More than 2.22 crore young people had registered on the Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat) platform by July 2026, highlighting the government’s expanding focus on youth participation, skills, education, employment and civic engagement.
With nearly 65 per cent of India’s population below the age of 35, youth development has become a key component of the government’s broader Viksit Bharat @ 2047 vision.
Launched in October 2023 for people aged 15 to 29, MY Bharat provides opportunities in volunteering, experiential learning, leadership, skilling, career development and civic participation.
The platform had made available more than 1.52 lakh volunteering opportunities and over 24,900 experiential learning programmes by July 2026.
The Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue 2026 also attracted more than 50 lakh young participants through a nationwide quiz. The initiative included 78 diaspora youth from 21 countries and identified 6,000 young leaders for a district-wise repository.
Meanwhile, National Service Scheme volunteer enrolment increased from 34.09 lakh in 2014-15 to 38.90 lakh in 2025-26.
India’s education network now includes 14.67 lakh schools, serving 24.72 crore students and supported by more than 1.02 crore teachers.
The secondary-school dropout rate declined from 14.54 per cent in 2013-14 to 7 per cent in 2025-26.
Digital education infrastructure has also expanded. More than 1.49 lakh schools were covered under ICT and digital initiatives by 2025-26, while over 1.76 lakh smart classrooms and 1.79 lakh ICT laboratories had been sanctioned by March 2026.
The Atal Tinkering Labs programme has established more than 10,000 laboratories, involving over 1.1 crore student innovators and supporting more than 16 lakh projects.
Higher education enrolment rose from 3.4 crore in 2014-15 to 4.5 crore in 2023-24. Female enrolment increased by 42.2 per cent during the period, reaching 2.2 crore.
Digital learning platforms have also expanded. SWAYAM offers more than 20,370 courses and has recorded over 6.5 crore enrolments, while DIKSHA has recorded 19.06 crore enrolments across 342 courses.
The Academic Bank of Credits has onboarded 3,123 institutions, and more than 35.27 crore APAAR IDs had been issued by August 12, 2026.
Government skilling programmes have benefited more than six crore people, with growing emphasis on industry-linked training and emerging technologies.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, more than 1.64 crore young people have been trained since 2015 in areas including artificial intelligence, robotics, drones, electronics and green energy.
India’s recognised startup ecosystem has also expanded significantly, reaching more than 2.47 lakh startups by August 2026, compared with around 350 before 2014.
The Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme had offered 1,64,902 internship opportunities across 31 sectors as of August 12.
The government has also announced PM-SETU, with an estimated ₹60,000 crore outlay to upgrade 1,000 government ITIs through 200 hubs and 800 spokes.
Youth development is also being supported through sports infrastructure and athlete development.
Under Khelo India, 349 infrastructure projects worth ₹3,176 crore have been approved, alongside 1,067 Khelo India Centres and 267 academies. The programme currently supports 2,745 athletes.
Healthcare and mental well-being remain another focus. Tele-MANAS had handled more than 43.70 lakh calls through 53 cells as of August 12, 2026.
Under the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, more than 30.05 crore people, including 11.86 crore young people, had been reached.
