By THE NEWSMAN OF INDIA.COM| The Ashtalakshmi Darshan Youth Exchange Programme is emerging as a meaningful platform for strengthening cultural understanding, national integration and youth-to-youth connections across India. During Batch 1 of FY 2026–27, students from Chandigarh and Puducherry are gaining first-hand exposure to the rich social, educational and cultural landscape of the Northeast.

As part of the programme, the participating students visited the National Institute of Technology Manipur, providing them an opportunity to interact with an important centre of higher education and experience the region beyond conventional perceptions.

Katikithala Srinivas, Secretary, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), interacted with the participants during their visit. Addressing the students, he described the programme as a great opportunity to learn from their own country and underlined the immense value of such exposure.

Srinivas expressed happiness over the experiences being gained by the young participants through their visit to the Northeast. He encouraged the students to document and record their experiences so that their learning and memories could become a source of inspiration for others in the future.

The interaction highlighted an important dimension of youth exchange programmes: national integration is strengthened not merely through formal initiatives, but through direct personal experiences, conversations and an appreciation of India’s extraordinary diversity.

For students from Chandigarh and Puducherry, the visit to Manipur offers an opportunity to understand the Northeast through its institutions, people, culture and educational ecosystem. At the same time, their presence creates a valuable avenue for interaction and exchange between young people from different parts of the country.

The insightful interaction was held in the presence of Satinder Kumar Bhalla, Secretary, North Eastern Council (NEC); Prof. (Dr.) D. V. L. N. Somayajulu, Head of the National Institute of Technology Manipur; and other officials.

The Ashtalakshmi Darshan initiative thus goes beyond being a conventional educational tour. It seeks to create lasting connections among India’s youth by enabling them to experience the country’s diversity directly. Such programmes can help replace distance with familiarity, curiosity with understanding and diversity with a stronger sense of shared national identity.

For the participating students, the Manipur visit is likely to remain more than a chapter in an exchange programme. It represents an opportunity to discover another part of India, engage with new perspectives and carry back experiences that reinforce the idea that India’s strength lies in the richness of its many regions, cultures and communities.

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