President Droupadi Murmu on Monday presented the MY Bharat-National Service Scheme (NSS) Awards for the year 2022–23 at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The awards recognise and celebrate the exceptional contributions of NSS volunteers, programme officers, and units across India for their commitment to social service, community development, and nation-building.
The ceremony was attended by Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports and Labour & Employment Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports Raksha Nikhil Khadse, Secretary (Youth Affairs) Dr. Pallavi Jain Govil, Secretary (Sports) Hari Ranjan Rao, and other senior officials of the Ministry.
Instituted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in 1993-94, the MY Bharat-NSS Awards are conferred annually to acknowledge outstanding voluntary community service. For 2022–23, a total of 50 awards were presented – 10 NSS Units, 10 Programme Officers, and 30 NSS Volunteers – for their exemplary service and leadership. Each winning NSS Unit received ₹2 lakh and a trophy, Programme Officers received ₹1.5 lakh, a certificate, and a silver medal, while Volunteers were honoured with ₹1 lakh, a certificate, and a silver medal.
The National Service Scheme (NSS), launched in 1969 during the birth centenary of Mahatma Gandhi, is one of the flagship youth programmes of the Government of India. It aims to foster the personality and character development of students through voluntary community service, inspired by the Gandhian ideals of selfless service. The motto of NSS – “Not Me, But You” (स्वयं से पहले आप) – reflects its core philosophy of prioritising community welfare above individual interest.
Currently, the NSS has nearly 40 lakh active volunteers across the country. The volunteers engage in diverse activities addressing issues of social relevance such as literacy and education, health and family welfare, environmental conservation, women’s empowerment, disaster relief, Swachhata (cleanliness) drives, and programmes supporting economic and rural development.
The MY Bharat–NSS Awards 2022–23 honoured distinguished contributors from across India. Among the awardees in the Programme Officer/NSS Unit category were Prof. Lokesha Naik (Karnataka), Dr. Suneesh P. U. (Kerala), Dr. Karambir (Haryana), Dr. Ratna Shyamkishore Nashine (Chhattisgarh), Dr. S. Jeyakumari (Tamil Nadu), Shymal Dey (Tripura), Dr. Bhuban Ch. Chutia (Assam), Arjun Pradhan (Sikkim), Manpreet Kaur (Chandigarh), and Ng Mary Saza (Manipur).
In the Volunteer category, 30 youth from various states and Union Territories were recognised, including Priyanus Hazarika (Assam), Mummula Pruthviraj (Andhra Pradesh), Ayushi Sinha (Madhya Pradesh), Yashpal (Haryana), Arunjyoti Panigrahi (Odisha), D. Reddy Jiishnu (Andhra Pradesh), Sanjaykumar Y. Biradar (Karnataka), Lakhnee Sahu (Chhattisgarh), Somit Dubey (Madhya Pradesh), P. Dinesh (Puducherry), Alok Kumar Pandey (Uttarakhand), Ujjawal Aggarwal (Chandigarh), Parul Thakur (Chandigarh), Yogesh Kumar (Haryana), Diksha Kumari (Jharkhand), Vangapally Mani Sai Varma (Telangana), Anup Biswas (West Bengal), Souvik Chatterjee (West Bengal), Pritika (Delhi), Ayush Verma (Uttarakhand), Alka Awasthi (Punjab), Doli Choudhury (Assam), Somya Prakash (Bihar), Mohd Firdoos (Jammu & Kashmir), Diwakar Anand (Jharkhand), Lalit Tiwari (Rajasthan), Anupam Das (Tripura), Debendra Acharya (Odisha), Raja Bosumotary (Arunachal Pradesh), and Ankur Kumar Mishra (Uttar Pradesh).