Tura, July 29: A program to felicitate the ‘Achiever of the Month’ under Chief Minister’s Meghalaya Grassroots Music Program (CM-MGMP) was held today at Tura.
Speaking to the gathering of musicians, entrepreneurs and youth, the Chief Minister said that having programs of the state government in different places facilitates sharing of culture and experiences with one another.
Citing the example of the last Meghalaya Games in Jowai he said that 90% of the athletes from Garo Hills had never been to Shillong and added, “This is why it is important to take governance and celebration to the people.”
Referring to the ‘Achiever of the Month’, the Chief Minister said that the initiative was started in 2018 basically to promote entrepreneurship to recognize, promote and motivate individuals.
“We will now be extending this initiative to other sectors as well and stated, “Every month we will select a department and recognize and felicitate an achiever at the Chief Minister’s level. This month is for music, next month for sports etc to simply recognize, promote, and motivate those particular achievements.”
He highlighted two entrepreneurs who were recognized recently, for manufacturing health bands and fitness equipment inn Meghalaya and the other for generating a turnover of Rs 60 lakhs from recycling garbage and added that such ideas and concepts from the state is indeed encouraging. to simply recognize, promote, and motivate those particular achievements.
On CM-MGMP and the ‘Achiever of the Month’, the Chief Minister said that music is such an important part of the culture of the state. “It is such an important part of our identity and definitely a very important part of our day-to-day lives,” he said and added that the talent of the people of the state in music is known across the world yet the efforts to promote the music and the musicians of the state were not enough and hence programs like the CM-MGMP were started.
“Today, MGMP, supports thousands of artists, and though this is not enough we are in the right direction and I hope as we move forward, we will make it better,” he said.
Talking about the MGMP ‘Achiever of the Month’, the Chief Minister said, “Every one of you is an achiever but the idea is to promote music as a sector. It’s not about individual musicians alone but why and how music is important, what the government is doing, and what more we can do to make things even better.”
Making key announcements and outlining the vision for the music sector the Chief Minister stressed on, Promoting Original Music urging artists to focus on original compositions and fusion with traditional instruments and sounds.
“Your originals will give you identity. We need to create music that can be shared on a global stage, like the Ziro Festival model.” He directed that major festivals including Cherry Blossom should have dedicated segments for original music by local artists thereby giving the local artists and musicians the opportunity and the platform to showcase their talents.
He also informed that a performing arena with capacity of 40,000-50,000 is coming up in the new Knowledge City at Mawkynrew, Shillong. A music-themed hotel with live music daily and a Music Institute in Tura and a Film City and Film Institute in Shillong are other infrastructural initiatives in the sector the Chief Minister informed of.
Further, the Chief Minister stressed the need for professionalism and management in music. “Musicians are musicians. We need entrepreneurs and professionals to run studios, manage bands, and build the business side.”
He pointed out the lack of world-class recording studios in the Northeast and said there is a huge opportunity for investment in equipment, studios and the overall music ecosystem and informed that the government will push for music theory, reading and writing music, and scientific understanding of music. “There is no harm in understanding the science behind music. It will only help us improve,” he said.
Later, the Chief Minister also interacted with the musicians who had converged for the program from across the state. He listened patiently to their concerns and suggestions with an aim to create a viable, lively ecosystem for the music sector.
It may be mentioned here that CM-MGMP Season 4 is expected to be launched soon. While regular paid performances will continue to remain the central component of the programme, Season 4 is proposed to place greater emphasis on the long-term professional development of artists with support for original music.
Incentives for original performances, artists training and workshops and improved artist registration and classification, dedicated CM-MGMP website, transparent scheduling and artist rotation, national and international exposure, flagship and signature events and strengthened monitoring and documentation.
MGMP Season 4 is proposed to continue paid performance opportunities while introducing stringer support for original music, professional training, transparent artist management, improved communication and wider market exposure.
The MGMP ‘Achiever of the Month’ is Chegim Durama, a 25-year-old singer-songwriter from Tura, Meghalaya who at 13 years of age, started exploring music production. At 21, he released his debut single, “Aman A•song,” and along the way, taking part in several music competitions at events such as the Me•gong Festival, Krimkro Music Festival, Pineapple Festival at New Delhi and the Kynjai Fest 2025.
Mr Chegim said that one of the biggest turning points in his career came through the Chief Minister’s Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project (CMGMGP) adding that the programme has made a real difference for many independent musicians across the state.
He also said that the financial support allowed him to record new music, invest in music production equipment, and continue creating without giving up on his dream giving him hope and reminded him that music matters and deserves to be heard.
