Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to formally launch the School of Ultimate Leadership (SOUL) in Gujarat on February 21. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel performed the ‘Bhoomi Poojan’ for the institute on Friday. The construction of this ₹150 crore state-of-the-art campus near Gujarat Biotechnology University in GIFT city is expected to be completed within 24 months.
“The institution aims to address Prime Minister Modi’s vision of bringing a hundred thousand youth with no political background into politics. SOUL will operate as an independent non-partisan institute without any government or university affiliation.” stated a government release.
Programs at SOUL
SOUL is expected to become fully operational by March 2027 and will offer a comprehensive range of programmes ranging from one-week, short-term courses to long-term programmes lasting 9 to 12 months. The institute’s curriculum will focus on training youth candidates for the public sector including health education, rule, development and sanitation.
The admission process will be merit-based, in which candidates will be required to submit a letter of intent and undergo panel interviews. The institute will try to keep the course fee nominal while elected representatives and public service officials will receive training free of cost.
The SOUL program leadership includes a distinguished group of private-sector professionals. Several pre-launch initiatives including a two-day leadership workshop with the Ministry of Education, a brainstorming session for the chief minister’s office staff and a workshop for MLAs on understanding the state budget already demonstrate its relevance in the current times. Until the campus becomes fully operational, SOUL will conduct short-term programmes and seminars from temporary facilities.
