New Delhi: The Valedictory Function of National Service Scheme Republic Day volunteers Camp was held here today at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The function was graced by the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Shri Ajay Maken. The Camp started on 1st January, 2012 and it will be over tomorrow, i.e. on 31st January, 2012. At the function the Sports Minister gave away the Certificates to the participants. The programme also included presentation of Camp Report by the Camp Director and sharing of experiences by the NSS volunteers.

The camp comprised of 200 National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteers from across the country - 100 girls and 100 boys and 15 Programme Officers (PO’s) who are Lecturers in selected colleges. The NSS volunteers spent one month in the camp practicing marching and meeting Academicians. Evenings were devoted to cultural programmes and the campers showcased their talents. The campers celebrated the Youth Day on 12th January. Out of the 200 Volunteers, 148 participated in the Republic Day parade. The remaining volunteers were in reserve or were a part of the cultural component of the Camp. All the volunteers and PO’s called upon the President of India, the Vice President and the Prime Minister (PM).

In his address at the Valedictory functions, Shri Maken complimented the organizers for making the camp a memorable one. He noted that the NSS was formed in 1969 in the centenary year of the birth of the father of nation Mahatma Gandhi and NSS volunteers must follow the principles preached by the Mahatma in letter and in spirit. He further said that his Ministry was in the process of planning to introduce a “Skill Development Programme” for these volunteers. The Ministry is actively working in collaboration with the National Skill Development Council on this aspect. This Scheme will help the volunteers in getting employable skills to the volunteers. This move will be beneficial to the student youth who are actively participating in Nation building activities.

The Camp Director, Captain Subhash Singh, presented the camp report. He observed that during the camp various eminent personalities came to guide the volunteers in various streams, which is certainly going to help them in future. Besides this the volunteers learnt the leadership skills as they themselves organized the camp throughout the day.

National Service Scheme (NSS) which has an enrolment of 32 lakh student youth is a Flagship programme of Ministry for Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS). The Scheme aims at building the personality of youth through community service. The NSS volunteers have done immense social service to the society by donating blood and making efforts towards plantation drive and clean and green environment, etc.