Beyond Migration: Why Digital and AI Skills Matter for Terai Youth

In thousands of homes across the Terai, there is a picture hanging on the wall of someone who isn’t actually present in the house. Some are in Qatar, some in Malaysia, while others have been working in Saudi Arabia for years and calling home only on Saturdays.

This is a calm but bittersweet reality of Nepal’s southern plains — fertile land, busy towns and ambitious young people. Yet the irony is that the most reliable path to a good income still seems to lead through the airport’s departure gate.