Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj, Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel today conferred the National Awards to winners of Model Youth Gram Sabha (MYGS) at a ceremony held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The ceremony witnessed the participation of around 900 participants including students, teachers, Elected Representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions and key stakeholders involved in the MYGS initiative. The dignitaries released a comprehensive compendium documenting the transformative journey of MYGS (Compendium on MYGS :  English/ Hindi), highlighting how over 28,000 students from 619 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and 200 Eklavya Model Residential Schools successfully participated in simulated Gram Sabha and Gram Panchayat proceedings nationwide.

In the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) category, JNV Una, Himachal Pradesh secured the first position, followed by JNV Kannur, Kerala in second place and JNV Ukhrul-I, Manipur in third place. In the Eklavya Model Residential School (ERMS) category, EMRS Kosambuda, Chhattisgarh won the first position, followed by EMRS Hirli, Odisha in second place and EMRS Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh in third place. In both categories, award money of Rs. 1 crore for the first position, Rs. 75 lakhs for the second position, and Rs. 50 lakhs for the third position was conferred to the winning schools. This incentivization aims to encourage excellence in participatory learning and motivate more institutions to adopt innovative approaches in civic education.

Addressing the gathering, Union Minister of State Prof. S. P. Singh Baghel stated that the Model Youth Gram Sabha marks a paradigm shift in civic education by offering students hands-on exposure to grassroots democracy. He said that this initiative empowers young citizens to actively engage with Panchayati Raj Institutions, strengthens the spirit of Gram Swaraj, and nurtures leadership qualities while building early awareness about government schemes. Prof. Baghel noted that such participatory platforms help deepen democratic values at the grassroots and expressed confidence in the students’ potential as future leaders of Viksit Bharat. Crediting Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s leadership in advancing women’s empowerment, he highlighted the far-reaching political impact of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, that provides 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. Prof. Baghel called for wider awareness and uptake of welfare schemes such as Jan Dhan accounts, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Bima Suraksha Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Ayushman Bharat, emphasizing that informed participation is crucial for inclusive and sustainable development.

Shri Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary, MoPR said that the Model Youth Gram Sabha initiative aligns with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of nurturing One Lakh young leaders across the country. While congratulating all the participating students and teachers for their enthusiastic involvement in making the Model Youth Gram Sabha initiative a grand success, he stated that MYGS is designed to address grassroots challenges by fostering local leadership among students. He noted that the initiative promotes “vyakti aur vyaktitva nirmaan” by nurturing leadership values at an early stage and demonstrates how youth can contribute meaningfully to solving ground level problems.

Shri Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy noted that MYGS promotes leadership and community participation through experiential learning. Noting its close alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, he highlighted that the initiative bridges the gap between classroom knowledge and real-world governance while complementing the concept of bagless days in schools. Expressing confidence that MYGS would inspire young Indians to engage meaningfully in democratic processes, he said that such best practices should be scaled up across all schools nationwide to support nation-building.

National Level Winners of Model Youth Gram Sabha, 2026

 

Schools	Winners	Position	Prize Money Awarded
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya	JNV Una, Himachal Pradesh	1st	Rs. 1 Crore
	JNV Kannur, Kerala	2nd	Rs. 75 Lakhs
	JNV Ukhrul-I, Manipur	3rd	Rs. 50 Lakhs
Eklavya Model Residential School	EMRS Kosambuda, Chhattisgarh	1st	Rs. 1 Crore
	EMRS Hirli, Odisha	2nd	Rs. 75 Lakhs
	EMRS Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh	3rd	Rs. 50 Lakhs

 

The ceremony was also attended by Shri Sushil Kumar Lohani, Additional Secretary, MoPR, Shri Alok Prem Nagar Additional Secretary MoPR, Shri Rajesh Lakhani, Commissioner, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti and Shri Ajeet Kumar Srivastava, Commissioner, Eklavya Model Residential Schools. Shri Chandra Shekhar Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs and Ms..Pallavi Jain Govil, Secretary, Department of Youth Affairs, addressed the inaugural session. The day-long program began with live mock Gram Sabha demonstrations by JNV Una, Himachal Pradesh and EMRS Kosambuda, Chhattisgarh where students simulated Gram Sabha proceedings with notable realism.

#ModelYouthGramSabha | Loktantra ki Pathshala in Action

A short film on the journey of Model Youth Gram Sabha (#MYGS) was screened during the National Award Ceremony, capturing the vision and impact of this transformative initiative jointly launched by Ministry of Panchayati… pic.twitter.com/7kxlMMV0Uv

— Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India (@mopr_goi) January 28, 2026

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Aditi Agrawal

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