PM Modi to interact with Viksit Vibrant Village Programme participants on July 26

New Delhi, July 25

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact  with hundreds of young people who spent nearly a month living in some of India’s remote border villages, listening to their experiences of life on the country’s frontiers and their role in community development at 4.30 pm on Sunday.

The programme is part of the government’s broader vision of strengthening villages along India’s borders by treating them as the country’s “first villages” and involving them more closely in the national development agenda.
Held in two phases between June 4 and June 30, the initiative covered 74 villages across Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. More than 400 participants, representing every state and union territory, were selected through a nationwide online quiz that drew over 300,000 entries.

Rather than simply visiting the villages, participants lived with local families, giving them a closer look at everyday life in regions that are often geographically isolated but strategically significant.

During their stay, they joined cleanliness campaigns, helped raise awareness about government welfare schemes, participated in youth meetings and cultural exchange programmes, planted trees and took part in mock panchayat sessions designed to familiarise them with grassroots governance. They also interacted with local artisans and visited institutions of strategic importance.

For many participants, the programme offered an opportunity to experience the cultural traditions, livelihoods and development challenges of frontier communities first-hand while building connections with people from different parts of the country.
Officials say the initiative is intended to promote community participation, strengthen national integration and deepen young people’s understanding of the social, economic and strategic importance of India’s border villages.

Sunday’s interaction with the Prime Minister is expected to give participants an opportunity to share their experiences and reflect on what they learned during their stay in the country frontier regions.