The Union Cabinet approved the establishment of an autonomous body called ‘Mera Yuva Bharat’ or MY Bharat to serve as an overarching enabling mechanism to ensure youth-led development.

The body will be dedicated to the nation on October 31 on National Unity Day, the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. 

What is the purpose of MY Bharat?

• The primary objective of ‘Mera Yuva Bharat’ (MY Bharat) is to make it a ‘whole of government’ platform for youth development. 

• It will provide equitable access to youths to actualise their aspirations and build a developed India by utilising their energy.

• The platform will create such a phygital (physical plus digital) ecosystem and empower young individuals to become catalysts for community transformation. 

• 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 ‘yuva setu’ between the government and citizens.

• Recently, a web portal of the Department of Youth Affairs hosted a nationwide programme called “Meri Maati Mera Desh” in which 50 million young people participated and helped to plant 23 million saplings to create Amrit Vatikas across India. 

• Mera Yuva Bharat would help to create and sustain such a phygital ecosystem that connects millions of young people in a network seamlessly.

The platform will lead to:

i) Better alignment between youth aspirations and community needs.

ii) Enhanced efficiency through convergence of existing programmes.

iii) A one-stop-shop for young people and ministries.

iv) Create a centralised youth database.

v) Improved two-way communication to connect youth government initiatives and activities of other stakeholders that engage with youth.

What is the significance for such a platform?

• 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.

• The youth in this age group constitute 27 per cent of India’s population.

• The existing schemes of department were designed and launched at different points in time over the last 50 years with the then prevailing understanding of needs of rural youth in our society. 

• The dynamic shifts in the urban-rural landscape have necessitated a re-evaluation of these approaches. It is imperative to create a framework that unites rural, urban, and rurban youth on a common platform. Mera Yuva Bharat can help to create such a framework.

• This platform will help integrate different schemes related to youths that are being run by the Youth Programme Department and many other ministries.

• In today’s fast-paced world, characterised by rapid communication, the prevalence of social media, the emergence of new digital tools and cutting-edge technologies, a technology-driven platform can connect youth to programmes that can help them improve their capabilities and also connect them with community activities.

• 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.

• This will ensure harmony between the aspirations of the youths and the needs of the community.

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