The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Tuesday launched the pilot phase of the ‘Gems of India’ Challenge, a nationwide initiative aimed at identifying, nurturing and promoting grassroots digital creators through authentic storytelling about India’s districts.
The initiative, launched as part of the government’s efforts to strengthen the country’s creative economy and emerging “Orange Economy”, will be hosted on the MyWAVES platform under the WAVES OTT ecosystem. The challenge invites creators to produce short videos showcasing the culture, heritage, tourism, traditions, history and unique achievements of their respective districts.
The Ministry said the submission window for the pilot phase will remain open from August 1 to August 31, 2026. Participants can upload original videos of one to three minutes through the MyWAVES section of the WAVES OTT platform.
The pilot programme will be rolled out in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Goa, and Ladakh before being expanded across the country.
According to the Ministry, the challenge builds on the MyWAVES citizen creator platform, launched by Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to encourage user-generated content and strengthen India’s digital creator ecosystem. The platform aims to provide creators with an opportunity to tell local stories while celebrating the country’s cultural diversity.
Launching the initiative, Information and Broadcasting Secretary Chanchal Kumar said every district in India has a unique story waiting to be told and that the challenge seeks to celebrate both the creativity of young content creators and the country’s rich diversity.
The pilot phase will be implemented in partnership with Prasar Bharati, My Bharat, state governments and district administrations, while local cultural and educational institutions will assist in creator mobilisation and content development.
Global technology platforms YouTube and Meta have also partnered with the initiative and will help promote the challenge through their creator communities and digital networks.
To encourage participation, the Ministry has announced a three-tier award structure. At the district level, up to 20 winners in each district will receive ₹50,000 each. One creator from every participating district will then be selected for a state-level award of ₹2 lakh, while the best entries in the nationwide rollout will compete for national awards of ₹5 lakh each.
District and state jury committees comprising experts from the fields of culture, heritage, tourism, media and academia will evaluate the entries.
The Ministry said insights from the pilot phase will be used to refine the programme before it is expanded to all States and Union Territories, with the long-term objective of creating a vibrant nationwide ecosystem of digital creators who document and promote the unique identity of every district in India.
