Viksit Bharat drive on Delhi campuses comes to a halt; some say it served political ends

'Viksit Bharat @2047: Voice of Youth' programme engages Delhi college students in shaping India's future by 2047.

Over the past five months since its launch, the ‘Viksit Bharat @2047: Voice of Youth’ programme has reached many college-going students in the Capital. As part of the scheme, ‘Viksit Bharat’ selfie points and banners were installed in colleges, dedicated ‘Viksit Bharat’ cells created in universities, and a multitude of seminars and workshops conducted on the theme. A professor from every college was appointed as a nodal officer for the programme.

Although the drive has not officially been concluded, a nodal officer of a Delhi University (DU) college, who did not wish to be named, said they had not received instructions on the drive from the University Grants Commission (UGC) after the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct.

The scheme’s aim was to provide a platform to the youth to contribute thoughts to the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat @2047’ — the idea of a developed India by 2047, the 100th year of Independence.

However, many academics and students in Delhi’s colleges have termed the programme “a misuse of educational institutions” and claimed that it had political ends.

At the programme’s launch on December 11, 2023, the Prime Minister suggested that special campaigns be run in every college and university. He also announced the launch of the ‘Ideas Portal’, where college students could write essays on five themes with ideas on how they envision a developed country by 2047 and win cash prizes from ₹2 lakh-₹5 lakh.

According to data on the Viksit Bharat dashboard on the government portal, 46,409 people from Delhi participated in the essay competition. Universities such as DU, Ambedkar University, and Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) hosted theme-related events. Most colleges continue to have a dedicated ‘Viksit Bharat’ section on their websites.

The DU college nodal officer said they received regular mails from the UGC regarding programmes and events from December to March. “It is no coincidence that the programmes took place right before elections. It seemed like propaganda to attract the youth,” said the officer.