Between August 2024 to February 2025, Commonwealth Alumnus Dr Monika Gupta delivered three activities to promote the role of youth activism in driving positive change and progress in India.
Dr Monika Gupta is the Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi.
Her activity promoted the 2024/25 ACEF theme, Youth for sustainable development.
Recognising youth’s potential as change agents
In 2023, India emerged as the world’s most populous country. According to the 2023 UNICEF report, 27% of the population comprise of youth between 15-29 years of age and over 65% of population are under 35 years of age.
India faces many challenges including gender inequality, health crises, political instability, and environmental issues such as air pollution and waste management, which will impact the next generation. Active youth participation is imperative to address these issues and there is an urgent need to empower youth to make informed decisions and take action.
Young people are a major force for sustainable development and a unique resource in driving social change, economic growth and building a greener future. Recognising youth’s potential, the Ministry of Youth Affairs in India has designed the Viksit Bharat (Developed India) 2047 plan, the government’s roadmap to transform India into a developed nation by the centenary year of independence in 2047. This initiative is the Prime Minister of India’s call for greater youth involvement in realising the national development goals.
Raising awareness on menstrual and sexual health
Dr Susmita Misra facilitating a training session for NSS girls
On 5 August 2024, Monika delivered a training workshop on sexual and menstrual health of women for 20 female undergraduate students affiliated with the National Service Scheme (NSS). NSS is a government initiative for young students to engage in voluntary community service. The workshop was supported by guest speaker, Dr Sushmita Mishra, a Senior Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Sadhu Vaswani Medical Centre, Delhi.
Dr Mishra highlighted the challenges faced by women in India around menstrual and sexual health and the need to promote awareness on women’s health and access to healthcare services.
As part of the training, to apply their learning, the participants were tasked with designing and executing an awareness campaign on women’s sexual and menstrual health for a local slum community, Sudhar Camp, Kalkaji, Delhi, as part of their NSS community service activity.
On 12 August, participants delivered their planned community awareness campaign for the slum residents. They were joined by Mrs Yogita Singh, Local Councillor, and Ajay Gehlot, NSS Programme Officer. Mrs Singh delivered the keynote address in which she encouraged women and girls to use sanitary napkins over unhygienic cloths to prevent menstrual and sexual diseases. She assured her support to the community to improve the health status of women and girls.
The key messages of the campaign included government policies and initiatives on women’s health, how to access affordable healthcare and effective use and disposal of sanitary napkins. The campaign was comprised of a skit on menstrual health and demonstrations of yoga exercises that can be practiced at home to relieve menstrual pain.
The participants also prepared and distributed sanitary kits as part of a door-to-door awareness campaign in the community. Around 50 households received the kits which included government subsidised, cost effective sanitary napkins, a soap, and an information brochure in the local language with details on menstrual and sexual health of women, government policies and health initiatives for women, and healthcare services.
Discussing the role of youth in governance with local politicians
In October 2024, Monika delivered the second phase of the activity on the topic, ‘Need for youth-centric and gender-oriented policies in the Indian political system’.
Dr Monika Gupta with Hon. MP Mr Manoj Tiwari
Monika organised meetings between 30 students from the Political Science Department, Deshbandhu College and two local Members of Parliament (MP), the Honourable Manoj Tiwari and Honourable Kamaljeet Sehrawat. These meetings provided a platform for students and political leaders to discuss challenges in politics and opportunities for youth participation in governance and development.
On 19 October, 30 of students met with MP, Honorable Manoj Tiwari to discuss the role of youth in politics. He shared his experiences in politics and encouraged the youth to actively participate in politics in a positive way, with humility and honestly. He reinforced the tremendous potential of youth in achieving India’s development goals by highlighting the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
Students with Hon. Member of Parliament, Smt Kamaljeet Sehrawat
On 22 October, 30 of students met with MP, Honorable Kamaljeet Sehrawat to discuss gender and politics in India. During her meet-up with students, she emphasised the need for greater women’s participation in politics, not just as voters but also as candidates. She shared her experiences of being a woman politician and motivated the students, especially girls, to dream big and contribute to the development of India.
Overall, both the politicians provided a closer perspective on national politics and addressed questions raised by students around governance and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how the current government is prioritising the SDGs.
Panel discussion on green commerce
On 28 February 2025, Monika delivered a panel discussion on Green Commerce to raise awareness on environmental concerns and environmentally friendly career choices. The final activity was delivered in collaboration with the Department of Environment, Deshbandhu College and was attended by 100 students.
Panellists included Mr Yuvraj Singh, representative of Waste Warriors Society (WWS), an NGO focused on environmental conservation initiatives, Dr Mustafa Ali Khan, Head – Carbon and Climate Strategy, Climate Connect Digital, a UK based climate-tech company, and Ms Alka Tomar, Chairperson of Centre4Youth, a youth-based organisation.
Dr Monika Gupta with invited speakers
In India, there is a common misconception among youth that businesses or careers cannot be high income oriented and eco-friendly at the same time. Through the panel discussion, Monika invited speakers to address this prevailing misconception and encourage young students to think about sustainability in their future career choices.
Mr Singh shared his insights on environmentally friendly initiatives and noted that income generation out of waste was an unheard concept before but has now become a reality.
Dr Khan shared his expertise on nature-based solutions for market-based innovations, particularly, in developing scalable solutions for automating carbon credit generation. He further motivated students to learn about the growing green economy and new investment and entrepreneurial opportunities. He also shared the growing trend of businesses and governments adopting principles of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG).
Ms Tomar highlighted how green commerce presents diverse career opportunities for youth, blending sustainability, policy, and businesses. Recognising the growing concerns around youth unemployment, she emphasised the role of the National Skill Development Mission’s Skill Council, which plays a crucial role in preparing a skilled workforce for green jobs.
The panellists engaged with students in a Q&A session after discussions.
Multi-level impact
Post-activity exercises for the three activities indicated that students involved had increased their knowledge about outreach and community engagement, governance structures and active youth participation in contributing to development.
In the community awareness campaign, NSS participants gained skills in facilitating greater awareness on women’s health. Follow-up visits with women in the community have revealed they had started using cheaper, government-provided sanitary napkins. A few women also reported accessing free healthcare facilities and seeking treatment for menstrual health concerns.
Meeting the MPs encouraged students to build a new zeal and enthusiasm to actively participate in politics and governance. Leveraging on this enthusiasm, and with Monika’s guidance, a few students will submit a chapter for an edited volume on, ‘Role of youth and gender in Viksit Bharat 2047’, which will be published in early 2026.
The panel discussion on green commerce opened career avenues for final year students. A wider impact of the activity in raising awareness of green choices has also led to the college authorities replacing plastic cutlery and bottles with sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives during recently held events.
Through a multi-phase activity, Monica provided a platform for college youth to develop skills, knowledge and understand ways in which they can support the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2024.
Dr Monika Gupta is a 2019 Split-site Scholar from India. She completed a PhD in South Asian Studies at SOAS, University of London and Jawaharlal Nehru University.
