“All of you will make India proud”: Rajnath Singh praises Project Veer Gatha national-level winners

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday praised the national-level winners of the fourth edition of Project Veer Gatha, calling them the future of the country.

“Being selected for ‘Project Veer Gatha’ is no small achievement. You are the future of the country,” Rajnath Singh said while Speaking at the awards ceremony for ‘Project Veer Gatha’.

“All of you will make the country proud across the world because you have that talent…Out of the 100 selected, 66 are girls…one of them is from Manipur…I wish you a bright future,” he added.

The defence minister said that Project Veer Gatha was launched in 2021 with 8 lakh students participating but now it has a participation of more than 1.75 crore students. He praised the Union Education Ministry and its Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for the success of the project.

One hundred national-level winners, known as the Super-100, were selected from four categories–Preparatory Stage (Grades 3-5), Middle Stage (Grades 6-8), and Secondary Stage (Grades 9-12). The winners were honoured here, with a cash prize of Rs.10,000 each, and they will attend the Republic Day Parade 2025 at Kartavya Path as special guests.

The fourth edition of Project Veer Gatha, a joint initiative by the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Education, has garnered an overwhelming response across India as part of the Republic Day 2025 celebrations. Approximately 1.76 crore students from 2.31 lakh schools participated in the competition, which highlights the bravery of Gallantry Award recipients and India’s freedom fighters.

Veer Gatha, launched in 2021 as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, continues to inspire students across the country by promoting patriotism and civic values. The fourth edition of the project encouraged students to write essays and paragraphs on their role models, including Gallantry Award recipients, and historical topics such as freedom fighters and tribal uprisings.

Schools conducted local-level activities, with 4,029 top entries submitted for national evaluation. In addition to the national winners, state and district-level winners will also be recognised.