- Why in news
- On 4 April 2026, PIB published a feature on Yuva Sangam, the youth exchange under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. Registrations for Phase-VI, covering 22 States/UTs, ran from 2 to 25 March 2026.
- What it is
- Yuva Sangam is a youth exchange programme under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat initiative. Youth aged 18-30 travel to paired States/UTs for structured tours of culture, institutions and development projects. It is anchored by the Ministry of Education and run through Higher Education Institutions.
- Parent initiative
- Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat began on 31 October 2015, Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel. It pairs States and UTs for sustained engagement.
- Eligibility
- Open to those aged 18-30, including students, NSS and NYKS volunteers and young professionals.
- Who runs it
- The Ministry of Education anchors it. Higher Education Institutions implement it.
- Phase I (2023)
- The first phase focused on the North Eastern Region. It had 29 tours across 21 States/UTs.
- Phase-VI (2026)
- It covers 22 States/UTs with 22 nodal Higher Education Institutions. Tours last five to seven days.
- NEP link
- The programme supports the experiential learning approach of NEP 2020.
Don’t confuse with Yuva Sangam vs EBSB: EBSB is the umbrella initiative pairing States/UTs from 2015. Yuva Sangam is its youth exchange component, rolled out in 2023.
Don’t confuse with NSS vs NYKS: Both are youth volunteer bodies whose members can join. They are separate organisations, and neither runs Yuva Sangam.
Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.
Why it matters
- Direct contact across regions builds national integration and mutual understanding.
- It puts NEP 2020's experiential learning into practice.
Problems
- Only thousands of youth take part against lakhs of applicants, so reach is small.
- Short tours of 5-7 days may give only surface exposure.
Way forward
- Widen the number of tours and institutions, with fair inclusion of rural and remote youth.
- Follow up with project work or repeat exchanges so the contact lasts.
Put in your answer
Demand data: Phase IV drew about 45,000 registrations in 10 days.
EBSB example: EBSB follows a whole-of-government approach involving multiple ministries and builds year-round engagement.
- 2019Mains GS1 · Q18Are there cultural pockets of small India nationwide? Elaborate with examples.
- 2019Mains GS1 · Q8What makes Indian society unique in sustaining its culture?
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Lasting youth exchange scheme under EBSB, aged 18-30. Schemes are 16% of news-linked Prelims questions, but this one has few testable facts.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.