Pillar: Agency & Engagement
This is not a separate building, it is a set of platforms that exist inside colleges. The National Service Scheme (NSS), National Cadet Corps (NCC), student unions, and MY Bharat volunteering cells are the main civic and leadership platforms for college-going youth. NSS is a 100% Central Sector Scheme since 01.04.2016 (Centrally Sponsored upto 2015-16). NSS operates at both college/university and +2 (Senior Secondary) school level; at +2 level, the NSS Cell sits in the State Directorate of Senior Secondary Education. NCC operates under the Ministry of Defence. MY Bharat was established in October 2023 as an autonomous body; MY Bharat (formerly Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS)) functions were formally integrated into the MY Bharat framework from May 2025, and now serves as the operational backbone for many youth volunteering schemes. Many colleges register as MY Bharat activity centres, and existing NSS/NCC units are increasingly linked to the portal for digital tracking and certificates; on MY Bharat, NSS Programme Officers typically serve as the institutional verifier for student registrations and event participation from their college. These should be checked during college visits, not as a separate trip.
If you are in college, NSS gives you community service experience, NCC gives you military training and a certificate valued in government hiring, and MY Bharat connects you to volunteering opportunities with digital certificates. These are the main structured platforms for civic engagement available to you.
- NSS: 120 hours of community service per year per volunteer; one 7-day special camp per year in a village or urban area. Activity areas: Education, Health, Family Welfare and Nutrition, Environment Conservation, Improving Status of Women, Production-oriented programmes, and Relief & Rehabilitation during natural calamities - NCC: military training, discipline, national integration; weekly parades, annual training camps, and 'B' / 'C' certificate exams with preference in armed forces and government hiring - Student Union: represent student interests, organise cultural and sports events, interface with administration on grievances - MY Bharat: volunteering opportunities (blood donation, tree planting, Digital India campaigns) with digital certificates. MY Bharat additionally runs structured Experiential Learning Programmes (ELPs), short attachments to industry, government and NGOs of varying duration (typically 15 to 30 days, 120 to 360 hours), with digital certificates issued via the portal
Portal: mybharat.gov.in — registered activity centres and events by district; nss.gov.in/en/nss-directories-view — state-wise PDF directories of all NSS units organised by Regional Directorate Also: Visit any government degree college, polytechnic, or university in the district and ask about NSS, NCC, and the student union
For what this looks like in a particular district, start from the district courses or the English reference guide (Hindi).