National Youth Day, also known as Rashtriya Yuva Divas and Vivekananda Jayanti, is observed across India on 12th January to commemorate the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, a renowned Hindu spiritual leader, philosopher, and social reformer who played a significant role in shaping modern Indian thought.
- 12 January 2026 marks the 163rd birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
Exam Hints:
- What? National Youth Day 2026
- When? 12th January (annually)
- Why? Birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda
- Declared By: Government of India (GoI)
- First Observed: 12th January 1985
- Key Event: Viksit Bharat Young Leaders’ Dialogue (VBYLD 2026) culmination.
- Organiser: Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MoYAS).
Background:
Declaration: In 1984, the Government of India (GoI) declared 12 January, the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, as National Youth Day.
First Observance: National Youth Day was first celebrated across India on 12 January 1985.
Purpose: The observance aims to inspire Indian youth through Swami Vivekananda’s teachings on character-building, self-confidence, discipline, and selfless service to society.
About Swami Vivekananda:
Birth: Born as Narendranath Dutta on 12 January 1863 in Calcutta, Bengal Presidency (now Kolkata, West Bengal, WB).
Mentor: He was a disciple of the 19th-century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa.
Ideals: He devoted his life to youth empowerment, education, character-building, social service, and moral strength.
Institutions: On 1 May 1897, he founded the Ramakrishna Mission and Ramakrishna Math, a worldwide, non-political, non-sectarian spiritual organisation headquartered at Belur on the banks of the Ganga.
Demise: He passed away on 4 July 1902 at Belur Math, West Bengal, at the age of 39.
2nd Viksit Bharat Young Leaders’ Dialogue (VBYLD 2026):
Event: The Department of Youth Affairs (DYA) under the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (MYAS) organised the 2nd edition of the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders’ Dialogue (VBYLD 2026) from 9 to 12 January 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, Delhi, a reimagined national platform National Youth Festival, with the final day coinciding with National Youth Day.
Participants: Nearly 3,000 youth participated, including 1,500 from the Viksit Bharat Challenge Track, 1,000 from the Cultural & Design Track, 100 international delegates, and 400 special invitees.
Objective: The event aimed to provide a platform for youth aged 15–29 years to translate ideas for Viksit Bharat into actionable nation-building initiatives.
Leadership: Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi interacted with the participants and reviewed ten high-impact thematic presentations by young leaders.
Themes: The dialogue focused on ten national priority themes such as Fit Bharat, Start-up India, Youth in Democracy, Women-Led Development, Cultural Diplomacy, Innovation with Tradition, Aatmanirbhar Bharat, Sustainable Agriculture, Green Viksit Bharat, and a Future-Ready Workforce.
Empowerment: VBYLD 2026 empowers youth to actively shape India’s journey toward Viksit Bharat@2047 by providing a national platform for their ideas.
Interaction: Union Minister of State (MoS) Dr. Jitendra Singh, Ministry of Science and Technology (MoS&T) hosted an informal dinner with youth from Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and Ladakh ahead of their participation in the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders’ Dialogue 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, Delhi.
Youth-Centric Nation Building Initiatives:
MY Bharat Platform: Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat), launched on 31 October 2023, is an autonomous, technology-driven youth engagement ecosystem with 2.05 crore registrations, over 14.5 lakh volunteering opportunities, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled services via MY Bharat 2.0 and its mobile application (app) .
National Service Scheme (NSS): A Central Sector Scheme (CSS) focused on personality development through community service, covering 657 universities, 20,669 colleges, and 11,988 senior secondary schools, with over 3.9 million volunteers engaged annually.
Skilling: The Government of India launched Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs (Industrial Training Institutes) (PM-SETU) in October 2025 with an investment of Rs.60,000 crore to modernize vocational training by upgrading 1,000 Government ITIs through a hub-and-spoke model.
Employment: The Prandhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PMVBRY), announced in August 2025, aims to generate over 3.5 crore jobs in two years through a Rs.1 lakh crore incentive-based employment push.
Agnipath Scheme: Launched in June 2022, the scheme has enrolled approximately 1.5 lakh Agniveers till February 2025.
Skill India Mission (SIM): Restructured in February 2025 with an outlay of Rs. 8,800 crore by integrating PMKVY 4.0, National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), and Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) to strengthen the national skilling ecosystem.
Kashi Declaration: Adopted in July 2025 at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (UP), it provides a five-year roadmap for building a Nasha Mukt Yuva (drug-free youth).
Fit India Movement: Launched in 2019 to promote physical fitness through nationwide initiatives including the Fit India Mobile App and school certification programs.
RKSK: The Rashtriya Kishore Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) focuses on the holistic health and well-being of adolescents aged 10–19 years.
About Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (MYAS):
Union Minister – Mansukh Mandaviya (Constituency-Porbandar, Gujarat)
Minister of State (MoS) – Raksha Khadse (Constituency- Raver, Maharashtra)
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