The Know India Programme (KIP), a programme organised by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) for Indian diaspora youth, came to a successful end in the second week of June.

KIP, organised in coordination with the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), was the 2006 edition of the MOIA’s annual Internship Programme for Diaspora Youth (IPDY). This year, IPDY underwent a change in its format and hence the change in name.

Unlike in previous years, when the participants were attached to a particular institution, this year the programme was formatted as an orientation to enable the participants to get exposure to various facets of the Indian way of life and culture.

The participants were based in New Delhi and Himachal Pradesh through the entire period of the programme from May 15 to June 12.

Giving an overview, Malay Mishra, Secretary, MOIA, said the participants were exposed to various aspects of Indian culture and life through a series of programmes like staying in rural areas in Himachal Pradesh, adventure sports and a national integration camp in which the participants met youth drawn from various parts of India.

Prior to their departure for Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, the participants had the opportunity to meet President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Mani Shankar Aiyer. An interactive session was also organised with a group of young parliamentarians of India.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) played host to them at a special programme. The 25 participants, many of who were coming to India for the first time, were then taken to a prominent industrial unit.

A visit to the Sanskriti Foundation and a ‘Heritage Walk’ at the Archeological Park were also organised.
While in Himachal Pradesh, the participants got the opportunity to visit four villages and interact with the people there.

They participated in theme camps on painting, music, sculpture, rural sports, quiz, yoga and ayurveda. They also interacted with local youth clubs.

The youth from abroad also got to do internship with the Himachal Pradesh Horticultural Produce Marketing And Processing Corporation (HPMC) and the Horticulture Research Station. They attended academic sessions at the Institute of Himalayan Studies, University of Himachal Pradesh, and the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla.

While in Kullu and Lahaul Spiti districts of Himachal Pradesh, they got to participate in adventure sports like traversing and rappelling, river rafting and paragliding. They were also taken on jeep safari.
In a specially organised National Integration Camp in Dharamsala, the diaspora youth got to interact with around 150 youth coming from different states of India.

After returning to New Delhi, the participants got a special audience with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. They also the visited the Taj Mahal in Agra besides visiting places of tourist interest in New Delhi and a leading newspaper group’s office.