Ministry of I&B Launches Pilot of ‘Gems of India’ in Chandigarh
Chandigarh Creators Invited to Showcase City’s Heritage and Win Up to Rs 5 Lakh Under ‘Gems of India’, Entry Submission Open Till 31st August
Calling Chandigarh’s Youth and Digital Creators: Share Your District’s Story on National Platform WAVES OTT
The Voice of Chandigarh News
The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, has launched “Gems of India”, a national initiative aimed at identifying, encouraging and providing a national digital platform to emerging creators from every district of the country. The initiative seeks to celebrate India’s rich and diverse cultural heritage by inviting citizens, youth and digital creators to showcase the unique identity, stories, traditions, achievements and distinctive features of their districts through original digital storytelling. The initiative is being implemented by the Ministry through Prasar Bharati through the MyWAVES section of the WAVES OTT platform, which will serve as the national digital platform for creator registration and submission of entries. The WAVES OTT application can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
The pilot phase of Gems of India was launched on 21st July 2026 across the pilot States and Union Territories of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Goa and Ladakh. The submission window for the pilot phase is open from 1st August to 31st August 2026, and eligible participants from the pilot regions can submit their original content during this period. The initiative is envisaged for a nationwide rollout covering all districts of India, with an expected engagement of approximately 50 lakh citizens and emerging creators and an estimated 500 to 15,000 plus entries per district, scaled according to population, with approximately 15,000 awards across different levels.
Citizens, youth and emerging digital creators can participate digitally by downloading the WAVES OTT application, registering using a mobile number, creating a Creator Profile in the MyWAVES section, selecting the Gems of India programme and uploading their original content along with prescribed details. Participants can create original content highlighting any distinctive feature, story or achievement of their district including culture and heritage, tourism destinations, folk traditions and performing arts, handicrafts and handlooms, local cuisine, festivals, oral traditions, nature and eco-tourism, historical sites and monuments, inspirational local personalities, innovations and any other unique feature. The initiative particularly seeks to encourage authentic and engaging storytelling that brings lesser-known places, people and traditions to a wider audience. The content can be submitted in formats such as short videos, reels, documentaries, podcasts and vlogs, with a duration of one to three minutes and file size ranging from 2 MB to 6 GB.
Outstanding entries will be eligible for recognition at the District, State or UT and National levels with a total prize pool of up to Rs 5 lakh. At the District level, awards will be based on participation with up to 20 awards per district carrying Rs 50,000 each. At the State and UT level, the best entries emerging from districts will compete for an award of Rs 2 lakh per State and UT. At the National level, the best entries from States and UTs will be eligible for awards of Rs 5 lakh, with up to four national awards per State and UT. Beyond prize money, selected creators will receive an opportunity for nationwide recognition, with outstanding content being showcased on MyWAVES, WAVES OTT, Doordarshan, Akashvani and other Prasar Bharati digital platforms.
The initiative follows a multi-level implementation and evaluation framework. At the national level, the Ministry will provide policy guidance and oversight while Prasar Bharati will be responsible for overall implementation and content curation. State Governments will nominate State Nodal Officers and constitute State Jury Committees, while District Administrations will act as the nodal authority for district-level implementation and constitute District Jury Committees. My Bharat will support the initiative by mobilising youth volunteers and creator communities. As per the timeline, District Jury Evaluation will be held in September 2026, State Jury Evaluation by mid-October 2026 and Awards and National Showcase in October 2026, followed by the national rollout.
Gems of India is designed not merely as a content competition but as a scalable district-level creator ecosystem aimed at creating a nationwide repository of authentic district-level digital content. By giving emerging creators a national platform, the initiative seeks to promote local tourism, traditional crafts, art forms, cuisine, cultural practices and lesser-known destinations while strengthening the digital documentation of India’s diverse local identities. Citizens, youth and emerging creators in the pilot States and UTs, including Chandigarh, are encouraged to use the remaining submission window and participate by telling the stories that make their districts unique.
