The government has decided to continue the Rashtriya Yuva Sashaktikaran Karyakram scheme for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 with an outlay of Rs 2,710.65 crore.

Rashtriya Yuva Sashaktikaran Karyakram

• Rashtriya Yuva Sashaktikaran Karyakram is a flagship Central Sector Scheme of the ministry of youth affairs and sports. 

• The scheme aims to achieve the objectives of developing the personality and leadership qualities of the youth and to engage them in nation building activities.

• The primary objective of the scheme is to motivate the youth to strive for excellence in their respective fields and to bring them to the forefront of the development process. 

• It aims at promotion of national integration, adventure, youth leadership and personality development, development and empowerment of adolescents, technical and resource development.

• The scheme beneficiaries are the youth in the age-group of 15-29 years, in line with the definition of ‘youth’ in the National Youth Policy, 2014. 

The programmes of RYSK scheme are implemented through seven sub-schemes:

1) Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS): Launched in 1972, NYKS is one of the largest youth organisations in the world. NYKS has presence in 623 districts through Nehru Yuva Kendras. The objective is to develop the personality of the youth and to engage them in nation-building activities. The areas of focus of the NYKS activities include education, health and sanitation, environment, awareness on social issues, women empowerment, civic education, disaster relief and rehabilitation, etc. 

2) National Youth Corps (NYC): The scheme was introduced during 2010-11. The objective is to set up a group of disciplined and dedicated youth who have the inclination and spirit to engage in the task of nation building, to facilitate the realisation of inclusive growth (both social and economic) , to act as points for dissemination of information, basic knowledge in the community, to act as group modulators and peer group educators and to act as role models for the younger cohort especially towards enhancement of public ethics, probity and dignity of labour. Volunteers in the age group of 18-29 years are being deployed for a maximum period of two years duration. Each volunteer is being paid Rs 5,000 as monthly honorarium.

3) National Programme for Youth & Adolescent Development (NPYAD): Under NPYAD, assistance is given to NGOs for youth development programmes. The assistance under NPYAD is provided under five major components, namely-

a) Youth Leadership and Personality Development Training

b) Promotion of National Integration (National Integration Camps, Inter-State Youth Exchange Programmes, Youth Festivals, multi-cultural activities, etc.)

c) Promotion of Adventure — Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards

d) Development and Empowerment of Adolescents (Life Skills Education, Counselling, Career Guidance, etc.)

e) Technical and Resource Development (Research and Studies on Youth issues, Documentation, Seminars/ Workshops)

4) International Cooperation: It includes youth exchange programmes with various countries. Youth delegations from various countries visit India and they are taken to various cities for showing them places of interest and arranging their interaction with Indian youth. The ministry collaborates with UN agencies like United Nations Volunteers (UNV)/ United National Development Programme (UNDP) and the Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP) on various youth related issues. 

5) Youth Hostels: Youth Hostels are built to promote youth travel and to enable the young people to experience the rich cultural heritage of the country. The construction of the Youth Hostels is a joint venture of the central and state governments. A total of 84 Youth Hostels have been constructed across the country.

6) Assistance to Scouting & Guiding Organisations: It was launched in the early 1980s, to promote the Scouts and Guides movement in the country. Scouting and Guiding is an international movement aimed at building character, confidence, idealism and spirit of patriotism and service among young boys and girls. Financial assistance is provided to scouting and guiding organisations for various programmes such as organization of training camps, skill development programmes, holding of jamborees, etc. 

7) National Young Leaders Programme (NYLP): It was launched in December 2014, with a view to develop leadership qualities among the youth to enable them to realise their full potential and in the process, to contribute to the nation building process. It has important components including neighbourhood youth parliament, shramadaan and youth development through support from National Youth Development Fund.

The ministry has been granted the fund of Rs 41.60 crore for creation of National Yuva Volunteer Registry under the RYSK scheme. The creation of National Yuva Volunteer Registry will facilitate quick and effective mobilisation and deployment of volunteers and enable real-time tracking of volunteer work in the country.

The National Youth Parliament was organised under the RYSK scheme. 

Other programmes under RYSK scheme include Tribal Youth Exchange Programmes,  North-East Youth Exchange Programme, Catch The Rain Project in collaboration with National Water Mission, Involvement of Youth in Namami Gange Project in collaboration with National Mission for Clean Ganga, the National Youth Festival, North-East Youth Festival, Neighbourhood Youth Parliament, International Youth Exchange Programmes like BRICS Youth Summit, Youth-20 Summit, IBSA Youth Summit, Commonwealth Youth Meetings, SCO Meetings, etc.

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