The Ministry of Defence (MoD), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MoE), is set to launch Project Veer Gatha 6.0 for the 2026-27 academic year, providing school students across India an opportunity to showcase their understanding of the country’s gallantry award winners, military history, and acts of courage through creative projects.The initiative will invite students to participate in activities such as essay writing, poetry, painting, drawing, multimedia presentations and short videos. The projects will focus on the lives of gallantry award recipients, their sacrifices for the nation, and the military strategies of historical Indian warriors.According to the project schedule, schools will conduct activities and evaluate student submissions before uploading their shortlisted entries to the common MyGov portal between October 9 and October 19, 2026. Entries will subsequently undergo district, state, or Union Territory and national-level evaluation.
What is Project Veer Gatha?
Project Veer Gatha was introduced in 2021 under the Gallantry Awards Portal (GAP) to familiarise students with the acts of bravery and life stories of gallantry award recipients. The initiative aims to foster patriotism, civic consciousness and respect for the sacrifices made by India’s armed forces and other gallantry award winners.The project allows students to explore these stories through creative expression rather than limiting participation to conventional classroom assignments. The Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Education jointly recognise outstanding entries at the national level.The initiative has recorded a steady increase in participation since its launch. According to the figures provided for the project, participation rose from eight lakh students in Veer Gatha 1.0 in 2021-22 to 19.5 lakh in 2022-23. The third edition recorded 1.37 crore participants in 2023-24, followed by 1.76 crore in 2024-25 and 1.92 crore in 2025-26.The defence and education ministers have described the initiative as a development that is “heralding of a revolution amongst the students of India”.
Project Veer Gatha 6.0: Who can participate?
The project is intended for students across school stages, from Grade 3 to Grade 12. The activities and word limits will vary according to the grade category.Students will be encouraged to select a gallantry award winner or a historical Indian warrior and present their work through an appropriate creative medium. Suggested subjects include the values students can learn from a role model, the supreme sacrifice made by a gallantry award recipient and the military strategies of Indian warriors.The project will also connect historical accounts of bravery with contemporary contexts to encourage students to draw lessons from these stories.
Project Veer Gatha 6.0: Categories, activities and topics
The project has three categories based on school grades. The prescribed formats and word limits are as follows:
| Category | Classes | Permitted activities |
| Preparatory stage | Grades 3 to 5 | Poem, paragraph of 150 words, painting or drawing |
| Middle stage | Grades 6 to 8 | Poem, paragraph of 300 words, painting, drawing, multimedia presentation or short video |
| Secondary stage | Grades 9 to 12 | Poem, essay of 750 words, painting, drawing, multimedia presentation or short video |
For multimedia projects, students may choose formats such as anchoring, storytelling or reporting of a war. The submission should remain relevant to the selected theme.
Suggested topics for students
Students can develop their projects around the following themes:
- Lessons from a gallantry award winner: Students can identify a gallantry award recipient as their role model and explain the values they have learnt from the person’s life.
- Remembering a national hero: Students can describe how they would preserve the memory of a gallantry award recipient who made the supreme sacrifice for the country.
- Indian warriors and military strategies: Students can write or create a presentation about a historical figure who inspires them, such as Prithviraj Chauhan, King Kharavela of Kalinga, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, or warriors associated with the Revolt of 1857 and tribal uprisings.
Students can refer to the official Gallantry Awards Portal at www.gallantryawards.gov.in for information about award recipients. The NCERT publication on Param Vir Chakra awardees is another suggested reference.
Project Veer Gatha 6.0: Important dates and deadlines
Schools and education authorities will follow a phased schedule for conducting activities, selecting entries and completing the evaluation process.
| Event | Timeline |
| Notice issued by the Ministry of Education to state and UT education departments and school boards | By September 7, 2026 |
| Notices issued to schools by state and UT education departments and boards | By September 9, 2026 |
| Interactions with gallantry award winners and school-level activities | September 12 to October 4, 2026 |
| Upload of selected school entries to the MyGov portal | October 9 to October 19, 2026 |
| District-level evaluation | October 21 to November 14, 2026 |
| State and UT-level evaluation | November 16 to December 4, 2026 |
| National-level evaluation | December 8 to December 28, 2026 |
| Submission of national-level evaluation results to the Ministry of Education | By December 28, 2026 |
| Forwarding of results by the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Defence | By December 30, 2026 |
Schools have been advised not to wait until the last date to upload their entries. They should complete the activities, select their best submissions and upload them within the stipulated period.
Project Veer Gatha 6.0: How many entries can schools submit?
Schools will upload their shortlisted entries through the common MyGov portal after conducting activities and evaluating submissions at their own level.Under the prescribed arrangement, schools will generally submit four entries, with representation from the relevant grade categories.
- Schools up to Grade 12: One entry for Grades 3-5, one for Grades 6-8, one for Grades 9-10 and one for Grades 11-12.
- Schools up to Grade 10: One entry each from the preparatory, middle and secondary categories, with one additional entry permitted in any of the three categories.
- Schools up to Grade 8: One entry each from the preparatory and middle categories, with two additional entries permitted across these categories.
- Schools up to Grade 5: Four entries from the preparatory category.
The arrangements are designed to allow schools with different grade structures to participate in the project.Students from CBSE-affiliated schools located abroad will also be able to upload their entries online after evaluation at their respective schools.
Project Veer Gatha 6.0: How will entries be evaluated?
The selection process will take place at three levels: district, state or UT, and national.At the district level, designated nodal officers and district education officials will coordinate the assessment, with support from the District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET) and other relevant officials. State and UT nodal officers, along with designated officials from Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) and the concerned education departments, will oversee the next stage.A committee constituted by the Ministry of Education will conduct the national-level evaluation. Teachers from Army, Navy and Air Force schools, Sainik Schools, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) schools, state board schools and CBSE schools may be involved in the evaluation process on a nomination basis.Authorities will also verify the authenticity and originality of entries recommended for national-level selection. States and UTs may conduct telephone or video interviews, or use another appropriate method, to establish that the submitted work is genuine and original.
What are the evaluation criteria?
The assessment framework assigns a maximum of 16 marks to each entry, with four marks each for four criteria. The precise criteria vary according to the format.For essays and paragraphs, the criteria are originality of expression, presentation, supporting arguments or evidence, and relevance to the topic. Poems are assessed on originality, presentation, use of poetic devices and relevance. Multimedia presentations are evaluated on originality, presentation, dialogue and relevance, while paintings are assessed on originality, presentation, technique and relevance.Entries must remain connected to the prescribed topic. Work that is not relevant to the theme will receive no marks. For essays and paragraphs, a submission exceeding the prescribed word limit by 50 words or more will attract a deduction of two marks from the final score.Students should therefore focus on original ideas, clear presentation, factual accuracy and direct engagement with the chosen subject.
Project Veer Gatha 6.0: Winners and prize money
The project will recognise students at the district, state or UT and national levels. At the national level, 100 students will be selected under the Super 100 category.The national-level allocation is as follows:
- Preparatory stage, Grades 3-5: 25 winners.
- Middle stage, Grades 6-8: 25 winners.
- Secondary stage, Grades 9-10: 25 winners.
- Secondary stage, Grades 11-12: 25 winners.
The national selection will include 50 winners from the secondary stage, split equally between Grades 9-10 and Grades 11-12.At the state or UT level, eight winners will be selected, with two from each of the four grade groupings. At the district level, four winners will be selected, with one from each grouping. Students selected in the Super 100 will not be counted among the state or UT-level winners, while state or UT-level winners will be excluded from the district-level selection.
How much prize money will national winners receive?
Each of the 100 national-level winners will receive a cash prize of Rs 10,000 from the Ministry of Defence. The winners will be felicitated jointly by the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Education, Government of India, and will receive certificates issued jointly by the two ministries.District and state or UT-level winners will be felicitated by the respective authorities. Certificates will be issued by the designated officials in accordance with the arrangements made by the concerned education departments. The modalities of prizes at these levels will be decided by the respective state, UT or district authorities.
Where can students find reference material for Project Veer Gatha 6.0?
Students can consult the following resources while preparing their submissions:Students should ensure that their work is original, factually accurate and relevant to the prescribed topic. Schools should also follow the announced submission schedule and the applicable evaluation guidelines.