National Service Scheme

OVERVIEW

The National Service Scheme is a central scheme of Government of India which functions under the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports. It facilitates the students of + 2 level and above to take part in various Government guided and sponsored social service activities & programmes. The main objective of NSS is to develop personality and character of students through community service. It aims at developing leadership skill, imbibing sense of belongingness and cooperation through community engagement. NSS was launched in 1969 after which there has been a rapid increase in the number of volunteers across the country.

MOTO: The motto of National Service Scheme is NOT ME BUT YOU

MISSION

VISION

To involve students in community service and social welfare activities that contribute to personal growth and societal well-being.
To foster leadership qualities, teamwork, and a sense of social responsibility among students.
To promote national integration and unity through participation in regional and national service programs.
To equip students with practical experience and skills in addressing real-life community challenges.
To support the development of ethical values, discipline, and commitment through consistent participation in NSS activities.

To build a community of socially aware and responsible citizens through active student participation.
To be a leading institution in fostering holistic personality development through community engagement.
To empower students to contribute meaningfully to the nation's progress through service-oriented activities.
To cultivate a strong sense of national integration, unity, and respect for diversity among NSS volunteers.
To create future leaders with a deep sense of empathy, cooperation, and commitment to societal welfare.

GOALS

To organize regular and special NSS activities aimed at addressing pressing community issues like health, hygiene, literacy, and environmental conservation.
To actively involve students in national events like Republic Day Parade Camp, National Integration Camp, and National Youth Festivals.
To collaborate with government and non-government organizations in planning and executing social welfare programs.
To foster a culture of social responsibility and leadership among students, ensuring their long-term contribution to nation-building activities.

ORGANIZATION STRUCTURES

All programmes of the NSS are coordinated from the office of the Programme Coordinator and Programme officers of NSS at the University. Planning, implementation, monitoring, supervision, evaluation and providing necessary advice are done from the office of the Programme Coordinator at the university. The records of activities are maintained by the office of the Programme Coordinator and are funded by National Service Scheme Cell, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India.
The NSS cell in an educational institution is divided into units with 100 volunteers in each unit. Students enroll themselves as NSS volunteers for a period of 2 years. The NSS volunteers must complete 240 hours of social and community work within the timespan.

ACTIVITIES

NSS volunteers engage themselves in both Regular Activities and Special Camping conducted by the NSS units. The volunteers who take part in the special camping programme must work for 7 consecutive days at the venue of the programme. Some of the suggested activities for the NSS volunteers are:

Cleanliness Drive
Plantation Drive
Awareness Campaigns on Health, Hygiene, Environment, Education, Nutrition, Addiction, Cyber Security, Disaster Management, Literacy, Disability Problem etc.
Blood Donation Camp
Special Camps in the adopted village/slum
Survey in the adopted village/slum

Apart from the above listed activities, the following special programmes are also organised under the state, regional or national NSS wing.

NATIONAL INTEGRATION CAMP (NIC)

The National Integration Camp (NIC) is organized every year, and the duration of each camp is of 7 days with day-night boarding & lodging. These camps are held in different parts of the country. Each camp involves 200 NSS volunteers to undertake the scheduled activities.

ADVENTURE PROGRAM

The camps are held every year which are attended by approximately 1500 NSS volunteers with at least 50% of the volunteers being girl students. These camps are conducted in Himalayan Region in the North and Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast region. The adventure activities undertaken in these camps includes trekking of mountains, water rafting, Para-sailing and basic skiing.

NSS REPUBLIC DAY PARADE CAMP

The first Republic Day Camp of NSS Volunteers was held in 1988. The camp takes place in Delhi between 1st and 31st January every year with 200 NSS selected volunteers who are good in discipline, March-past and cultural activities. A Contingent of selected NSS volunteers participates in the Republic Day Parade at Rajpath, New Delhi on 26th of January every year in accordance with the guidelines and requisition of the Ministry of Defence.

NATIONAL YOUTH FESTIVALS

National Youth Festivals are organized every year from 12^th to 16^th January by the Government of India, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports in collaboration with the State Governments in different parts of the country. Eminent guests, speakers and youth icons are invited to address and interact with about 1500 participating NSS volunteers during the National Youth Festivals.

_{NSS AT SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITY}

NSS was introduced at Sikkim Manipal University in the year 2018. Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Liberal Arts (then Department of Humanities and Social Sciences) took initiative in the inception and since then functions as the Nodal centre of NSS, SMU. There are two NSS units in the university and students from Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Liberal Arts, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, Sikkim Manipal College of Nursing, Sikkim Manipal College of Physiotherapy and Department of Hospital Administration have enrolled themselves as the NSS volunteers. Since its inception in 2018, NSS SMU has been actively involved in various community engagement programmes in Regular as well as Special activity categories.

FUNCTIONARIES OF NSS SMU

Programme Coordinator	: Dr Madan Chhetri
Programme Officer I	: Mr Uttam Kumar Upadhyaya
Programme Officer II	: Dr Sanjay Kumar
Nodal Officer, SMIT	: Mrs Jhuma Sunuwar
Nodal Officer, SMCON	: Ms Sorokhaibam Nandarani Devi
Nodal Officer, SMCPT	: Dr Rahul Kumar Thakur
Nodal Officer, Hospital Administration	: Mrs Rinchen Gensapa