Youth Parliament Programme Expands Democratic Learning Across India

The initiative is designed to strengthen awareness of parliamentary democracy by giving participants practical exposure to legislative procedures and informed public discussion.

The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs is expanding opportunities for young people to understand democratic processes through its Youth Parliament Programme, which now reaches students and citizens across the country through competitions, online participation and support for states and Union Territories.

The initiative is designed to strengthen awareness of parliamentary democracy by giving participants practical exposure to legislative procedures and informed public discussion.

Competitions bring Parliament to classrooms

The Ministry conducts several Youth Parliament competitions in partnership with educational institutions. These include programmes for schools under the Directorate of Education of the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the New Delhi Municipal Council, Kendriya Vidyalayas, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, universities and colleges, and Eklavya Model Residential Schools.

Students take part in simulated parliamentary sittings, allowing them to understand legislative debates, parliamentary procedures and democratic decision-making through hands-on experience rather than classroom lessons alone.

Online platform opens participation to all

To reach more people, the Ministry introduced the National Youth Parliament Scheme (NYPS) 2.0, a web-based platform that allows voluntary participation from citizens across India regardless of gender, caste, religion, region or background.

Participants can organise Youth Parliament sittings under institutional or group categories or take part individually through an online parliamentary quiz. Successful participants receive certificates generated through the NYPS Helpdesk. Around 1.7 lakh students and citizens have already participated through the digital platform, reflecting its growing popularity.

States receive financial support

The Ministry also provides financial assistance to States and Union Territories for organising Youth Parliament competitions by reimbursing eligible expenses within fixed annual limits.

The reimbursement ceiling is ₹3 lakh for legislatures with up to 100 members, ₹4 lakh for those with 101 to 200 members, ₹5 lakh for legislatures with more than 200 members and ₹2 lakh for Union Territories without a legislature. This support encourages wider participation while helping local administrations conduct the programme effectively.

Orientation helps teachers guide students

The Ministry does not organise separate parliamentary awareness training programmes. Instead, it conducts orientation courses before every Youth Parliament competition to prepare principals, teachers and coordinators for managing parliamentary sittings.

Between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026, orientation programmes were organised for 100 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools and 200 Kendriya Vidyalaya schools through virtual sessions. Physical orientation programmes were also conducted for teachers from 41 Delhi schools participating in the 58th Youth Parliament Competition and 36 Eklavya Model Residential Schools taking part in the first National Youth Parliament Competition for EMRS.

The Ministry does not provide financial assistance to participating institutions for attending these orientation programmes.

The details were shared by Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.