The National Service Scheme (NSS) is an Indian government sector public service program

conducted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Government of India. Popularly
known as NSS, the scheme was launched in Gandhiji's Centenary year in 1969. It is aimed at
developing student's personality through community service, NSS is a voluntary association
of young people in Colleges, Universities, and at +2 level working for a campus-community
(esp. Villages) linkage.
HISTORY: Post Independence, the University Grants Commission, recommended the
introduction of voluntary national service in academic institutions. This idea was considered
by the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) at its meeting in January 1950; after
examining the idea and the experiences of other countries in this field, the board
recommended that students and teachers should devote time to voluntary manual work. In
1958 Jawaharlal Nehru, in a letter to the chief ministers, considered the idea of social service
as a prerequisite for graduation. He directed the Ministry of Education to formulate a suitable
scheme for the introduction of national service into academic institutions.
On 24 September 1969, then the Union Education Minister Shri.V.K.R.V. Rao launched the
NSS at 37 universities in several states of India. The scheme has been extended to all states
and universities in the country, and also +2 level institutes in many states. The then Minister
attached to PM of India legendary Smt. Nandini Satapathy had a strong hand in
conceptualization on as well as in the launch of NSS.
OBJECTIVE:
The main objectives of National Service Scheme (NSS) are :
i. understand the community in which they work
ii. understand themselves in relation to their community
iii. identify the needs and problems of the community and involve them in problem-solving
iv. develop among themselves a sense of social and civic responsibility
v. utilise their knowledge in finding practical solutions to individual and community
problems
vi. develop competence required for group-living and sharing of responsibilities
vii. gain skills in mobilising community participation
viii. acquire leadership qualities and democratic attitudes
ix. develop capacity to meet emergencies and natural disasters and
x. practise national integration and social harmony

Coverage:Started initially in 37 universities involving 40,000 volunteers, the scheme has

grown over the years and it is implemented today with an involvement of more than 3.8
million volunteers spread over in 396 Universities, Polytechnics and 47 Councils of +2 level.
The efforts of NSS volunteers have been widely acclaimed by the community, universities,
colleges and general public as the NSS volunteers have been rendering selfless service to the
community.
Motto: The Motto of NSS "Not Me But You", reflects the essence of democratic living and
upholds the need for self-less service. NSS helps the students development & appreciation to
other person's point of view and also show consideration towards other living beings. The
philosophy of the NSS is a good doctrine in this motto, which underlines on the belief that the
welfare of an individual is ultimately dependent on the welfare of the society as a whole and
therefore, the NSS volunteers shall strive for the well-being of the society.
NSS Logo: The logo for the NSS has been based on the giant Rath Wheel of the world-
famous Konark Sun Temple (The Black Pagoda) situated in Orissa, India. The Red & Blue
colors contained in the logo motivate the NSS Volunteers to be active & energetic for the
nation-building social activities. The wheel portrays the cycle of creation, preservation and
release and signifies the movement in life across time and space, The wheel thus stands for
continuity as well as change and implies the continuous striving of NSS for social change.
NSS Badge: The NSS logo is embossed on the badge of NSS. The eight bars in the wheel of
NSS logo represent the 24 hours of a day. The red colour indicates that the volunteer is full of
young blood that is lively, active, energetic and full of high spirit. The navy blue colour
indicates the cosmos of which the NSS is tiny part, ready to contribute its share for the
welfare of the mankind.
Financial Arrangements: The scheme is now a central sector scheme to organize Regular
Activities (RA) and special Camping Programmes (SCPs). An amount of Rs.250/-per
volunteer per annum is released towards Regular Activities (RAs) and Rs.450/- per volunteer
per Special Camping Programme (SCP) which is of 7-days duration to be organized in the
adopted villages/urban slums. In addition, the Government of India provides 100% financial
assistance to run NSS Regional Directorates, State NSS Cells and Empanelled Training
Institute (ETI).
NSS volunteers generally work in villages, slums and voluntary agencies to complete 120
hours of regular activities during an academic year. As per the fundamental principles of
National Service Scheme, a volunteer is expected to remain in constant touch with the
community. Hence, it is of vital importance that a particular village/slum is selected for
implementation of NSS programmes. As the NSS volunteer is to live with the members of the
community during the 7 days Special Camping Programme and learn from their experience
during his/her tenure in NSS, the village/slum should be carefully selected for adoption by
NSS unit.
Regular Activities:
Adoption of a village:
1. Adoption of a village and area is a very meaningful programme in NSS. It is far
better to concentrate attention on one village and take up the task for development
perspective, than to fritter away energy in many locations involving too many
activities which may not be completed at all or where the follow up action may
not be possible.
2. It is necessary to establish contact with more than one village which would help to
select a village where 'Leadership' is well established. In other words, selecting a
village with proper leadership is very important as the sustained follow up action
and evaluation is ensured in such places. To start with, the NSS unit can take the
help of the Block Authorities, District Panchayat Officer, District Tribal Welfare
Officer, District Medical Officer, Extension Officer of Agriculture, Irrigation and
Education Departments for the selection of the village.
3. It is absolutely necessary to conduct a comprehensive survey of few villages
situated at a short distance from the college. Assistance from the teachers and
students of agriculture, economics, commerce, geography, statistics, home
science, social work, medicine, psychology and education etc. have to be sought
for the purpose. Conducting socio-economic survey can be an interesting field
activity which has direct bearing on the curriculum of economics, commerce,
statistics, psychology, health education etc. The applied field work will help the
students to increase their analytical ability and deepen their thinking.
4. It is on the basis of this need assessment that projects/programmes are to be
formulated. The programme officers should use their discretion and should
identify the projects which can be completed by seeking assistance from the
communities/other agencies.
5. The aim of adoption of village or area is to give new ideas of development to the
villagers which would improve their living conditions. Once the trust of the
 communities is won, they start cooperating with the NSS volunteers and approach
them for solution of their problems. One of the important services that can be
rendered by NSS volunteers is disseminating information about the latest
developments in agriculture, watershed management, wastelands development,
non-conventional energy, low cost housing, sanitation, nutrition and personal
hygiene, schemes for skill development, income generation, government schemes
such as Swachch Bharat, Ayushman Bharat, Accessible India, Digital India, Beti
Bachao and Beti Padhao, Environment and Energy Conservation and Education,
legal aid, consumer protection and allied field.
6. The Programme Officers (PO) should motivate the communities to involve
themselves with NSS for the community development work undertaken by the
NSS unit. Further he or she will have to seek the help of various government
departments and agencies for technical advice and financial assistance.
7. The Programme Officer must select the projects very carefully as the image of
NSS depends upon the successful completion of such projects. Successful
completion of the projects can win appreciation and credit of the community.
8. Every project should be evaluated after its completion by involving members of
the community, Government officials and Panchayat officials. The NSS unit
should learn from the lapses in the execution of the project and plan for the next
project keeping in view the bottlenecks and constraints faced by them during the
earlier project.

Adoption of Slums
1. For adoption of a slum, there should be composite survey team consisting of students
drawn from faculties like, Arts, Science, Engineering, Medicine, Home Science and
Social Work etc. The selected areas should be compact and should be easily
accessible for students. Areas with acute political conflicts may be avoided.
2. The issues pertaining to the identification of problems, project planning, interaction
and coordination with the various departmental agencies, execution and completion of
projects shall be undertaken on the same basis/lines as discussed earlier in the part
'Adoption of Villages'. The progress of projects should also be reviewed frequently.
3. The slum, tenements, Jhuggis and Jhoupris can be adopted by the NSS units with the
aim of slum improvement. Under this, activities like providing water, water logging,
sanitation, electricity, drainage, health and welfare services, life and living conditions,
can be undertaken.
4. Taking into account the living conditions & status of slum dwellers of the slums, only
highly motivated, adaptable, mature and skilled students should be selected for slum
development.
5. Following are the tasks which the students can undertake in slum areas:-
(a) As Community Investigators: They can prepare brief community profile on various
slums in the city or town covering different amenities, services, and living conditions etc.
(b) As Community Workers: They can identify local leaders and in cooperation with them
discuss local problems on which cooperative action can be initiated.
(c) As Programme Aides: Students can help the local communities' in launching a number
of programmes like setting up a free milk distribution centre, sanitation drive, recreation,
adult lad primary education, health projects like immunization. first aid centre, child care,
nutrition classes, and free legal aid centres etc. They can also help in forming youth clubs,
children's groups, mahila mandals etc.
(d) As Community Organizers: NSS students, after establishing rapport with the slum
dwellers, can form community association to tackle local problems on a group basis with
 reliance on local resources, self help and mutual aid and with some minimum external
assistance.
6. Some suggestions for Selection of slums
(i) There should be a socio-economic survey of the slum by a team of volunteers drawn
from different faculties;
(ii) The selected area should be compact. There should not be more than 300 residents in
an adopted slum;
(iii) The community people should be receptive to the ideas of improving their living
standard. They should also be ready to coordinate and involve in the projects undertaken
by the NSS for their upliftment;
(iv) The areas where political conflicts are likely to arise should be avoided by the NSS
units;
(v) The area should be easily accessible to the NSS volunteers to undertake frequent visits
to slums;
(vi) The working in the slum needs commitment and hard work. Only sensitive and
highly motivated NSS volunteers can find easy to serve in slum areas.

Coordination with Voluntary Organizations:

It may be noted that the NSS unit has no financial resource to implement any programme in
the adopted villages or slum on its own. Therefore, a successful unit has to closely coordinate
with the government agencies and voluntary organisations working in this field.

1. After identification of the needs of the community and the selection of projects, the
programme officer should look for the Government agency or a voluntary
organisation who can assist in the completion of a particular project. The different
departments of the Government like forest, agriculture, adult education, health, child
and family welfare, can render very useful assistance to the project pertaining to
community work. Voluntary organisations can also help in forming public opinion in
favour of NSS projects. Adult education samitis, Nasha Bandi Boards, Yuva Mandals
and Mahila Mandals can provide additional assistance to the NSS units. Similarly
voluntary land statutory welfare agencies such as Community Centres, Residential
Institutions for children/women, the Aged and Institutions for physically handicapped
and disabled can provide a wide scope of the choice of service to the NSS volunteers.
NSS volunteers can be placed with these agencies considering the inherent aptitudes
and inclinations of NSS volunteers. NSS volunteers must be told to develop a sense of
belonging and respect for the people with whom they are working. Working in close
collaboration with these agencies will help the NSS volunteers in understanding the
problems of a vulnerable section of the society. The work opportunities in the welfare
institutions may be enumerated as under-
(i) Adoption of welfare institutions and helping the inmates and staff by arranging
outings, fund collection drives, reading and writing letters for those who are unable to do
so;
(ii) propagation of the message of Swachchta, Digital Literacy, renewable energy etc.
(iii) working for improvement of physical environment;
(iv) programme of non-formal education and general literacy classes;
(v) organisation of economic development activities;
(vi) establishment of hobby centres and
(vii) assisting in the rehabilitation work of the disabled, destitute etc.
 In addition, NSS units and welfare agencies can take up joint community development
projects and other programmes of community welfare land awareness depending on the
local needs.

2. The NSS Programme Officers should plan activities in the adopted village or slum in
such a way that the leisure time of the NSS volunteers can be utilized in the service of
adopted village or slum. Week-end visits to the adopted areas provide suitable
opportunities to live with the community and know their problems and make an
earnest effort to do something for them. Similarly efforts should be made to follow up
the work done in the areas earlier. Such sustained efforts will flower into friendship
between the NSS unit and the community. These activities can be arranged through
one day camps and frequent visits under regular activities.

Special Camping forms an integral part of National Service Scheme. It has special appeal to
the youth as it provides unique opportunities to the students for group living, collective
experience sharing and constant interaction with community.

1. Special campings are organised generally on various developmental issues of national

importance. In the past the themes of the Special Camping Programmes have been 'Youth
Against Famine', 'Youth Against Dirt and Disease', 'Youth for Rural Reconstruction', 'Youth
for Eco-Development' and 'Youth for Mass Literacy', 'Youth for National Integration &
Social Harmony'. 'Youth for Sustainable Development with special focus on Watershed
Management and Wasteland Development. Every year 50 percent of the volunteers of each
NSS unit are expected to participate in special camps which is of seven days duration.

Contributions of Special Camping Programme

1.1 Concerted efforts have to be made for a number of years for reconstruction activities in
rural areas and urban slums for improving the living conditions of economically and socially
weaker sections of the community. For this, the universities colleges land +2 institutions
having NSS have a special role to play in collaboration with other Departments and local
authorities engaged in Development work. They adopt a village or group of villages/urban
slums for intensive social development, where special camps are to be organised by them
year after year to create tangible and durable community assets.

Objectives of the Special Camping programme

1.2 The primary objectives of the special camping programmes are:-
(i) Making education more relevant to the present situation to meet the felt needs of the
communities and supplement the education of university/college/school students by bringing
them face to face with the community situation.
(ii) To provide opportunities to NSS Volunteers to play their due roles in the implementation
of various development "programmes by planning and executing development projects,
which not only help in creating durable community assets in rural areas and slums but also
result in improvement of the condition of weaker sections of the communities.
(iii) Encouraging the students and non-students youth to work along with the adults in rural
areas, thereby developing their character, social consciousness and commitment, discipline
and healthy and helpful attitudes towards the community:
(iv) Building up potential youth leaders by exploring the latent potential among the campers,
both students as well as local youth (rural and urban), with a view to involve them more
intimately in development projects for longer periods. The local leadership generated during
the camps would also be useful in ensuring proper maintenance of the assets created as a
result of the camps.
(v) Emphasizing the dignity of labour and self-help and the need for combining physical
work with intellectual pursuits, and
(vi) Encouraging youth to participate enthusiastically in the process of national development,
and promote national integration through democratic living and cooperative action.

Suggestive list of activities during Regular as well as Special Camping

1.3 The aim of the Regular and special Camping Programme is to bring youth face to face
with the community and make efforts to improve their life. The NSS volunteers are to devote
about 80 hours in Regular Activities for the development of the adopted village. Special
Camping has been conceived as an opportunity to live with that community for 7 days, and
experience the conditions and problems of the people. The NSS volunteers need to be
inspired to take initiatives for the improvement of their condition. Although the focus of the
Special Camps change periodically and regular programmes are organized in response to the
community needs at the micro-level, some broad areas of activities are enumerated below:-

(a) Environment Enrichment and Conservation: Where as there would be a main theme for
the special camping Programme, activities aimed at environment - enrichment would be
organized under the sub-theme of" Youth for Better Environment". The activities under this
sub-theme would inter-alia, include:
(i) Plantation of trees, their preservation and upkeep (each NSS unit should plant and protect
at least 1000 saplings);
(ii) Creation of NSS parks/gardens.
(iii) Construction & maintenance of village streets, drains, etc. so as to keep the environment
clean;
(iv) Construction of sanitary latrines etc.
(v) Cleaning of village ponds and wells;
(vi) Popularization and construction of Gobar Gas Plants, use of non-conventional energy;
(vii) Environmental sanitation and disposal of garbage & composting;
(viii) Prevention of soil erosion, and work for soil conservation,
(ix) Watershed management and wasteland development
(x) Preservation and upkeep of monuments, and creation of consciousness about the
preservation of cultural heritage among the community.

(b) Health, Family Welfare and Nutrition Programme:

(i) Programme of mass immunization;
(ii) Working with people in nutrition programmes with the help of Home Science and
medical college students;
(iii) Provision of safe and clean drinking water;
(iv) Integrated child development programmes;
(v) Health education, AIDS Awareness and preliminary health care.
(vi) Population education and family welfare programme;
(vii) Life style education centres and counseling centres.

(c) Programmes aimed at creating an awareness for improvement of the status of women:
They may, inter-alia, include:
(i) Programmes of educating people and making them aware of women's rights both
constitutional and legal;
(ii) Creating consciousness among women that they too contributed to economic and social
well-being of the community;
(iii) Creating awareness among women that there is no occupation or vocation which is not
open to them provided they acquire the requisite skills; and
(iv) Imparting training to women in sewing, embroidery, knitting and other skills wherever
possible.
(v) Beti Bachao Beti Padhao.

(d) Social Service Programmes:

Depending on the local needs and priorities, the following activities/programmes may be
undertaken:-
(i) Work in hospitals, for example, serving as ward visitors to cheer the patients, help the
patients, arranging occupational or hobby activities for long term patients, guidance service
for out-door-patients including guiding visitors about hospital's procedures, letter writing and
reading for the patients admitted in the hospital; follow up of patients discharged from the
hospital by making home visits and places of work, assistance in running dispensaries etc.
(ii) Work with the organisations of child welfare;
(iii) Work in institutions meant for physically and mentally handicapped;
(iv) Organising blood donation, eye pledge programmes;
(v) Work in Cheshire homes, orphanages, homes for the aged etc.;
(vi) Work in welfare organisations of women;
(vii) Prevention of slums through social education and community action;

(e) Production Oriented Programmes:

(i) Working with people and explaining and teaching improved agricultural practices;
(ii) Rodent control land pest control practices;
(iii) Weed control;
(iv) Soil-testing, soil health care and soil conservation;
(v) Assistance in repair of agriculture machinery;
(vi) Work for the promotion and strengthening of cooperative societies in villages;
(vii) Assistance and guidance in poultry farming, animal husbandry, care of animal health
etc.;
(viii) Popularization of small savings and
(ix) Assistance in procuring bank loans

(f) Relief & Rehabilitation work during Natural Calamities:

These programme would enable the students to understand and share the agonies of the
people affected in the wake of natural calamities like cyclone, flood, earthquakes, etc. The
main emphasis should be on their participation in programmes, and working with the people
to overcome their handicaps, and assisting the local authorities in relief and rehabilitation
work in the wake of natural calamities. The NSS students can be involved in:-
(i) assisting the authorities in distribution of rations, medicine, clothes etc.;
(ii) assisting the health authorities in inoculation and immunization, supply of medicine etc.;
(iii) working with the local people in reconstruction of their huts, cleaning of wells, building
roads etc.;
(iv) assisting and working with local authorities in relief and rescue operation;
(v) collection of clothes and other materials, and sending the same to the affected areas;

(g) Education and Recreations:

Activities in this field could include:
(i) adult education (short-duration programmes);
(ii) pre-school education programmes;
(iii) programmes of continuing education of school drop outs, remedial coaching of students
from weaker sections;
(iv) work in creches ;
(v) participatory cultural and recreation programmes for the community including the use of
mass media for instruction and recreation, programmes of community singing, dancing etc.;
(vi) organisation of youth clubs, rural land indigenous sports in collaboration with Nehru
Yuva Kendras;
(vii) programmes including discussions on eradications of social evils like communalism,
castism, regionalism, untouchability, drug abuse etc.;
(viii) non-formal education for rural youth and
(ix) legal literacy, consumer awareness.
(X) Swacch Bharat Mission
(XI) Digital awareness,
(XII) Voter awareness.