“Gems of India” Challenge
Why in News?
On 21 July 2026, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) launched the pilot phase of the “Gems of India” Challenge, a nationwide initiative to identify, nurture and promote grassroots digital creators who tell local stories from their districts.
Key Highlights & Purpose
- Core Objective: To identify local digital talent and encourage them to showcase the unique culture, heritage, tourism, traditions, and history of their specific districts.
- Platform: The challenge is hosted on the MyWAVES platform, a citizen-creator ecosystem under the government's WAVES OTT initiative.
- Storytelling Focus: Under the vision that "every district has a story waiting to be told," it aims to build a comprehensive nationwide archive of user-generated local content.
- Video Duration: Participants must create and submit short original videos lasting between 1 to 3 minutes.
- Timeline: The submission window opens on August 1, 2026, and closes on August 31, 2026.
- How to Join: Creators can upload their submissions directly via the MyWAVES section on the WAVES OTT Platform.
The initial pilot phase is restricted to the following 6 States and Union Territories before its planned pan-India expansion:
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Chandigarh
- Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
- Goa
- Ladakh
- Government Collaboration: Implemented jointly by Prasar Bharati, My Bharat, and respective local State/District Administrations.
- Industry Giants: The MIB has partnered with YouTube and Meta to help mobilise creator communities and heavily expand the challenge's outreach.
- Evaluation Panels: Local juries comprising eminent experts from media, tourism, academia, and culture will evaluate the entries.
The competition features a lucrative three-tier cash award structure to reward exceptional local talent:
| Level | Award Structure | Cash Prize |
| District Level | Up to 20 exceptional creators per participating district. | ₹50,000 each |
| State Level | One standout winner selected from each district's pool. | ₹2,000,000 (₹2 Lakh) |
| National Level | Finalists competing during the upcoming nationwide rollout. | ₹5,000,000 (₹5 Lakh) |
