Yuva Utsav: Hike in prize money for winners

LUCKNOW The prize money has almost been doubled for winners of various competitions at the 23rd National Yuva Utsav beginning January 12, said Upendra Tiwari, minister

LUCKNOW The prize money has almost been doubled for winners of various competitions at the 23rd National Yuva Utsav beginning January 12, said Upendra Tiwari, minister of state (independent charge) for sports and youth welfare, at a press conference on Wednesday.

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“Till now, artistes from 22 states have registered for participation. We hope there will be about 7,000 participants representing every state and Union Territory in the country,” he said.

The theme of the festival is ‘Fit Youth, Fit India’ while the mascot for the event is ‘Bandhu’, said the minister.

The five-day-long event, starting from January 12, would be inaugurated at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium.

The inaugural session will have chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Kiren Rijiju, minister of state (independent charge), ministry of youth affairs and sports.

“We have doubled the amount of prize money for competitive events. There are several non-competitive events too that will reflect the traditions of different states,” said the minister.

At individual level, the winners will get ₹10,000 on third place, ₹20,000 on second place and ₹30,000 on first place. At the team level, the prize money will be ₹50,000, ₹1,00,000 and ₹1,50,000 on third, second and first spots.

The 5-day event will have artistes coming from different states to present one-act play, folk dance, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Bharatnatyam dances and instrumental performances. Over a dozen motivational speakers will address the youths while youth icons from across the states will also hold sessions.

The central government has sanctioned ₹63 million and the state government ₹188.5 million for the festival.