Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani addresses the closing ceremony of 24th National Youth Festival in presence of Sh Kiren Rijiju

Union Minister of Textiles and Women and Child Development Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani addressed the closing ceremony of 24^th National Youth Festival (NYF) in the presence of Union Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Kiren Rijiju in New Delhi today. The festival was celebrated in a hybrid mode from 20th December, 2020 in three phases namely, District level, State level and National level. On this occasion, Secretary of D/o Youth Affairs Smt. Usha Sharma; Joint Secretary of D/o Youth Affairs, Shri Asit Singh; Joint Secretary D/o Sports, M/o Youth Affairs & Sports Shri Siddhartha Singh and other dignitaries of Ministry were present. The remarkable cultural performances by the youth volunteers of NYKS and NSS on the occasion exuded a wonderful spirit of Ék Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’.

Addressing the youth volunteers on the occasion, the Union Minister for Women and Child Development and Textiles, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani  said that  ‘sensitive youth’ will create a New India.  She called upon the youth of the country to march ahead on the path of progress holding the hand of those who need help. Smt. Irani complimented the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports for organising a very extraordinary and colourful valedictory function. She stated that cultural presentations of various states presented a unified India which exihibits the zeal, capability and extraordinary talent of the youth of the country. The Youth Anthem tied the entire country in one string, she added.

Referring to the largest Vaccination drive which began today in the country, the Smt Smriti Zubin IraniS said that India has proved that even during the challenging times, our zeal and ideals will not diminish and our dedication, determination   and service to the nation under the leadership of Prime Minister will continue to grow further. She informed that COVID frontline warriors will be vaccinated first of all. Smt Irani also complimented the NYK and NSS volunteers for serving the entire country relentlessly during the difficult period of COVID pandemic by making masks and distributing sanitisers.

She also expressed gratitude to the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Shri Kiren Rijiju               for collaborating with the  Ministry of Women and Child Development for organising activities under Beti Bachao Beti Padhao yojana of the Government.

Union Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Kiren Rijiju said that by taking inspiration from Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi,his  ministry has given a new colour to the 24th National Youth Festival. Shri Rijiju added that this edition is  unique in many ways. The festival has been organised in virtual mode for the first time keeping in view the challenges of covid-19 pandemic but enthusiasm of NYKS & NSS volunteers made this event successful.

Shri Rijiju added that the festival has been organised in three phases starting from 20th December 2020. After district and state level events, the National level events have been organised in virtual mode in which around 6 lakh youth have participated in 24 competitive events. By taking inspiration from the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, this time, some new events have been organised like regional attire, Yog, sports climbing etc.

Shri Rijiju said that this journey was very special and the most memorable part of this journey is the National Youth Parliament Festival, which concluded in the Central Hall of the Parliament. We are very fortunate that Prime Minister addressed the valedictory function and three participants got the chance to share their thoughts in the program. Shri Rijiju added that Prime Minister tweeted the speeches of  participants of the final day; this was something that motivated all of us.

Shri Rijiju said that Ministry of Youth Affairs is going to launch a big programme on National Girl Child Day on Beti Bachao Beti Padhao in collaboration with Ministry of Women and Child Development. Shri Rijiju added that we will run this program the whole year. The Department of Sports will take the lead role and it will be supported by NYKS & NSS Volunteers. Along with this, the Ministry will celebrate 125^th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on a large scale.

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has been celebrating National Youth Festival (NYF) every year in one of the host State/Union Territory (UT). The 24th NYF was organized in a manner different than the earlier festivals due to prevailing Covid-19 situation. Instead of having only one host State/UT, different States and UTs have simultaneously played the role of host.

The festival was celebrated in a hybrid mode from 20th December, 2020 in three phases namely, District level, State level and National level. In the first two phases, the events were organized across the Districts and subsequently across the States. Various competitive events and non-competitive events were held. In the last phase of the festival, national level events was held from 12th to 16th January, 2021. The opening of the National Level National Youth Festival coincided with closing ceremony of 2nd edition of National Youth Parliament Festival and was held in the Central Hall of Parliament on 12th January, 2021.

Various hashtags such as #NYF2021, #YUVAAH & #UtsahNayeBharatKa and a dedicated website (https://www.nationalyouthfestival.com/) were created for the wider publicity of the Festival. A total of about 6 Lakh youth registered themselves on the website and became part of the festival. The competitive events were showcased on virtual platforms. The Judges used the virtual platform to select 72 winners in 18 solo events and 6 group events.