If you draw, design or shoot reels, three central government competitions are open on MyGov this month. All of them are free to enter, all of them are open to students, and the largest first prize is ₹50,000 — which is more than most part-time work in Jammu pays in three months.
My Income Tax — My Pride: poster and painting
Run by the Income Tax Department with MyGov for the 167th Income Tax Day. You can submit a painting, a poster or a hand-drawn sketch on the theme Mission Viksit Bharat 2047: Every Taxpayer Counts. Entries are judged on how clearly the artwork carries the theme, plus originality and visual impact.
Open to: school students, college students and youth
Closes: 24 August 2026, 11:59 pm
Prizes: ₹50,000, ₹30,000 and ₹20,000
Responsible Taxation and Nation Building: short video or reel
Same department, same deadline, different medium. The brief covers tax compliance, what tax revenue funds, and the Viksit Bharat @2047 framing.
Open to: Indian citizens — students, creators, professionals
Length: 30 to 60 seconds, two minutes maximum
Format: MPEG4 or AVI, 16:9, original and previously unpublished, uploaded to a public Instagram or YouTube Shorts account
Entries: one per participant
Closes: 24 August 2026, 11:59 pm
Prizes: ₹50,000 for the winner, ₹30,000 each for two runners-up, ₹20,000 each for three third places
The New Skilled India: poster design
From the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Design a poster on the theme The New Skilled India, built to work on a digital display. This one has the tightest deadline of the three and the most entries already in — close to ten thousand when we checked.
Closes: 15 August 2026
Prizes: ₹2,000 each for the top ten, plus a Skill India kit; winning posters get carried on Skill India's own social media
Before you start
All three need a MyGov account, so make one before the last evening rather than during it. Read each contest's terms PDF — the format rules on the reel competition in particular are strict enough to disqualify a good entry submitted in the wrong aspect ratio. And submit original work: every one of these requires it, and it is the easiest thing in the world to check.
None of these will change your life. But a national-level win is a real line on a CV or a portfolio, the judging pools are far smaller than the entry numbers suggest once you filter for serious submissions, and the entry cost is an evening.
Sources
MyGov, My Income Tax – My Pride Poster & Painting Competition — Income Tax Department, Ministry of Finance
MyGov, Short Video/Reel Competition on Responsible Taxation and Nation Building
MyGov, Poster Design Competition – The New Skilled India — Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
