The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved establishment of an autonomous body Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat) to serve as an overarching enabling mechanism powered by technology for youth development and youth led development and provide equitable access to youth to actualize their aspirations and build Viksit Bharat across the entire spectrum of the Government.

Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat), an autonomous body will benefit the youth in the age group of 15-29 years, in line with the definition of ‘Youth’ in the National Youth Policy. In case of programme components specifically meant for the adolescents, the beneficiaries will be in the age group of 10-19 years. Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat) will help in Setting the focus of the Government on Youth Led development and to make the Youth “active drivers” of development and not merely “passive recipients”. The Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat) will be launched on 31^st October, 2023 on National Unity Day.

Impact:

The primary objective of Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat) is to make it a whole of Government platform for youth development. Under the new arrangement, with access to resources & connection to opportunities, youth would become community change agents and nation builders allowing them to act as the Yuva Setu between the Government and the citizens. It seeks to harness the immense youth energy for nation building.

The establishment of Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat) would lead to:

• Leadership Development in the Youth:
  • Improve the leadership skills through experiential learning by shifting from isolated physical interaction to programmatic skills.
  • Investing more in youth to make them social innovators, leaders in the communities.
  • Setting the focus of the Government on Youth Led development and to make the Youth “active drivers” of development and not merely “passive recipients”.
• Better alignment between youth aspirations and community needs.
• Enhanced efficiency through Convergence of existing programmes.
• Act as a one stop shop for young people and Ministries.
• Create a centralized youth data base.
• Improved two-way communication to connect youth government initiatives and activities of other stakeholder that engage with youth.
• Ensuring accessibility by creating a phygital ecosystem.

Need:

• India’s youth are to play a critical role in defining the future of the nation -especially at the pivotal juncture of India’s 75 years of independence, as we embark on a paradigm shifting development journey over the next 25 years of building an Amrit Bharat by 2047.

Vision 2047 requires a framework that can bring rural youth, urban youth and Rurban youth under a single platform. The existing schemes of Department were designed and launched at different points in time over the last 50 years with the then prevailing understanding of needs of rural youth in our society. The dynamic shifts in the urban-rural landscape have necessitated a re-evaluation of these approaches. It is imperative to create a framework that unites rural, urban, and rurban youth on a common platform. Mera Yuva Bharat can help to create such a framework.

• There is a need to establish a new contemporary technology led platform for the Government to engage with the present-day youth - In today's fast-paced world, characterized by rapid communication, the prevalence of social media, the emergence of new digital tools and cutting-edge technologies, a technology driven platform can connect youth to programs that can help them improve their capabilities and also connect them with community activities.

• Ensuring accessibility by creating a phygital ecosystem – The Mera Yuva Bharat platform will create such a phygital eco-system and empower young individuals to become catalysts for community transformation. They would act as "Yuva Setu," linking the government with its citizens. Recently, a web portal of the Department of Youth Affairs, yuva.gov.in, hosted a nation-wide program called “Meri Maati Mera Desh” in which 50 million young people participated and helped to plant 23 million saplings to create Amrit Vatikas pan-India. Mera Yuva Bharat would help to create and sustain such a phygital eco-system that connects millions of young people in a network seamlessly.

• Mera Yuva Bharat supported by a technology platform would help to increase the Youth outreach efforts of the Department of Youth Affairs.

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PPG/SK