The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting yesterday launched the pilot phase of the ‘Gems of India’ Challenge, a nationwide initiative to identify, nurture and promote grassroots digital creators.

The winners of the challenge, according to an official government statement yesterday, will get cash awards of up to Rs. 50,000 at the district level, Rs. 2 lakh at the State level and Rs. 5 lakh at the national level during the subsequent nationwide rollout of the initiative.

The pilot phase will open for entries on the MyWAVES platform from August 1.

The challenge aims to build a nationwide network of creators by encouraging participants to produce one-to-three-minute videos showcasing the culture, heritage, tourism, traditions, history and distinctive achievements of their districts through digital storytelling.

It builds on MyWAVES, the citizen creator platform under WAVES OTT (Prasar Bharati’s streaming platform), launched to enable citizens to create, upload and share original content while strengthening India’s digital creator ecosystem.

The pilot phase will cover Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Goa and Ladakh.

The initiative will be implemented with the support of national broadcaster Prasar Bharati, My Bharat, andState and district administrations, while local cultural and educational institutions will assist in creator mobilisation and content development.

The ministry said YouTube and Meta have partnered the initiative and will help mobilise their creator communities and expand the challenge’s outreach.

District and State jury committees, comprising experts from culture, heritage, tourism, media and academia, will evaluate the entries.

The ministry said the challenge is part of the government’s efforts to strengthen India’s creative sector and promote the emerging Orange Economy.

Based on the experience from the pilot phase, the initiative will be expanded to all States and Union Territories to create a nationwide ecosystem of digital creators celebrating the identity and heritage of every district.