Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced today that National Service Scheme (NSS) units would be started in all government and non-government aided colleges of the state from the current academic session.
He also announced that ten NSS volunteers, three programme officers (POs), one NSS Programme Coordinator of University and one district level Programme Coordinator (for plus two) would be honoured with state awards on the pattern of national awards for their outstanding contribution.
Speaking at an event at the Haryana Raj Bhawan here, Khattar also said that state NSS camps would now also be organised for student volunteers of up to 10+2 level.
On this occasion, Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki and the chief minister honoured the Indira Gandhi NSS awardees and programme officers of the state for the year 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17, and Republic Day parade awardees and programme officers for the year 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18.
In all, 36 Indira Gandhi and Republic Day Parade awardees and programme officers were honoured on this occasion.
Congratulating the awardees of the state for their outstanding performance at the national level, the chief minister said that NSS is associated with a word called volunteer.
He said that volunteer was not only a word but an institution in itself adding that several organisations described their cadets as volunteers.
It was a matter of pride that he himself has been associated with an organization as a volunteer, Khattar, who has had a long association with the RSS, added.
To serve others voluntarily has been the tradition of our country since ancient times, he added.
The chief minister said about 40 lakh volunteers in the country were serving the society through NSS and the number of such volunteers in Haryana was about 1.25 lakh.
Referring to the ambulance service in Jerusalem, the chief minister said an NGO had prepared a system to provide emergency medical services through ambu-bike.
A dedicated group of trained volunteers ready to provide emergency medical aid using latest technology reach within 90 seconds of the call made by any distressed citizen residing in Israel any time 24x7, he said.
Speaking on this occasion, Governor Solanki said though Haryana was comparatively a small state with only two per cent of the country's population, yet it was the leading state in many spheres.
He said it was a matter of pride that out of the 200 NSS volunteers that took part in the Republic Day Parade-2018 in New Delhi from different parts of the country, eight were from Haryana.
He exhorted the students to take a pledge to render selfless service to the society besides pursuing their academic career. This, he said, would not only help in their personal development but also be beneficial for the society.