The major highlights of the Department of Youth Affairs during the year 2022 are as follows:

1.         National Youth Parliament Festival: The aim is to hear voices of youth through deliberations at district, state & national levels, to encourage and to engage youth with public issues, understand the common man's point of view, form their opinions and express it in an articulate manner and to obtain and document their opinions on Vision of New India.

National Youth Parliament Festival 2021-2022 was organized on the theme of “Be The Voice of New India” and “Find solutions and contribute to policy”.

District Youth Parliament Festivals were organized through virtual mode at 150 District Venues in which 701 Districts (both NYK Districts and Non-District NYKs) with the participation of 43,350 youth. 29 State Youth Parliaments were organized through virtual mode with the total participation of 1394 youth.

National Youth Parliament Festival at National Level was conducted at the Central Hall of the Parliament, Delhi from 10^th -11^th March, 2022 in which 82 State Level Winners from various States participated. The national-level event was inaugurated by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports on 10th March, 2022.

Speaker of Lok Sabha graced the Valedictory function on 11^th March, 2022 and addressed the audience. The Prizes and Certificate of merit were given away by Shri Om Birla, Speaker, Lok Sabha.

2.         National Youth Day (12th January, 2022): NYKS celebrated birth anniversary of Swami Vivekanand on 12th January, 2022 in 623 District NYKs across the country as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav with the support of village-based Youth Clubs and other stakeholders such as various zonal cultural centres of Ministry of Culture and organizations like Sri Ramakrishna Mission and Vivekanand Kendra.

As a part of celebration, various activities such as Awareness programmes on Life and Message of Swami Vivekananda, Popularization of Traditional Games like Kabaddi/Kho Kho, Kushti with a large-scale participation of the youth with the spirit of Jan Bhagidari, Competitions (essay, quiz, painting etc) were organized.

10,305 activities were conducted with the participation of about 3.5 lakh youth covering 5,861 blocks with support and coordination of village-based 40,752 Youth Clubs affiliated with NYKS. Also, 45.61 lakhs youth associated with NYKS witnessed the inaugural event of 25th National Youth Festival which was addressed by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji on National Youth Day through virtual platforms.

3.         Neighborhood Youth Parliament at District Level: Aim was to educate Youth Club members about contemporary socio-economic development issues confronting village communities in general and youth in particular and to involve them in debate/ discussions on such issues. The Programme beneficiaries were the youth in the age-group of 15-29 years, in line with the definition of ‘youth’ in the National Youth Policy, 2014. NYKS organized 481 District Level Youth Parliaments with the participation of 3.11 lakh.

4.         Catch the Rain Project Where it falls, when it falls in collaboration with National Water Mission, Ministry of Jal Shakti: The aim of the project is to make aware and educate youth leaders and volunteers, families and village communities on the manifold issues and need of water conservation and rain water harvesting and empower youth to assume lead role for educating people to practice. Key Activities of the Project includes Sensitization of NYKS Officials, National Level Launching, District Level Launching, Oath on Water Conservation, Orientation and Motivation of Youth Leaders and Volunteers, Advocacy and Environment Building for participation and support for Water Conservation, Awareness and Education, Community Mobilization and Motivation, Water Talks and Dialogue, Knowledge Competition and Community Work Camps on Voluntary basis.

Under the Project, achievements in respect of key designated activities are as under:

• 21,274 activities of Oath Taking on Water Conservation were conducted with the participation of 6.10 Lakh NYKS Youth Volunteers, Members of Youth Clubs, Communities and other Stakeholders.
• 89,010 activities of Advocacy and Environment Building for participation and support for Water Conservation were organized with the participation of 24.66 Lakh Opinion Leaders, Village Spokespersons, Members of PRIs, Service Providers, Youth, NYVs and others.
• 30,785 activities of Awareness and Education through Theme based Programmes such as Nukkad Nataks, Padyatra/Prabhat Pheries and Rallies were organized with the participation of 9.90 Lakh National Youth Volunteers, Youth Leaders, PRIs, and other stakeholders.
• 10.77 lakh activities of Community Mobilization and Motivation were organized to mobilize and motivate 39.35 Lakh family members/farmers/members of PRIs and others.
• 14657 activities on Jal Samvad/Jal Chaupals were organized in which 3.07 Lakh National Youth Volunteers, Youth Volunteers, members of Youth Clubs and other Stakeholders participated.
• 19.682 activities of Knowledge Competitions through Quiz, Poster Making, Painting, Slogan Writing were organized with the participation of 5.61 Lakh Youth Volunteers, Members of Youth Clubs, and other Stakeholders.
• 12,955 activities of Community Work Camps on Voluntary basis were undertaken with the participation of 4.03 Lakh NYKS Officials, National Youth Volunteers, Youth Volunteers and other Stakeholders.

5.         World Bicycle Day 2022: With the aim of promoting physical fitness and endurance and to reduce carbon foot prints, NYKS celebrated World Bicycle Day on 3rd June 2022 which was launched at national level by Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Hon’ble Union Minister of Youth Affairs from Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, Delhi by peddling a distance of 7.5 km with 750 young cyclists and other dignitaries.

Also, Pan-India Bicycle Rallies were organized by NYKS in 35 States/UTs, 75 Iconic Places across the country with the participation of 1,23,149 Cyclists covering 8.06 Lakh kms distance.

Bicycle Rallies were also organized by NSS Units in which 3,28,601 volunteers & others participated and covered 16,43,005 Kms distance throughout the country.

6.         Observance of 8^TH International Day of Yoga: On the auspicious occasion of AKAM, NYKS observed International Day of Yoga on 21^st June, 2022 with theme of “Yoga for Humanity” with great zeal and gaiety across the country for the popularization of Yoga among the masses.

Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports led celebrations of 8th IDY at the Iconic Katoch Fort, Sujanpur in Hamirpur District of HP. Hon’ble MoS for Youth Affairs & Sports led the celebrations at Atal Tunnel under the Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh.

During this programme, NYKS has conducted 947 district level, 5661 block level and 23782 village level yoga events with participation of 9.88 lakhs youth and others.

NSS Units also observed International Day of Yoga-2022 on 21^st June, 2022. To mark the occasion various Yoga related activities were organized in which 27,55,928 NSS volunteers & others participated from 31,795 institutions all over the country took part.

7.         Mega Countdown Programs-Yoga Mahotsav & Yoga Mahotsav 2.0: Preceding the IYD2022, Government of India had designated specific days during the 100 Days countdown to each Ministries to conduct Mega Yoga Events as build up events for IYD2022. As a part of this, NYKS on 20^th June 2022, conducted 6,025 activities across the country with total participationof 1,73,476 youth and others. Besides, as a part of 100 Days Countdown Yoga Programmes, in the month of June, 2022, NYKS conducted 4,250 programmes and with the participation of 1.89 lakh youth and other stakeholders.

8.         Har Ghar Tiranga: To celebrate and commemorate the 75 years of Independence and as India enters into the Amrit Kaal, NYKS conducted Har Ghar Tiranga Campaign from 1^st to 15^th August 2022. The campaign truly reflected the overall spirit of “Jan Bhagidari and Jan Andolan'' as it was conducted in 2.26 Lakh Villages in nearly all districts of all States and Union Territories in India.

One of the key aspects of the synergistic celebration is 360 degree outreach through 6 Lakh Youth Leaders and Volunteers, who reached to 3.70 crore households and disseminated awareness about AKAM and Har Ghar Tiranga Program. The youth volunteers in the process, motivated 9.38 crore citizens of India to Hoist Tiranga on their Houses and more than 2 crore households voluntarily hoisted Tiranga on their houses during 13-15 August 2022.

Through social media platforms, the motivational and educational messages, activities, action photographs, Tiranga selfies, videos and slogans were disseminated through 1.16 Lakh Social Media Posts which had Virtual Outreach of 13.33 Lakh.

NYKS has also celebrated iconic week from 08^th August to 14^th August 2022 and carried out 7,458 swachhta activities at iconic places across the country. During the swachhta activities, 7,047 Tiranga Yatras were organized and 57,074 medicinal saplings were planted.

In the last lap of Har Ghar Tiranga Programme, from 13^th to 15^th August 2022, 24,519 Prabhat Pheris were organized covering 76,321 villages and towns with the participation of 7.1 Lakh citizens.

Har Ghar Tiranga Campaign was also conducted by NSS from 1^st to 15^th August, 2022 by NSS in which 42,06,547 volunteers participated from 32,657 institutions.

9.         Celebration of Swachhta Pakhwada: With the objective is to create awareness about swachhta and facilitate implementation across the country by motivate youth in taking a lead role for undertaking cleanliness & hygiene campaign and by mobilizing local resources, NYKS conducted a nation-wide intensive cleanliness & hygiene campaign under Swachhata Pakhwada from 1-15^th August, 2022 across the country by involving NY volunteers, affiliated Youth Clubs, local youth and other key stake holders.

Key Activities such as Swachhata Pledge, Reading of Message/Appeal of PM, Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports, Wall Paintings, Posters, Door to Door Campaign, Seminars, Knowledge Competitions, Plastic Waste Collection, Public Places/Assets cleaned, Swachhta Rally were organized.

During the period under report, 34,230 Swachhta Activities were organized with outreach and involvement of 14.81 lakh youth and others.

Swachhta Pakhwada was also observed by NSS from 1^st to 15^th August, 2022 in which 8,12,279 volunteers participated from 11,929 institutions throughout the country.

10.       District Level Yuva Utsav- Yuva Samvad @2047: The aim is to spread the values of India’s Freedom Struggle during the 75^th Anniversary of India’s Independence, generate appreciation about the diverse spiritual and cultural heritage among the masses. The programme is organized at District, State and National Levels with a uniform format to ensure progression from district to state and state to national levels under each component.

Each Yuva Utsav has six components namely Young Artist Camp-Painting, Young Writers Camp-Poem, Photography Contest, Declamation Contest, Cultural Festival-Group Events and Youth Samvaad-India@2047. 437 District Yuva Utsav programmes have been organized by NYKS with the participation of 1.31 lakh youth in various competitions of YuvaUtsav.

11.       Observance of Rashtriya Poshan Maah: The primary aim was to enable awareness on the importance of nutrition and how individual families can easily access Government Services to supplement Nutrition for their Children and Pregnant/Lactating Mothers.

NYKS has been a major partner for implementation of Poshan Maah programme across the country since 2018. District Nehru Yuva Kendras motivated the NYVs and Youth Clubs to sensitize the villagers on the issues of Malnutrition, importance of balance diet, traditional food in collaboration with District Administration, Anganwadi, ASHA Workers for effective implementation.

During the month-long Poshan Maah 2022, following activities were undertaken:

• A total of 13,230 programmes/activities such as Sensitization and Motivation of the members of Youth Clubs and Villagers on core issues of Poshan, Display of Banners/Publicity material to highlight the core issues of Nutrition, Poshan Pledge taking ceremony, Conducting Rallies, Run, Padyatra, Cycle Yatra, Knowledge competition about Nutritive food and Malnutrition, wall writings, etc. were conducted.
• 22,820 saplings were planted by National Youth volunteers, members of youth clubs etc.

• A total of 5.47 Lakh Youth club members, villagers, etc. were reached through above mentioned activities and through social media engagement.

Rashtriya Poshan Maah was also observed by NSS Units across the country from 1^st to 30^th September, 2022. Various activities were organized by NSS Units to mark the occasion in which 5,09,521 NSS volunteers participated.

12.       Swachh Bharat 2.0: As a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahatosav, NYKS under the guidance of Deptt of Youth Affairs, MoYAS organized various activities of “Swachh Bharat 2.0” Program from 1st October to 31st October, 2022. The program was aimed at creating awareness, mobilization of people and ensuring their involvement in the Clean India initiative which is unique in terms of scale and participation.

The motto was to take cleanliness activities and waste collection the mainly the Single Use Plastic waster throughout the country from 01st October to 31st October 2022 along with maintenance and beautification drives for historical monuments and heritage sites, community centres, Youth Club/Mahila Mandal Buildings, School Buildings, Panchayat Buildings, cleanliness and maintenance of Traditional Water Bodies through voluntary work camps. The programmes was organized with the strategy of Janbhagidari to Jan Andolan.

This program was organized in 1.68 lakh villages by undertaking 2.22 Lakh activities of waste collection and cleanliness drives. More than 1.55 Crore Kgs wastes were collected; Youth Club Members, Youth Volunteers and other segments of the society; out of which, 1.54 Crore Kgs wastes were disposed. 2,585 tourist places were cleaned, 1.13 lakh village beautification and 2.29 lakh Behavioural Change Communication activities were undertaken with the participation of 38.10 lakh youth and others.

NSS also organized cleanliness activities from 1^st to 31^st October, 2022 throughout the country. A total of 38,27,394 NSS volunteers collected 60,51,427 Kgs of Plastic in this nationwide campaign.

13. 'Rashtriya Ekta Diwas' (National Unity Day) on 31st October, 2022: NYKS celebrated 147^thBirth Anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on 31^st October 2022 as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to motivate and inspire our succeeding generations by instilling the values and thoughts nurtured by this great leaders, re-affirming the inherent strength and resilience of our nation to withstand the actual and potential threats to the unity, integrity and security of our country.

Key activities undertaken by NYKS were Pledge Taking, Unity Runs, Motor Bike Rally and Cycle Rally across the country with the support and involvement of National Youth Volunteers, Members of Youth Clubs and Other stakeholders.

NYKS organized 68,364 activities of Run for Unity with the participation of 19.71 lakhs youth and others and covering a distance of 1 Crore Kms.

14.       Tribal Youth Exchange Programme: The Programme was organised with financial support and in collaboration with LWE Division of Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India. The aim is to sensitize LWE Tribal youth to rich cultural heritage of the country and to enable them to appreciate the concept of unity in diversity, to expose them to development activities and technological/ industrial advancement in other parts of the country and to develop their personality by enhancing their understanding of the core life skills, identifying their skill development needs and providing them necessary career counseling.

In this programme, 200 youth in the age group of 18-22 yrs along with 20 Team leaders are drawn from 31 LWE affected districts from the States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,Balaghat and Odisha to each of 13 venues viz., Hyderabad (Telangana), Ludhiana (Punjab), Gurugram (Haryana), Jammu (Jammu, Kashmir &Ladakh), Bangalore (Karnataka), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Mumbai (Maharashtra), Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), Bhubaneshwar (Odisha), Dehradun (Uttarakhand), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Central Delhi(Delhi) and Bangalore (Karnataka) with the participation of 2839 tribal youth (including Team Leaders).

15.       Celebration of Constitution Day (Samvidhan Diwas) on 26^thNovember, 2022: NYKS observed Constitution Day on 26^th November 2022 across the country with an aim to make people in general and youth in particular aware about the basic tenets and spirit of Indian Constitution and also engaging them in the propagation of awareness on Constitution among their peer groups.

Key activities undertaken by NYKS such as Reading of Preamble of Constitution, Online Quiz on - “India-the Mother of Democracy”, Administering of Pledge on Fundamental Duties-based on Preamble of the Constitution and Fundamental Duties, Awareness Talks/ Seminars/ Webinars/ Kartavya Samvaad, Dissemination of Message on Fundamental Duties, Knowledge Competition, Rallies and Plays with the support and involvement of National Youth Volunteers, Members of Youth Clubs and Others.

A total of 16,442 activities organized with participation of 4.27 lakhs youth and others.

16.       Know Your Constitution –Civic Awareness Programme: As a part of Core Programme NYKS organized Know Your Constitution –Civic Awareness Programme in 623 District NYKs across the country. Various activities such as Reading of preamble of Constitution, sharing of Story of Constitution of India, Discussion on Fundamental Rights and Duties and Quiz on Know Your Constitution.

Extensive coverage of the Programme were done through print and electronic media. Besides, buzz was created through social media by using hashtags #knowyourconstitution #consititutionday.

17.       Involvement of Youth in Namami Gange: The project “Involvement of Youth in Namami Gange” is a collaborative effort of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), Department of Water Resources, River development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti with Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), Department of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports to provide a boost to the flagship programme of “Namami Gange” for conservation and rejuvenation of River Ganga.

From Jan 2022 to November 2022, various activities were undertaken under the project “Involvement of Youth in Namami Gange Programme” by Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand. The activities are as follows:-

• 38107 saplings were planted,
• 18526 Awareness programme activities,
• 10745 cleanliness drives were undertaken.
• 3094 Door to Door Awareness activities were undertaken
• Three Regional level Training Programme were completed
• 51 District level Spearhead Team Training were conducted
• 798 Cluster level Training of Ganga Doots
• 22 District Convention

During the period, other special activities were also undertaken: -

• Makar Sakranti: On the occasion of Makar Sankranti, 13129 persons practiced Suryanamaskar on the banks of River Ganga, its tributaries and at home. 100 Cleanliness Drives were conducted by 2624 youth and others, 370 Awareness activities to keep ganga clean were carried out in which 14389 people were made aware. 164 activities to create awareness on COVID-19 were conducted in which 19175 persons were involved.
• Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan also organized Ganga Swachhata Pakhwada in which a total of 39 cleanliness drives were conducted with the participation of 1331 youth.
• 48 districts of NYKS, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand organized Ganga Jayanti on 8th May 2022 in which various activities like Plantation, Rally, Oath Taking Ceremony, Yoga, Cultural programme were undertaken with the total participation of 7803 persons.
• NYKS celebrated Environment Day on 5th June 2021. NYKS organized various activities such as 265 activities of administering of pledge, 130 knowledge competitions, 466 plantation activities with Plantation of 6733 saplings, 67 activities on through Lectures and Documentaries, Seminar etc. 19 Nukkad Natak activities and making Sand Art, visit to Ganga Interpretation centre etc. with the participation of 20802 persons.
• Yoga Day was also observed on 21st June 2022. This year Yoga activities were held on the 145 Ghats of River Ganga under the guidelines of COVID-19, with the total participation of 38,359 persons from 55 districts.
• On the lines of “HarGharTiranga”, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan initiated the idea of “HarGhatTiranga” under the project “Involvement of Youth in Namami Gange Programme”. A total of 574 Flag Hoisting activities were conducted in 224 ghats and other locations of 51 district of 5 Ganga basin States in which a total 30,918 stakeholders including Youth Volunteers, Spearhead Team Members, Youth Club Members and Ganga Doots, local villagers etc. participated voluntarily.
• NYKS organized Special Cleanliness Campaign on Disposal of pending Matters on 31st October 2022 in 14 locations/ Ghats from 9 districts of 5 States in which special cleanliness campaign were undertaken in which a total of 1029 kg quantum of waste collected and disposed of with the total participation of 808 youth.

18.       NSS Republic Day Parade Camp, 2022: 147 (74 boys and 73 girls) NSS Contingent participated in the Republic Day Parade on Rajpath, New Delhi on 26^th January, 2022 representing all the States and Union Territories of India. NSS volunteers got an opportunity to meet the Hon’ble Prime Minister and Hon’ble Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports.

19.       Conferment of NSS Awards-2021-22: NSS Awards for the year 2020-21 were conferred on by the Hon’ble President of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 24^th September, 2022 to the Best Universities (2 Awards), Best Units/Programme Officers (10 Awards) and best Volunteers (30 Awards).

20.       Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat: Under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat 15 National Integration Camps were organized to inculcate the sense and spirit of patriotism and national integration among the student youth in different states of the country.  In these national level camps 3,150 NSS volunteers along with Team Leaders participated from all over the country.

21.       Shaheedi Diwas-2022: As a part of ongoing Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, National Service Scheme units across the country observed Shaheedi Divas.  In this programme, 457 universities participated involving 10,926 institutions across the country. 

The activities undertaken were prabhat pheri, taking oath for national integration and patriotism, campus cleaning, blood donation, talk on Shaheed Bhagat Singh and other revolutionaries and their contributions for nationalism, cleaning of statues of freedom fighters, paintings and posters preparation, webinars and online activities. 5, 22,588 volunteers were administered pledge for national integration and patriotism. 

Films on various patriots were signed for these volunteers.  In some places competitions on patriotic songs, motivational poems and talks on revolutionary value and courage were organized. A total  9,31,933  volunteers and other youth participated in the online and offline events.

Related links:

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1859315

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1850311

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1872786

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1869161

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1872301

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1864221

*******

NB/OA