National Service Scheme at IIT Kharagpur aims to give students opportunities for community service through activities with adopted villages and slums. The NSS motto is "Not Me, But You" which reflects selfless service. Students volunteer for 120 hours annually through activities like literacy programs, health services, environmental conservation, and cultural events. Volunteers assess community needs, plan and implement solutions jointly with local leaders. The program evaluates outcomes and recognizes exceptional student contributions. Activities are coordinated with government agencies and local groups to maximize benefits to communities.

1. National Service SchemeNational Service Scheme
IIT KharagpurIIT Kharagpur
NSS, IIT Kharagpur : Overview of
Program and Rules
Debasis Roy
Program CoordinatorProgram Coordinator
NSS IIT KharagpurNSS IIT Kharagpur
Orientation Program, 2016
Aug 6, 2016

2. The symbol
• Navy blue: representing the cosmos of which the
NSS is a tiny part, ready to contribute for the
welfare of mankind.
• Red: Vigor / spirit
• The giant wheel: portray the cycle of creation,
preservation and release (the cycle of life)

3. NSS Motto: Not Me, But You
Reflects
• the essence of democratic living
• the need for selfless service and appreciation of
other persons’ points of view
• Show consideration for fellow human beings
Because
• Welfare of an individual is dependent on the
welfare of society on the whole
Endeavor
• To implement the motto in its day-to-day program

4. Why NSS?
• To give an extra dimension to higher education to
orient youth to community service
• To prevent college and +2 level students from
getting alienated from the majority of the
population
• To expose them to the realities of life and bring
about a change in their social perception
• To sensitize them to the needs of the masses so
that they can accommodate them when they
become policy makers

5. The NSS movement
• The national education policy of 1986 (modified in
1992) intends to provide opportunities to the
youth to involve themselves in national and social
development through educational institutions and
outside agencies
• Activities undertaken by the NSS volunteers in
adopted villages/slums for community service on
yearly basis
• Duration of these services 120 hours each year

6. Aims of NSS activities
• Making education more relevant to meet
community needs of by exposing students to rural
situation
• Providing opportunities to the students to play a
role in planning and executing development projects
for durable community assets in rural areas and
urban slums and improving the quality of life of
economically and socially weaker sections
• Encouraging students to work with other adults in
rural areas

7. Aims of NSS activities…
• Develop leadership qualities by unlocking latent
potential among students and local youth to involve
them in development programs
• Emphasize dignity of labor and self help and
combine physical work with intellectual pursuits
• Encourage youth to participate enthusiastically in
national development and promote national
integration, through corporate living and
cooperative action

8. NSS Objectives
• Understand the community in which the unit works
and the inter relationship of the unit and the
community
• Identify the needs and problems of the community
and involve jointly solve the problems
• Develop a sense of social and civic responsibility
amongst all concerned
• Utilize prevailing knowledge in finding practical
solution to individual and community problems

9. NSS Objectives…
• Develop competence for group living and
responsibility sharing
• Develop skills in mobilizing the community
• Acquire leadership qualities and democratic
attitude
• Develop capacity to meet emergencies and
natural disasters
• Practice national integration and social harmony

10. Organization, members and
responsibilities
• Unit
– Normally 100 NSS volunteers (students)
– But up to 120 volunteers in exceptional cases
where second unit cannot be raised due to
constraints
– Headed by a Program Officer
• Program Officer
– Motivates, guides and directs volunteers to
understand the values and philosophy of NSS
– Helps volunteers to plan, implement, and evaluate
the activities of NSS

11. Organization, members and
responsibilities…
• Volunteer (code of conduct)
– Works under a group leader
– Makes himself/herself worthy of confidence and
cooperation of group, community and leadership
– Does NOT entering into any controversial issue
– Records activities and experiences in NSS Diary and
gets it checked by the Program Officer
– Wears NSS Badge while on work

12. Organization, members and
responsibilities…
• Unit
– Identifies sphere of activity (village / slum /
institution): Adoption of village / slum / institution
– Contacts community leaders / representatives
– Identifies problems jointly with community leaders /
representatives
– Solves the problems drawing participation from
community members
– Evaluates project outcome / experience

13. Broad approach
• Adopt schools / institutions and external resources
– Talent spotting, nurturing
• Help with reading and writing letters / forms
• Propagate messages on the benefits of small family,
health education, small savings drives, …
• Improve physical environment, personal hygiene
– Water conservation, maintain cultural heritage and
monuments
– Integrate with schemes such as MNREGS, pulse polio initiative
– Help with geriatric care
• Arrange for informal education, literacy classes,
economic development activities
– Computer literacy
– Vocational training (tailoring, trades, handicrafts, …)
– Establish hobby center

14. Environment enrichment / conservation
• Planting trees and preserve greenery
• Construct and maintain village streets, drains,
preserve and maintain monuments and cultural
heritage…
• Keep environment clean
– Clean village ponds, wells
– Encourage environmental sanitation, garbage disposal
(composting)
– Undertake soil conservation programs
– Watershed management and wasteland development
• Popularize use of renewable energy
– Construct biogas plants

15. Health, family welfare and nutrition
• Mass immunization (e.g., pulse polio)
• Nutrition program
• Safe and clean drinking water
• Integrated child dev. program (Anganwadi)
• Health education, AIDS awareness and
preliminary health care
• Population education and family welfare
• Lifestyle education and counseling
• Healthy baby and mother competition, special
emphasis on girl child and her education
• Geriatric care

16. Education and recreation
• Adult education, continuing education for school
dropouts, coaching for students of weaker
sections, vocational training, customer
awareness, legal literacy
• Cultural and recreation program for the
community
– Use mass media for instruction and recreation,
– Community singing, dancing…
• Youth clubs, and indigenous sports activities
• Discussion groups
– Eradications of communalism, caste-ism,
regionalism, drug abuse etc.

17. Experience
• Identify potential leaders through, e.g.,
– Schools, panchayat members, personal contacts
– Interaction with local youth (e.g., by sports
competition)
– Community involvement (e.g., by cultural programs,
drawing competitions)
• Map village / slum
– Identify water bodies
– Sources of drinking water and water quality
• Awareness campaign through, e.g.,
– Street plays (by NSS volunteers and interested local
participants) covering issues on girl child, dowry,
nutrition of women or senior citizen and social issues
(substance abuse, …)

18. Experience…
• Health and environment
– Identify and preserve cultural monuments
– Organize health and blood donation camps (Rotary,
Red Cross)
– Organize environmental awareness campaign (biogas,
composting, sanitation…)
– Water quality assessments and cleaning of water
sources (wells, …)
• At schools and with others involved with education
– Identify recent school dropouts
– Organize spoken English class, vocational training,
computer education, adult literacy class, …
– Disseminating scholarship to deserving students of
weaker sections and tracking student performances

19. Experience…
• Become familiar with Govt. welfare schemes like
MNREGS, incentives to backward castes etc. (see,
e.g., http://cyberjournalist.org.in/links.html)
• Make people aware of benefit of govt. programs
(BPL and caste certificates), initiate interaction with
govt. agencies
• Document unit-level activities
– Monthly reports and material for NSS website and
NSS Newsletter “Anurag”
• Generation idea through brain-storming or looking
at what other NSS units in different universities or
welfare organizations are doing

20. • Very limited financial resources: need to
coordinate activities with government
agencies and NGOs to maximize outcome
• After assessing local need there needs to be
an effective coordination with government
agencies (forestry, agriculture, adult
education, health, child and family welfare,
…) and local resource persons and facilitators
(panchayat members, school teachers,
anganwadi workers, social workers…)
Resources

21. NSS Diary contents page and reporting
format

22. • Marks distribution: Attendance (30) + Quality of
work (40) + NSS Diary (20) + End Sem. Test (10)
• Minimum 75% attendance for a “P” grade or better.
Up to 25% absence will be condoned if leave
application with proper document is submitted.
• We follow 7-point grading system as in any
sessional course. Grade will be reflected although
the credit associated is zero. An “F” grade could
lead to year lag, non-availability of minor,
scholarships or awards as in any other academic
course.
Evaluation

23. Certificate / Recognition
• A volunteer is entitled to NSS certificate and IG
National Award upon rendering 240 hours of
community service in two consecutive years and
participation in 10 days special Annual Camp
• Volunteers who render community service of
exceptionally high standard may be honored in
public and also recommended for participation in
state, regional, national youth events
• Certificate of Recognition in NSS Annual function
• One institute level award
• Interview / coverage of volunteer in NSS
mouthpiece and other media

24. NSS, IIT Kharagpur: Web Presence
• http://iitkgp.ac.in/nss/home.html
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vr5bORLiDw
• http://picasaweb.google.com/gsaha.iitkgp/NSSCampPic#
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRZgDLVnR_o
• http://picasaweb.google.com/gsaha.iitkgp/NSSDAY24THSEP2010#
http://picasaweb.google.com/gsaha.iitkgp/NSSIITKGPGiftToSchools#
•
http://picasaweb.google.com/gsaha.iitkgp/NSSIITKGPHealthCampExperience#
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCE-8N1Dtx0
•
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0RrWjf-xas
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12216947/NSS%20Day/NSS%20Day%2040%20min.wmv
• Many more such links and previous edition of newsletters
http://nssiitkgp.blogspot.com

25. NSS, IIT Kharagpur
Towards an ecosystem that values inclusive and sustainable growth
Thank YouThank You
“Not Me, But You.”