I&B Ministry launches Gems of India challenge for grassroots digital creators

NEW DELHI: Every district has a story. Now the government wants creators to tell it. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has launched the pilot phase of the ‘Gems of India’ Challenge, a nationwide initiative aimed at discovering, nurturing and promoting grassroots digital creators while encouraging them to showcase the culture, heritage and unique identity of their districts.

The challenge will be hosted on MyWAVES, the citizen creator platform under WAVES OTT, with entries opening from August 1 and closing on August 31, 2026.

Creators are required to submit original videos between one and three minutes in duration, highlighting their district’s culture, tourism, traditions, history or other distinctive features through authentic digital storytelling.

The initiative builds on MyWAVES, which was launched by Ashwini Vaishnaw to enable citizens to create, upload and share original content while strengthening India’s digital creator ecosystem.

The pilot phase will cover Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Goa, and Ladakh. State governments and district administrations will oversee on-ground implementation, including creator mobilisation, jury formation and evaluations, with support from local cultural and educational institutions.

The ministry is also partnering with YouTube and Meta, which will leverage their creator ecosystems to expand the challenge’s reach and encourage participation.

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, secretary, Chanchal Kumar said every district in India has a story waiting to be told and that the initiative aims to celebrate both the creativity of young creators and the country’s extraordinary cultural diversity.

The challenge will recognise creators at three levels. At the district level, up to 20 awards worth Rs 50,000 each will be presented in every participating district. One creator from each district will then receive a state-level award of Rs 2 lakh. During the nationwide rollout, selected state winners will compete for national awards worth Rs 5 lakh each.

District and state jury committees will be constituted by the respective administrations and will include experts from the fields of culture, heritage, tourism, media and academia to evaluate submissions.

The ministry said insights from the pilot will shape the programme’s nationwide expansion across all states and Union Territories. The long-term objective is to build a vibrant digital creator ecosystem that documents and celebrates the unique identity of every district in India while contributing to the country’s growing creative economy.