New Delhi: India’s World Cup-winning women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur, badminton great Pullela Gopichand, and tennis stalwart Leander Paes are among the top sportspersons who will be a part of the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue (VBYLD) 2026 to be held here at Bharat Mandapam from Jaunuary 9 to 12.
The Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue is a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports aimed at giving India’s youth a “meaningful role in shaping the vision of a Viksit Bharat”.
A total of 2,000 youths from states and Union Territories have been finally selected to participate in the national-level Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue following a country and state-level evaluation that saw participation from over 50 lakh youngsters, according to the ministry.
January 12, observed as the National Youth Day on the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, will be a key highlight of the programme, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will spend time engaging with the selected young leaders.
A group of young participants will also have the opportunity to present the best ideas before the Prime Minister and “receive his guidance, feedback and encouragement on their vision for a Viksit Bharat 2047.”
Throughout the programme, young leaders will interact closely with domain experts like singer-cum-poltician Maithali Thakur, shooter Shreyasi Singh, Gopichand, and Paes on governance, sports, entrepreneurship, agriculture, sustainability, culture and technology, helping them further refine and strengthen their ideas.
The participants will also have the opportunity to learn from interactions with national icons like entrepreneur Sridhar Vembu, and astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla.
VBYLD 2026 will also bring in young minds from beyond India, with 80 Indian diaspora youth selected under the Know India Programme of the Ministry of External Affairs participating in the event.
Vehicle free zones
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As part of the Fit India Movement, the ministry is also encouraging educational institutions to declare campuses as vehicle-free zones, allowing only cycling and walking.
This initiative has already been implemented at Sawai Madho Singh Stadium, Jaipur; Rajgir Sports Complex in Bihar; the Infosys campus.
“Several IIT campuses are expected to adopt this model soon,” Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said.
