Cash incentive scheme worth Rs 4,000 per month for 7 lakh unemployed urban youth soon

Bhopal : The new government in Madhya Pradesh is expected to launch a job incentive scheme that will assure Rs 4,000 per month to unemployed youth for a period of 90 days, government officials said on Thursday. A formal announcement is likely to be made by Congress president Rahul Gandhi when he visits the state on Friday.

To be called Vivekananda Yuva Shakti Mission, the scheme will cover about 7 lakh unemployed urban youth in the initial stage.

The Kamal Nath government estimates that the plan will cover more than half of the unemployed youth in the state. Elaborating on the plan, technical education minister Bala Bachchan said about 7 lakh youth will get skill training for 10 days and then 90 days’ employment through urban bodies in the initial phase. “They will get emoluments [Rs 4,000 per month] too during this period from the current central and state government schemes for skill training,” he said. For unemployed youth in rural areas, the government is working on a plan to integrate skill training with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MG-NREGS). A state finance department official familiar with the discussion on the plan said youth will be paid the MGNREGS wage (Rs 200 per day) for 100 days, during which they will get skill training to start their own enterprise. The official said the objectives of the scheme is to ensure that unemployed youth start their own enterprise and there is less burden on the exchequer.

“We don’t have much fiscal space as the previous government incurred huge expenses. We are shutting some schemes to implement the farm loan waiver,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Minister for urban administration Jaivardhan Singh said unemployed youth between the age of 21 and 30 from economically weaker section would be given a 10-day training and thereafter 90 days’ job through urban bodies. During this period, he would get Rs 4,000 per month. Thus he would get more than Rs 12,000,” he said. Reacting to the state government’s proposal, Akshya Hunka, national president, Berojgar Sena, an organisation representing the jobless youth, said, “Targeting just seven lakh youth will not help as MP has about 50 lakh educated unemployed people.” Officer-on-special duty in the CM secretariat, Bhupendra Gupta, said, “The previous government spent hundreds of crores of rupees with hardly any result. Had the skill development schemes implemented honestly, there would have been a different scenario in the state.”

Former chairman MP State Skill Development and Employment Generation Board Hemant Deshmukh said, “ The best approach should be to invest in infrastructure to provide vocational training.”

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