New Delhi, Oct 11 (IANS): The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to set up an autonomous body ‘MY Bharat’ or ‘Mera Yuva Bharat’, which will be an overarching institutional mechanism for youth development.

Mera Yuva Bharat’ will be launched on October 31, on the occasion of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's birthday.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur told reporters after the Cabinet meeting that ‘MY Bharat’ will be an autonomous body that will seek to harness the energy of the youth for nation building by enabling them to act as a ‘yuva setu (bridge)’ between the government and citizens.

“The aim is to instill a sense of nation-building among the youth as they were at the forefront of various government initiatives like ‘Swachch Bharat’ and while developing applications like CoWin, Arogya Setu and mask-making during the Covid pandemic,” he said.

Thakur told mediapersons that ‘MY Bharat’ would be an aspirational body under which youth from India and abroad would join hands to make India a self-reliant nation.

“It will be a one-stop platform for them to engage with each other and to look for opportunities in various fields like education, experiential learning, community service, etc. The establishment of ‘MY Bharat’ would lead to leadership development in the youth through experiential learning by shifting from isolated physical interaction to programmatic skills. It will also set the focus of the government on youth-led development and make them active drivers of development and not merely passive recipients. The body will lead to better alignment between youth aspirations and community needs. Also it will enable enhanced efficiency through convergence of existing programmes,” he said.