The State Support Mission (SSM) of NITI Aayog convened a regional workshop titled “Strengthening SITs to Drive Viksit North East Region” in Aizawl, Mizoram on 21/09/2026, bringing together senior officials from eight North‑Eastern states to share progress, challenges and actionable support needs for operationalising State Institutions for Transformation (SITs).
SSM, an umbrella initiative of NITI Aayog, supports States and Union Territories in establishing SITs to reinvigorate planning institutions and strengthen evidence‑based policymaking. Till date, 35 SITs have been formally established across the country. The Aizawl workshop provided a platform for peer learning and featured focused sessions on State visioning, District Domestic Product estimation, and enhancing monitoring and evaluation capacities of SITs.
The workshop was graced by Shri P. Lalduhoma, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Mizoram, as the chief Guest. Shri Mingma T Sherpa, Commissioner‑cum‑Secretary, Planning and Development Department, Government of Sikkim accompanied by SSM Sector Experts from Sikkim, Shri Kushal Tamang (Urban Development) and Shri Bijay Chhetri (Technology & Entrepreneurship) participated in the workshop.
Shri Sherpa also participated as a panellist in a high‑level discussion alongside officials from seven other North‑Eastern states, NITI Aayog representatives and experts from Lead Knowledge Institutions including IIT Guwahati and IIM Kolkata. During discussions, he highlighted the current priority and status of SIT and their engagement in long term vision preparation and convergence with various sectors. He also highlighted various initiatives of the State Government, such as establishment of Institute for Transforming Sikkim (ITS) even before coming up of SIT, as think tank for guiding informed policy decisions and monitoring and evaluation purposes as well as formation of Steering Committee headed by Hon’ble Chief Minister, Sikkim for preparing Sikkim Vision 2047.
It was highlighted that Sikkim SIT team consist of Team Lead Sector Experts who are actively interacting with the departments for planning process in the State. It has also prepared draft reports on fiscal status, tax and non‑tax revenue streams and GST impacts. These reports are currently under peer review and will be published following approval for wider learning across states. Alongside other states, Sikkim emphasised on data limitations and capacity shortfalls as priority constraints and to address this, Sikkim is in the process of onboarding the Indian Statistical Institute (Delhi) to strengthen statistical and analytical capabilities.
The regional workshop reinforced the importance of robust SITs in accelerating the Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat agenda and offered practical pathways for states to scale up planning, data systems and monitoring frameworks
