadership Programme (HDLP), launched in 2024 under the State Human Development Council, chaired by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma.

HDLP brings together multi-disciplinary block teams from Health, Education, Social Welfare, and Community & Rural Development departments, along with community leaders, to conduct joint field visits to vulnerable households and address barriers to public service access.

Under the MoU, Meghalaya will share experiences from HDLP’s work in remote villages, addressing issues such as undernutrition, school dropout, early pregnancy, and lack of social security.

Telangana, in turn, will share its decades of experience in women’s self-help groups, social mobilisation, and women and child welfare initiatives.

The Human Development Exchange will allow both states to adapt and scale solutions developed through real-world experimentation.

By connecting state institutions, community organisations, and frontline teams across Meghalaya and Telangana, the partnership aims to accelerate human development outcomes for mothers, children, and vulnerable citizens in India.