The Group of Ministers (GoM) set up to monitor Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (EBSB) of Government of India held a high-level meeting under the chairmanship of Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, to review the progress of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (EBSB) programme.

Major EBSB initiatives taken up by Ministries/Departments

    1. Department of School Education and Literacy

        a. 1.55 crore students participated in activities of EBSB as part of school curriculum.

        b. EBSB clubs formed in 1,46,766 CBSE and other schools

        c. Over 8 Crore students participated in Kala Utsav Programme at Bhopal, Band Competitions Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Parv”, Matribhasha Diwas, Bhasha Sangam and various cultural exchanges organized before the pandemic

        d. EBSB themes taken up through online classes, WhatsApp video calls

        e. Online Video Series on Indigenous Games of India in coordination with Fit India Cell

        f. Online Quiz and Essay Competition between paired states

    2. Department of Higher Education

        a. 15 lakh students from higher education participated in activities of EBSB.

        b. 5 Youth festivals and 16 students exchange programs were organised.

        c. More than 980 online activities were carried out under EBSB in HEIs.

        d. 1488 institutions have set up EBSB Clubs, 809 EBSB Days observed

    3. Ministry of Culture

        a. Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav now called as Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Mahotsav was organised in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh at a grand level.

        b. 18 Cultural Events, 11 performance-cum-lecdems, Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav– before Covid

        c. More than 60 online activities by Zonal Cultural Centres

        d. ASI compiled information about 22 World Heritage sites, 25 other important monuments, Publication on Monuments of 17 states/ UTs and Digital Content Development for monuments of 16 states / Uts

        e. 5 Books translated and published in the language of paired state by Sahitya Akademi

    4. Ministry of Tourism

        a. Quiz contest through MyGov - each state /UT being focused for 15 days. 2,27,369 people participated

        b. Bharat Parv, India Tourism Mart 2019, Imphal

        c. 61 Dekho Apna Desh webinars organized on various facets of tourism in the country, links on EBSB portal

    5. Department of Sports

        a. 36 Zonal Championships till March 2020 with the unique concept of fielding paired state teams with participation of around 2250 sportspersons.

        b. Spreading awareness about Indigenous Games like Shooting Ball, Sqay, Mallakhamb, Tug of War, Kalarippayttu, kho-kho through physical and digital medium.

        c. 35 Documentaries of fifteen Indigenous games namely Gatka, Rollball, Tug of War, Kalarippayttu, Thang-Ta, Kho Kho, Mallakhamb, shooting ball, Sqay, Kabbadi, Gilli Danda, Sikkim Archery, Chhau & Paika Akhada, Dhoop & Cowrie Khel and Kushti Akhada made and streamed Live on the social media platforms

        d. Uploaded on the Digital Repository of the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat website (www.ekbharat.gov.in), broadcast on DD Sports channel

    6. Department of Youth Affairs

        a. Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) - 69 programmes till March 2020 with 6956 participants

        b. Over 1 lakh students participated in Online Activities like learning about cuisine, culture, history, tourism etc. of the paired states through YouTube video/ social media platforms

    7. Ministry of Information & Broadcasting

        a. Visibility to EBSB through different social media platforms.

        b. Dekho Apna Desh webinar series of M/o Tourism popularised through media

        c. DD News - a Weekly 30 minutes’ program on EBSB theme

        d. Integrated Communication Programmes and Special Outreach Programmes including exhibitions through Regional Outreach Bureaus.

        e. Webinars on different themes of EBSB – cultural integration in diversity, traditions and activities, promotion of handicrafts of various states.

    8. Ministry of Defence

        a. Translation of over 185 songs in the language of partner state by 22 Sainik Schools – over 3754 students participated

        b. Exchange of information of traditional and agricultural practices of Karnataka in Regional / Geographical factors, agricultural factors, festivals, dress, food and heritage by SSs at Bijapur, Chittorgarh, East Siang, Gopalganj, Jhansi, Kapurthala, Kalikiri, Kunjpura, Nalanda, Rewari, Satara and Tilaiya; 1,132 students participated.

    9. Ministry of Home Affairs

        a. Cultural Programmes, Nukkad Nataks, Food Festivals organized by CAPF units like Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Assam Rifles, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Border Security Force (BSF) during Oct’19- Feb’20 in which over 1.12 lakh persons participated

        b. Central Armed Paramilitary Forces - ITBP, CRPF, CISF and SSB displayed one sentence daily in different Indian languages on their websites for Aaj ka Vakya to promote language learning under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.

        c. Further, in the public schools and Kendriya Vidyalayas functioning from various ITBP camps, more than 50 quiz competitions / blog competitions in various languages were organized giving exposure to alphabets, songs, proverbs and 100 sentences in different Indian languages.

    10. Ministry of Railways

        a. Process of travel concession to Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (EBSB) participants simplified. As a special case, the condition of monthly income limit of Rs. 5000/- also exempted for availing concession by the participants of EBSB.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants. The views expressed here are personal.)