25-Jul-2022: Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat

Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme aims to celebrate cultural diversity through mutual interaction & reciprocity between people of different States and UTs so that a spirit of understanding resonates throughout the country. Every State and UT in the country is paired with another State/UT to carry out a structured engagement with one another in the spheres of language, literature, cuisine, festivals, cultural events, tourism etc. More details about the programme and activities conducted are available at https://ekbharat.gov.in/.

Under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, Jharkhand is paired with Goa and has participated in activities pertaining to learning the language of paired State, online presentations/ webinars/ quiz/ painting competitions related to culture, cuisine, handicrafts, historical/ tourist places, indigenous sports, etc. More details are available at https://ekbharat.gov.in/ActivityCompleted/StatePair_Activity?StatePair=Goa%20:%20%20Jharkhand.

8-Jul-2022: 50 students from Odisha visit Maharashtra under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav Student Exchange Program

50 students from Odisha completed their 5-day visit to Maharashtra recently under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav Student Exchange Program. The students reached Mumbai on 29th June as part of the Exchange Program. The exchange programme was facilitated by AICTE and Ministry of Education.

The batch of 50 students from Odisha were hosted by the Thakur College of Engineering and Technology, Mumbai and provided them an opportunity to learn about Maharashtra's language, culture, traditions, music, food etc.

The team from Odisha were warmly welcomed and served with the Maharashtra’s favourite cuisine including puran poli, kothimbir, vadi, misal pav and kande poha. Apart from this, LIVE cake making workshop was demonstrated by the pastry chefs from the Thakur Institute of Hotel management which evoked much interest among the students.

As part of the tour, the students explored various places of historical and cultural significance. They visited the famous Gateway of India, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, and the National Gallery of Modern Art. Formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum, the Vastu Sangrahalaya houses a host of relics, artworks and artefacts from the Mughal empire era, Indus Valley Civilization, and displays of Mumbai’s trade relations with other continents.

To experience the flora and fauna of the state, the students visited the Sanjay Gandhi National Park which has the unique distinction of being the largest tropical forest anywhere in the world to be completely surrounded by urban sprawl. At the park, the students also got a chance to visit the Kanheri Caves which has around 100 caves that demonstrate unique Buddhist style of art and architecture.

Mumbai, which is the entertainment capital of India and the centre of Bollywood, the students visited the National Museum of Indian Cinema in Mahalakshmi. Students also explored Nehru Science Centre in Worli and the Girgaon Viewing Deck. Earlier, students visited the Thakur Institute of Aviation Technology to experience AR VR technology and Thakur Institute of Hotel Management.

On the last day of their visit, the students from Odisha along with the volunteers of TCET visited Global Vipassana Pagoda in Borivali. A valedictory function was held, that was marked by cultural performances like Odissi and Bharatanatyam dance by students.

During the stay, students from both the states had a chance to exchange views on traditions, culture, lifestyle, education, etc. They engaged in indoor and outdoor activities, fun games and friendly matches.

Student's learning flight controls using a mock up at Thakur Institute of Aviation engineering.

Students participating in the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav Student Exchange Program were full of interest and enthusiasm at their visit. GIET University Gunupur student Ananya Rai said that only after the visit we realised that Mumbai is an impeccable blend of the old and modern civilisation, the city seems to be growing every second but they still managed to protect their invaluable history beautifully. I would say this five-day programme was a complete success. Another student Ashutosh Biswal said the trip included 5 days of tour in which we get knowledge about its history, tradition, cloth, food, heritage, culture, language etc. It was the foremost experience to me, to get knowledge about the Maharashtra in nut shell. The best part is to have made new friends here, he added.

Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme aims to enhance interaction & promote mutual understanding between people of different states/UTs through the concept of state/UT pairing. The states carry out activities to promote a sustained and structured cultural connect in the areas of language learning, culture, traditions & music, tourism & cuisine, sports and sharing of best practices, etc.

31-Dec-2020: Group of Ministers reviews the progress of Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat

The Group of Ministers (GoM) set up to monitor Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat (EBSB) of Government of India held a high- level meeting under the chairmanship of Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, to review the progress of Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat (EBSB) programme.

Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Shri Prakash Javadekar, Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports (I/C) and Minister of State for Minority Affairs Shri Kiren Rijiju and Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (I/C) Shri Prahlad Singh Patel took the review meeting. Secretary, Higher Education and I&B, Shri Amit Khare; Secretary, Sports, Shri Ravi Mittal and Senior officials of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth Affairs, Sports Ayush, Defence, Railways, Women and Child Development, MSME, Agriculture and Home Affairs attended the meeting.

A detailed presentation outlining the EBSB activities undertaken by Partner Ministries was made by Secretary, HE, Shri Amit Khare. Briefing the GoM about the implementation of the EBSB so far, Secretary Shri Khare said that all the partner Ministries must take up concerted and coordinated efforts to transform the EBSB programme into a larger Jan Andolan. He informed that six more Ministries viz Ministry of Environment, forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Ayush, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Textiles and Ministry of MSME have been included in the programme

Shri Pokhriyal highlighted that the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has envisaged that EBSB programme will unite the countrymen and promote harmony and bonding. During the "Mann Ki Baat" program on October 25th this year, Prime Minister had appealed to his fellow countrymen to visit the EBSB Website and to upload their local dishes on the recipe corner of the website. The Minister said that the people of this country have shown great interest and actively participated in it, with over 1000 recipes being uploaded on the portal.

Shri Pokhriyal emphasized that the EBSB program should be taken further to celebrate the commemoration of 75th year of country’s independence. In this regard, he requested each partner ministry to provide suggestions and devise an action plan exploring new initiatives that can be taken up under EBSB. He urged participating ministries to identify sub themes under EBSB and prepare a yearly calendar of EBSB events. He added that progress of the EBSB activities organized by the Ministries will be reviewed every three months.

Speaking about New Education Policy, the Minister said that it lays emphasis on learning various languages by involving students in fun activities so that they have better understanding of different languages. Minister said that ‘Aaj ka Vakya’ is a very good initiative that needs to be further strengthened.

Shri Prakash Javadekar emphasized that branding of EBSB must be done to enhance its visibility among the wider public.

Shri Prahlad Singh Patel informed that to promote EBSB, the Ministry has already identified 100 tourism places where educational institutions can explore and study the sites, their history, scientific contributions, traditions and literature to enlighten the students about these areas.

Shri Kiren Rijiju said that Youth National Integration Camp is the powerful tool to foster the spirit of EBSB among youth across the country.  He called upon everyone to carry on with the essence and mandate of Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat in a pro-active manner. 

The major EBSB initiatives taken by the partner Ministries/ Departments:

D/O SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

• 1.55 crore students participated in activities of EBSB as part of school curriculum.
• EBSB clubs formed in 1,46,766 CBSE and other schools
• Over 8 Crore students participated in Kala Utsav Programme at Bhopal, Band Competitions  Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, “Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat Parv” , Matribhasha Diwas, Bhasha Sangam and various cultural exchanges organized before the pandemic
• EBSB themes taken up through online classes, WhatsApp video calls
• Online Video Series on Indigenous Games of India in coordination with Fit India Cell
• Online Quiz and Essay Competition between  paired states

D/O HIGHER EDUCATION

• 15 lakh students from higher education participated in activities of EBSB.
• 5 Youth festivals and 16 students exchange programs were organised.
• More than 980 online activities were carried out under EBSB in HEIs.
• 1488 institutions have set up EBSB Clubs, 809 EBSB Days observed

M/O CULTURE

• Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav now called as Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat Mahotsav was organised in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh at a grand level.
• 18 Cultural Events,  11 performance-cum-lecdems,  Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav– before Covid
• More than 60 online activities by Zonal Cultural Centres
• ASI compiled information about 22 World Heritage sites, 25 other important monuments, Publication on Monuments of  17 states/ UTs and Digital Content Development for  monuments of 16 states / UT's.
• 5 Books translated and published in the language of paired state by Sahitya Akademi

M/O TOURISM

• Quiz contest through MyGov - each state /UT being focused for 15 days. 2,27,369  people participated
• Bharat Parv, India Tourism Mart 2019, Imphal
• 61 Dekho Apna Desh webinars organized on various facets of tourism in the country, links on EBSB portal

D/O Sports

• 36 Zonal Championships till March 2020 with the unique concept of fielding paired state teams with participation of around 2250 sportspersons.
• Spreading  awareness about Indigenous Games like Shooting Ball, Sqay, Mallakhamba, Tug of War, Kalarippayattu, kho-kho through physical and digital medium.
• 35 Documentaries of fifteen Indigenous games namely Gatka, Rollball, Tug of War, Kalarippayattu, Thang-Ta, Kho Kho, Mallakhamba, Shooting ball, Sqay, Kabaddi, Gilli Danda, Sikkim Archery, Chhau & Paika Akhada, Dhoop & Cowrie Khel and Kushti Akhada made and streamed Live on the social media platforms
• Uploaded on the Digital Repository of the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat website (www.ekbharat.gov.in), broadcast on DD Sports channel

D/O Youth Affairs

Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS)

• 69 programmes till March 2020 with 6956 participants
• Over 1 lakh students participated in Online Activities like learning about cuisine, culture, history, tourism etc. of the paired states through YouTube video/ social media platforms

M\O I&B

• Visibility to EBSB through different social media platforms.
• Dekho Apna Desh webinar series of M/o Tourism popularised through media
• DD News - a Weekly 30 minutes program on EBSB theme
• Integrated Communication Programmes and Special Outreach Programmes including exhibitions through Regional Outreach Bureaus.
• Webinars on different themes of EBSB – cultural integration in diversity, traditions and activities, promotion of handicrafts of various states.

M\O DEFENCE

• Translation of over 185 songs in the language of partner state by 22 Sainik Schools – over 3754 students  participated
• Exchange of information of traditional and agricultural practices of Karnataka in Regional / Geographical factors, agricultural factors, festivals, dress, food and heritage by SSs at Bijapur, Chittorgarh, East Siang, Gopalganj, Jhansi, Kapurthala, Kalikiri, Kunjpura, Nalanda, Rewari, Satara and Tilaiya; 1,132 students participated

M\O Home Affairs

• Cultural Programmes, Nukkad Nataks, Food Festivals organized by CAPF units like  Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) ,Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) , Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Assam Rifles, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Border Security Force (BSF) during Oct’19- Feb’20 in which over 1.12 lakh persons participated
• Central Armed Paramilitary Forces - ITBP, CRPF, CISF and SSB displayed one sentence daily in different Indian languages on their websites for Aaj ka Vakya to promote language learning under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.
• Further, in the public schools and Kendriya Vidyalayas functioning from various ITBP camps, more than 50 quiz competitions / blog competitions in various languages were organized  giving  exposure to alphabets, songs ,proverbs and 100 sentences in different Indian languages.

M/O RAILWAYS

• Process of travel concession to Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat (EBSB) participants simplified. As a special case, the condition of monthly income limit of Rs. 5000/- also exempted for availing concession by the participants of EBSB

28-May-2020: Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme  to be taken forward using innovative ways in view of the prevailing conditions of COVID 19

It has been decided to take forward the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme of the Government by  using innovative ways in view of the prevailing conditions of COVID 19.

This was decided at a recent meeting of  Secretaries via videoconferencing ,  of partner ministries under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme  of the Government . The meeting was chaired by  Secretary, Higher Education, M/o HRD, Shri Amit Khare. M/o HRD  is the nodal ministry for the EBSB programme. The meeting was attended by Secretary, Tourism Shri Yogendra Tripathi; Secretary Culture, Shri Anand Kumar; Secretary Department of Youth Affairs, Smt Usha Sharma; Secretary, SE & L Smt Anita Karwal; CEO, MyGov Shri Abhishek Singh and senior officers of  ministries of I & B, Railways, Home , Defence , Parliamentary Affairs and department of Sports.

Welcoming the participants, Shri Amit Khare  briefed about the implementation of the programme so far, stressing on the need to have innovative ways to carry it forward in view of the prevailing conditions of COVID 19. Secretary D/o SEL, Smt. Anita Karwal also emphasized upon the need to show tangible outputs.

During the meeting a presentation was made on the progress of EBSB so far.

Speaking at the meeting, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Shri Yogendra Tripathi informed that institutions under Tourism ministry are organising webinars on various aspects of tourism. The ministry is doing a series of webinars under the series "Dekho Apna Desh", being hosted on MyGov portal. These webinars are being attended by thousands of people.  He also suggested that such webinars can be organised for tourism stake holders of different states such as Tour Operators etc. Secretary, Higher Education suggested that the recordings of “Dekho Apna Desh” and other webinars can be displayed on the educational channels and in breaks during online classes.

Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Shri Anand Kumar stated that they are also organising various webinars. He suggested all webinars of different Ministries should be brought under a common platform of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. He further suggested that e- programmes can be prepared on various topics such as writing dramas, paintings , virtual tours of monuments, etc. He further informed that the Culture Ministry proposes to develop  E- Heritagepedia and E- Artist pedia and also suggested that renowned artists can do virtual programme modules to teach their art. Secretary D/o SEL  welcomed the idea and said that schools would be very interested in classes on indigenous art like Worli and Madhubani paintings.

Secretary, Department of Youth Affairs, Smt. Usha Sharma appreciated the use of digital medium for conducting the EBSB programmes. She said with this, the reach of these programmes can be enhanced greatly.  She also suggested for sharing of digital material prepared by different departments. Secretary, HE suggested that the inputs may be collected from all the Ministries at a single platform. Secretary, D/O SEL suggested they could be hosted on a digital platform.     

CEO, My Gov.in, Shri Abhishek Singh said that they are developing a mobile App for learning 100 sentences in different languages. He also said that MyGov can host webinars of various departments and also disseminate information about their programmes. 

Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Shri Vikram Sahai suggested that apart from the information of various states being shared through TV, Radio and Print Media, good practices and success stories of each state may also be shared with the partner states. He also suggested all departments can pool in their digital resources and DD News can use their weekly EBSB programme to host destination based programmes. JS (ICC), Ms. Neeta Prasad suggested that each Ministry should share their future monthly action plan in advance with Ministry of Information & Broadcasting for wider coverage.

 Executive Director, Ministry of Railways Smt. Vandana Bhatnagar,  briefed about the steps taken by them for providing concessions to the students participating in various EBSB programmes and on displaying the logo, Video display etc on railways property. She said that these activities will be up taken afresh once regular movement of  trains start.

The officers of  Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Defence,  Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Department of Sports briefed about the activities taken up prior to the lockdown period and activities proposed to be started. 

At the end of the meeting, Secretary, HE summarised important actionable points as follows:

1. To move towards digital mediums for the carrying on the activities under EBSB by each participating Ministry/ Department.
2. To organise webinars on Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat themes for their wide dissemination.
3. To have a common repository for the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat digital resources that can be used by every Ministry. This repository may be hosted on a common portal.
4. A revised communication plan needs to be made and Doordarshan's 30 minute weekly programme on EBSB  should be destination based with inputs from all ministries.

13-Feb-2020: Around 1200 Players Participate in Zonal Sports Championships under “EK Bharat Shrestha Bharat” in January 2020

The Department of Sports organised Nine events in the month of January 2020 under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Programme (EBSB) in various parts of the country to promote the spirit of National integration through sports. Championship events were organised in indigenous sports disciplines of Tug of War, Sqay, Kalarippayattu, Shooting ball and Olympic sport Handball for both Girls and Boys, with the unique concept of fielding Paired State teams. The winner Paired state team of Zonal championship qualify for the finals.  Till  January 31, 2020 Department of Sports conducted Nineteen events across the country, with participation of around 1200 players. The nine events conducted in the month of January 2020 are as under:

S No	Nature of activities	Place/ Institution	Date	Number of participants
1.	SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP EBSB Tug of war Championship for Men Zone 2	Indira Gandhi ground, Mahapalika Stadium, Nanded, Maharashtra Organised by Department of Sports, Tug of War Federation of India	12-15 Jan 2020	122  Participants From paired states  Himachal Pradesh: Kerela, Gujarat: Chhattisgarh, Bihar: Tripura& Mizoram, Puducherry: Daman& Diu
2.	SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP EBSB Tug of war Championship for Women Zone 2	-do-	12-15 Jan 2020
3.	SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP EBSB Sqay Boys    U-21 Championship Zone 2	Sports Authority of India, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Organised by Department of Sports Sqay Fed of India	18-20 Jan 200	117 Participants From paired states  Uttarakhand: Karnataka Goa : Jharkhand Madhya Pradesh: Manipur & Nagaland Bihar: Tripura
4.	SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP EBSB Sqay Girls U-21 Championship Zone 2	-do-	18-20 Jan 200
5.	SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP EBSB Kalarippayattu Demonstration	St. Xaviers School Gandhi Nagar IIT Gandhi Nagar Nest International School Ahmedabad Ayyappa Temple Trust Auditorium Gandhi Nagar Organised by Department of Sports Kalarippayattu Federation of India	23-24 Jan 2020	Kalarippayattu team demonstration was held at four venues in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
6.	SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP EBSB Handball Boys U-20 Zone 1	Indore Organised by Department of Sports Handball Fed of India	28-30 Jan 2020	144 Participants From paired states  MP: Manipur & Nagaland, Goa: Jharkhand, Punjab: Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh: Kerala.
7.	SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP EBSB Handball Girls U-20 Zone 1	-do-	28-30 Jan 2020	M.P: Manipur, Nagaland Delhi: Sikkim Puducherry: Daman, Diu TN: J&K, Ladakh
8.	SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP EBSB Shooting Ball Men Zone 3	V.K KRISHNA INDOOR Stadium Kozhikode, Kerala Organised by  Department of Sports Shooting Ball Federation of India	30-31 Jan 2020	94 Participants From paired states  Maharashtra: Odisha, Chandigarh: Dadra& Nagar Haveli, MP: Manipur& Nagaland, Puducherry: Daman& Diu.

The players from all the participating paired States/UTs enjoyed playing these championship events with a unique concept of Joint teams of Paired States, which helped in better understanding of culture and food habits of each other. Colourful inauguration and closing ceremony were performed for each of the events in which local children performed welcome songs and folk dances in colourful folk dresses.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had mooted the idea of a cultural connect between different regions during the Rashtriya Ekta Divas held in 2015. The broad objectives of Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat include celebrating the Unity in Diversity of our nation and promoting the spirit of national integration through engagement between all states and union territories.

An activity calendar for each pair is prepared through mutual consultation, paving the way for a year long process of mutual engagement. The current pairings will continue till June this year. After the creation of Union Territory of Ladakh, it has been paired along with Jammu and Kashmir with Tamil Nadu. Punjab has been paired with Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand with Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh with Kerala, Delhi with Sikkim, and Rajasthan with Assam.

16-Nov-2017: MP partners with Nagaland and Manipur under Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat Yojana.

Under ‘Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat’ Yojana, Madhya Pradesh has been made partner of Manipur and Nagaland. The Higher Education Department of Madhya Pradesh has been made nodal department to implement the scheme.

As part of this, Madhya Pradesh will participate in Sangai Mahotsav being organized in Manipur from November 21 to 30. Similarly, teams of Manipur and Nagaland will take part in Lok Rang and Bal Rang programmes to present their cultural programmes and to apprise people with their culture.

Besides, translation work of Nagaland’s books has also been started in Madhya Pradesh to introduce people of the state with their activities and cultural heritage. Other activities are also being conducted in this regard.

Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat was announced by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 31st October, 2015 on the occasion of the 140th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Subsequently, the Finance Minister announced the initiative in his Budget Speech for 2016-17.

Through this innovative measure, the knowledge of the culture, traditions and practices of different States & UTs will lead to an enhanced understanding and bonding between the States, thereby strengthening the unity and integrity of India.

All States and UTs will be covered under the programme. There will be pairing of States/UTs at national level and these pairings will be in effect for one year, or till the next round of pairings. The State/UT level pairings would be utilized for state level activities. District level pairings would be independent of the State level pairings.

The activity will be very useful to link various States and Districts in annual programmes that will connect people through exchanges in areas of culture, tourism, language, education trade etc. and citizens will be able to experience the cultural diversity of a much larger number of States/UTs while realising that India is one.