Cabinet approves establishment of 'Mera Yuva Bharat' autonomous body

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday 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, Union minister Anurag Thakur said.

The body will provide equitable access to youth to actualise their aspirations and build a developed India across the entire spectrum of the government.

Briefing reporters on the decisions taken by the Cabinet, Thakur said the primary objective of 'Mera Yuva Bharat' is to make it a "whole of government platform for youth development. The body will be dedicated to the nation on October 31, the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

The government said that the autonomous body “seeks to harness the immense youth energy for nation-building by enabling youth to act as Yuva Setu between the Government and the citizens”. It aims to develop leadership in youth and better alignment between youth aspirations and community needs.

Further, it will enhance efficiency through convergence of existing programmes and act as a one stop shop for young people and ministries, the ministry said.

Under the new arrangement, with access to resources and connection to opportunities, youth would become community change agents and nation-builders, allowing them to act as the 'Yuva Setu' between the government and citizens.

It seeks to harness the immense energy of youth for nation-building, the minister said, adding it will help achieve youth-led development through 'Kartavya Bodh' (sense of duty) and 'Seva Bodh' (sense of service) during the Amrit Kaal.

The platform would benefit youth in the age-group of 15-29 years, in line with the definition of ‘Youth’ in the National Youth Policy and will help their participation in various government initiatives voluntarily, he said.

The youth in this age group constitute 27 percent of India's population and this platform will help integrate different schemes related to youths that are being run by the Youth Program Department and many other ministries, he said.

To make India strong and powerful, it is necessary to inculcate the spirit of service and sense of duty among the youth and there is a need to include the country's philosophy and history in their thinking to ensure they have the passion to make India self-reliant, the minister said.

To achieve these objectives, it is necessary that various youth-related schemes and programmes are run in a focused manner and schemes and programmes related to youths are brought under an integrated digital platform, he said.

This will ensure harmony between the aspirations of the youths and the needs of the community, Thakur said, adding the objective of voluntary community participation of National Education Policy 2020 will also be achieved.

Thakur said this will improve the leadership skills of youths through experiential learning by shifting from isolated physical interaction to programmatic skills and investing more in youths to make them social innovators and community leaders. Setting the focus of the government on youth-led development, the programme aims to make them "active drivers" of development and not merely "passive recipients", he said.

(With inputs from PTI)