Delhi Cabinet approves talent hunt scheme 'Hauslon Ki Udaan'

New Delhi, Jul 29 (PTI) The Delhi Cabinet on Tuesday approved a new talent hunt scheme titled 'Hauslon Ki Udaan', which aims to identify and nurture talented youth across various creative fields, including singing, dancing and pottery.
     The scheme, which starts this September, was approved in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.
     A budget of Rs five crore has been allocated for implementation of the scheme in the current financial year, according to an official statement.
     The chief minister said this is the first time such a platform will be given to the youth by the government.
     Gupta said the blueprint of the initiative has been carefully designed to ensure the participation of youth across the city, enabling them to gain recognition and enhance the reputation of the national capital.
     She informed that this scheme's announcement had been made earlier during her Budget speech in the Delhi Assembly and said it is now being rolled out with the Cabinet’s approval.
     The Department of Art, Culture and Languages will serve as the nodal department for its implementation.
     Earlier in the day, Delhi Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra said the government will launch the scheme 'Hauslon Ki Udaan' that will aim to identify talent with special focus on youth from unauthorised colonies and slum clusters.
     "Under the scheme, talent hunt competitions will be organised across all the 70 assembly constituencies in Delhi following which selected youth will participate in zonal-level competition and then a state-level competition will be held," he told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.
     Mishra, the minister for Art and Culture, said this scheme will identify talented individuals in diverse fields such as singing, dancing, pottery, sculpture, visual art, digital art and theatre.
     He highlighted that while the national capital is rich in creative abilities such as music, dance, poetry, visual and digital art, many young people lack opportunities to present their skills due to limited access to platforms.
     The scheme will particularly focus on identifying and nurturing talent among youth living in slums, informal settlements and unauthorised colonies.
     Under the initiative, talent hunt programmes will be conducted in all Assembly constituencies followed by zonal and district-level competitions, culminating in a grand state-level finale carrying the chief minister’s name.
     The scheme will focus on six art forms: singing, dance, poetry, sculpture, visual art, digital art and theatre.
     Mishra said the programme aims to connect nearly five million young people across Delhi.
     The talent hunt will be organised over a six-month period, with winners receiving cash prizes.
     The government will also engage renowned artists from across the country as mentors to guide and prepare the selected participants, enabling them to achieve recognition on international platforms.
     "The competitions will be held over a span of six months and the first event will kick off in September. Winners at the state-level will be awarded the CM cup along with prize money. We will rope in artists from different fields to mentor the winners of the competition," he added.
     The minister asserted this is probably the first time in India that such a scheme would be launched by the government.
     "Such competitions are held by private organisations, but this is the first time in the country that the state government is holding such a competition," he said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)