PM Narendra Modi to address National Youth Parliament Festival on Tuesday

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the valedictory function of the second National Youth Parliament Festival on Tuesday via video conferencing.

Three national winners of the festival will also express their views during the event, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said on Sunday, adding that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, and Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju will also be present on the occasion.

An official statement said the festival's objective is to hear the voice of the youth between 18 and 25 years of age, who vote and will join various careers in coming years, including public services.

The NYPF is based on the idea given by the prime minister in his 'Mann Ki Baat' address on December 31, 2017, and the first festival was organised from January 12 to February 27, 2019 with the theme "Be the Voice of New India and Find solutions and Contribute to Policy".

The PMO said that the second NYPF was launched on December 23 last year through virtual mode, and over 2.34 lakh youths from across the country participated in the first stage. It was followed by State Youth Parliaments through virtual mode from January 1 to 5 this year. The finals will be held in the Central Hall of Parliament on January 11.

As many as 29 national winners will get an opportunity to speak before a national jury comprising MPs Roopa Ganguly and Parvesh Verma and journalist Prafulla Ketkar, the editor of Hindutva weekly Organiser.

The National Youth Festival is celebrated every year from January 12 to 16. January 12 is the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda and is also observed as National Youth Day. The PMO noted that this year, the NYPF is also being organized along with the National Youth Festival.