National Youth Festival begins on Monday in Amritsar

Nearly 4,000 youngsters from across the country will take part in the 14th National Youth Festival to hosted by Punjab for the first time at Amritsar from January 12-16.

Vice-president M Hamid Ansari will inaugurate the event, which marks the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda on January 12. Ansari will also give away National Youth Awards and honour the National Youth Outstanding Clubs.

The award consists of a silver medal, a certificate, and a cash prize. The government has doubled the cash reward for individual awardees to Rs40,000 and for voluntary organisations to Rs2 lakh.

During the five-day festival, there will be competitive events in 16 individual items and two group items. In addition, a young artists camp, Yuva Kriti, and an adventure festival will be organised by the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, which functions under the aegis of the department of youth affairs.

The National Service Scheme will organise a national youth convention and a lecture series, 'Suvichar'.