Key Facts

Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan met a group of Tamil Nadu students visiting Delhi under the seventh phase of Yuva Sangam, a youth exchange under the Ministry of Education's 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat' initiative. Under the programme, 50 students from Tamil Nadu are brought to Delhi and 50 from Delhi are sent to Tamil Nadu; Delhi University is hosting the visitors together with the Central University of Tamil Nadu at Thiruvarur. He urged youth to strengthen national unity and build a developed India, said a person from Tamil Nadu could one day become Prime Minister as a sign of India's democratic strength, and asked young people to draw inspiration from leaders such as Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar, K. Kamaraj, Immanuel Sekaran, Tiruppur Kumaran and V.O. Chidambaram Pillai. The students also met Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.

GK Context

Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, announced on 31 October 2015, the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, pairs states and Union Territories to promote cultural exchange and mutual understanding. The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and is elected by an electoral college of members of both Houses of Parliament. K. Kamaraj, a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and Congress President, introduced the mid-day meal scheme in the state's schools and was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1976.