HRD Minister launches Kartavya portal on occasion of Constitution Day

The portal will be used primarily for holding monthly essay competitions for students as well as other activities like quizzes, debates, poster making, etc pertaining to Nagrik Kartavya Paalan Abhiyan.

Union HRD Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' launched the kartavya.ugc.ac.in portal on the occasion of 'Constitution Day' today, as a part of year-long Nagrik Kartavya Paalan Abhiyan being observed throughout the country. The portal will be used primarily for holding monthly essay competitions for students as well as other activities like quizzes, debates, poster making, etc pertaining to Nagrik Kartavya Paalan Abhiyan. Minister of State for HRD Shri Sanjay Dhotre was also present on the occasion. Secretary, Higher education, MHRD Shri R. Subrahmanyam; Chairperson AICTE Shri Anil Sahasrabudhe, Secretary UGC, Shri Rajnish Jain, and Director IISER Kolkata, Shri Sourav Pal and senior officials of the ministry were also present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that today we are laying the foundation of a great mission because the Nagrik Kartavya Paalan Abhiyan will give direction to the youth of the country. This will make them aware that rights are automatically realized when we follow our duties religiously, he added. This principle will help the students to channelize their talents and capabilities in the right direction which will help them realize their mission with ease, the Minister explained.

Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal said that today we are observing the Constitution Day and the Indian Constitution is one of its kind in the world. It is an incredible Constitution that offers inspiration and opportunity to us to create a New India, the Minister added. He informed that the Department of Higher Education will be holding eleven rounds of National Essay Competitions during the year and the topics of the essay will be based on one Fundamental Duty every month.

While addressing the gathering Shri Sanjay Dhotre said that all of us are conscious of our rights guaranteed by the Constitution, but duties enshrined in the Constitution do not get the same attention. Therefore, this awareness campaign is for sensitizing people regarding their duties towards the society and the nation has been launched on the occasion of Constitution Day.

Shri Dhotre further exhorted the students that while building their careers they should also be able to develop a sincere concern for society. In this way only, they can contribute towards the collective well-being of the society and the nation. He also added that Fundamental Duties should become an integral part of their moral selves.

During the occasion, Shri Pokhriyal also launched the portal 'Abhiyanta' of AICTE. The portal hosts e-contents in important emerging areas like Artificial Intelligence, Cloud computing, Big data, Augmented Reality, etc. Prof Anil Sahasarbudhe, Chairman AICTE informed that this portal has been developed free of cost by the students of Graphic Era Deemed University, Dehradun, under an internship project of AICTE in a record time, and will be of immense use in making authentic and quality learning resources in emerging areas available to the student community free of cost. Describing the efforts of the students as an example of 'Kartyavya', the Minister appreciated the initiative of AICTE and the outstanding contribution of the students.

The competition will be held online through the infrastructure and testing centers of the National Testing Agency and will be open for every student registered in any higher education institution in the country. Registration for the essay competitions can be done through the Kartavya portal. The choice of centers for writing the essays will be made available to contestants when they do the online registration. The essays can be written in Hindi or English. There will be four prizes worth Rs 15000, Rs 12,000, Rs10,000 and Rs7500.

(With Inputs from PIB)