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Chief Minister Inaugurates HDFC Bank’s 25th Branch in Meghalaya


Tura, March 28, 2025: Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Shri Conrad K. Sangma, today inaugurated the 25th branch of HDFC Bank in Meghalaya at Tura, West Garo Hills. The inauguration ceremony was held in the presence of Ms. Agatha K. Sangma, Former MP; Abraham T Sangma, Superintendent of Police, West Garo Hills;  Rikse R Marak,  CEO of Tura Municipal Board, and Father Thomas John,  Principal  of St. Mary’s School.

Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma emphasised the importance of expanding banking infrastructure in rural and semi-urban areas of Meghalaya. He lauded HDFC Bank for its initiative to strengthen banking services in Garo Hills and expressed confidence that the new branch would contribute significantly to the economic development of the region.

The Chief Minister highlighted the need for greater financial inclusion and urged banks to facilitate easy access to credit for entrepreneurs, small businesses, farmers, and the youth. He stressed that financial literacy is crucial in empowering citizens to utilise banking services effectively and called upon financial institutions to collaborate with the government to promote awareness and outreach in remote areas. Shri Sangma also assured full support from the State Government to resolve infrastructural and logistical challenges faced by banks operating in rural Meghalaya.

Former Member of Parliament, Agatha K. Sangma,  in her remarks, congratulated HDFC Bank on opening the new branch and expressed hope that it would improve financial services and employment opportunities in the region.

CP Marak- IFS Retd. Executive Chairman of MBOSE, underlined the role of financial institutions in ensuring economic security and urged the public to utilise formal banking channels for their transactions.

Rikse R Marak,  CEO of Shillong Municipal Board, welcomed the bank’s expansion and encouraged efforts to promote financial literacy among women and youth in the Garo Hills region.

Father Thomas John,  Principal  of St. Mary’s School, offered prayers and blessings for the successful functioning of the new branch and called upon the bank to uphold ethical banking practices and community welfare.

The inauguration marks an important step towards strengthening the banking network and financial ecosystem in Meghalaya, ensuring that banking services reach every citizen.

Initiatives : Agriculture

Launch of “Restart Meghalaya Mission’ on 15th August 2020

The Mission comprise of a series of interventions to support farmers and entrepreneurs by enabling them to build growth-promoting basic infrastructure and services. Under this Mission, 1917iTEAMS – the IT Platform aimed at enabling farmers access to agricultural information, crop advisories and markets will be expanded logistically through induction of another 100 vehicles.

Creation of the Directorate of Food Processing on May 2018

With the objective of seizing opportunities in the sector and the untapped food processing potential of the state for uplifting the livelihoods of farmers and value chain actors, the Government of Meghalaya created the Directorate of Food Processing (DFP) as a one-stop agency to handle all matters relating to food processing in the state and to deal with all central government Ministries and Agencies (viz. Ministries of Agriculture, and Food Processing, SFAC, NCDC, NABARD, etc.) in all matters pertaining to the development of agricultural food processing sector.

First Ever Farmer’s Parliament held on 4th - 5th December 2018

The parliament was organised by the state department of agriculture in collaboration with Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA) and the Hill Farmers' Union (HFU). As a step toward the promotion of new technologies, HFU with the support of Meghalaya government, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence App for farmers — called Nongrep (nongrep in Khasi language means farmer) with its software partner Impetus Solutions from Hyderabad — as a social innovation project. This app will address matters of farm aggregations, soil health and disease identification, crop yield, farm produce pickups, market linkage and retail sellers app.

Launch of the Farmer’s Portal on 7th May 2018

The Meghalaya Famers’ Portal (www.megfarmers.gov.in) of the Department of Agriculture is a platform for farmers to seek any information related to agriculture. Detailed information on farmers’ insurance, agricultural storage, crops, extension activities, seeds, pesticides, farm machineries, etc. is provided. Details of fertilizers, market prices, package and practices, programmes, welfare schemes are also given.

Awards & Recognitions
  • Meghalaya has been selected for the Commendation award in 'Total foodgrains Category-III' for 2017-18. The award consists of a citation and an amount of Rs. 1 crore.
  • Meghalaya Agriculture Department and the MIE Meghalaya Team won the '7th eNabling North East (eNorth East) Award 2019-20' in the 'Agriculture & Rural Development' category for 1917 iTEAMS project which is a project in collaboration with Digital India.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi awarded Meghalaya on May 2018 the Krishi Commendation Award for the year 2015-16, in recognition of the commendable foodgrains production achieved by the State.
  • Meghalaya has been adjudged the Most Improved Small State in the category of Agriculture and received the India Today – "The State of the States” Award on 23rd November 2018.