NEW DELHI, Jan 25 : Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the scenario of the country has changed and the youth of today who wish to fly high now have an open sky of aspirations.
While felicitating ‘Super-100’ winners of Project Veer Gatha 3.0 here, the Defence Minister in the presence of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “There was a time when as a nation we had limited resources and we were not able to pay proper attention to our youth. This scenario has now changed. Today, the youth, who wish to fly high, have an open sky of aspirations. It is our duty to encourage these nation builders”.
Rajnath while interacting with students, shared insights on ‘spiritual strength’, a Defence Ministry statement said here.
He described physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual strength as the three facets crucial to achieve victory or any desired result in life. Only a spiritual person attains bliss, Singh said, adding only people with large hearts can be spiritually oriented.
Through the voice of Ms Sahu, the Defence Minister stated that the country’s youth will play a key role in realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of transforming India into ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.
“Youth is the most important asset to shape the future of the country. They will shoulder the responsibility of a developed nation,” she said.
Voicing his views through Ms Barnali, Rajnath Singh said, “Project Veer Gatha was an endeavour to introduce the bravehearts of the nation to the youth and take the tales of valour by these young minds. The project was launched with the combined efforts of Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Education to strengthen the values of ‘Nation First”.
He referred to the recent addition of a chapter on National War Memorial and the brave heroes who gave their supreme sacrifices in the NCERT curriculum of Class VII.
“Our mission is to raise awareness among children about the bravery of our soldiers. We want them to imbibe valour and courage,” Rajnath said and added ‘What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand’, describing it as an accurate way of learning.
Speaking on the occasion, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan termed ‘Veer Gatha’ as unique programme which inspire the young generation about the sacrifices made by the bravehearts.
A cash prize of Rs 10,000, a medal and a certificate were given to each of the 100 winners of Project Veer Gatha 3.0.
The event also witnessed Param Vir Chakra awardee Subedar Major (Honorary Captain) Yogendra Singh Yadav (Retd) narrating his real-life story of the Kargil war where he overcame all odds and played a crucial role in India’s historic victory.
He urged the children to draw inspiration from the valiant soldiers who defend their nation by making supreme sacrifices.
Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane and other senior officials of Ministry of Defence & Ministry of Education were present on the occasion.
This third edition was held between July 13 to September 30, 2023, wherein a record 1.36 crore students from 2.42 lakh schools pan-India shared their inspirational stories in terms of essays, poems, drawings and multimedia presentations.
After series of evaluations under various rubrics for assessment at State and District level, nearly 3,900 entries were submitted for national level evaluation.
The national level evaluation committee appointed by the Ministry of Education selected the top 100 entries. As many as 25 winners from each category – Class 3rd to 5th, Class 6th to 8th, Class 9th to 10th, and Class 11th to 12th were selected.
The remarkable achievement of the Veer Gatha 3.0 is exemplified by the impressive strength of 65 girl students among the ‘Super-100’.
Odisha led the pack with eight girl students, closely followed by Bihar with seven, while Jammu and Kashmir and the north-eastern region of Manipur had two and five noteworthy girl student winners respectively. (UNI)
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