National Youth Festival from Jan 12 in Ludhiana

The 18th National Youth Festival will be held in Ludhiana from January 12 to 16.
The festival is held on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda on January 12, which is observed as the National Youth Day.
The festival is being organised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India and the Government of Punjab.
Over 5000 youth will participate at the Festival wherein each State/UT Government is expected to send a contingent of 100 participants for a multitude of competitive and non-competitive activities such as classical vocal solo, classical dance, folk dance, one act play and many others.

The opening ceremony will be organised at the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, and will be inaugurated by Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Youth Affairs and Sports.
The theme of the National Youth Festival this year is 'Youth For Drugs Free World'.
"In recent years, a worrying trend of increasing drug abuse among the youth of our country is emerging and this issue is fast threatening to derail the promise of the much talked about demographic dividend," the Sports Ministry said in a statement.