Skill development plan for youth in the naxal hit areas

The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs & Sports Shri Jitendra Singh has said that the Ministry is not among the 17 Ministries/Departments identified /recognized for Skill Development by the Planning Commission. However, the Ministry through its youth based flagship organisation Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) has initiated a Pilot project namely Youth Employability Skill (YES) Project with the objective to enhance the employability of youth by running a variety of employable skill based training courses through recognized Vocational Training Providers (VTPs) for rural youth and youth club members in the States of North Eastern Region and Jammu & Kashmir. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today Shri Jitendra Singh said, the skill training is being provided in insurgency dominated areas by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) through its partner agencies. The pilot project has been successfully completed in the States of Manipur, Meghalaya and Jammu & Kashmir under which youth have been imparted training of three months duration in Rural Retail Sales & Marketing with Information Technology and Personality Development. Out of 1283 youth trained under Youth Employability Skill (YES) Project, 946 youth have got job offers/placements made. Another 60 youth from Budgam district of Jammu & Kashmir are undergoing training under Youth Employability Skill (YES) Project. The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), the training partner has assured 70% job guarantee for the trained volunteers. The expenditure on the training is being met from the Annual Budget of the Ministry.

The Minister said, NYKS organises National Integration Camps (NICs) with the objective to facilitate youth of the country to come together and share experience and interact together despite having diverse background of language, religion, culture and traditions. There has been significant development of youth who have been associated with NYKS across the country. The developments are in terms of improvement in their organizational behaviour, managerial capacities, assuming local leadership for addressing local social and welfare issues, active participation and advocacy for nation building processes and issues confronting village community in general and youth in particular. 20,000 youth volunteers and motivators those who have excelled in different fields of development have been assigned the responsibility to assume leadership at grassroots level throughout the country to act as National Youth Corps (NYCs) volunteers.

Shri Singh said, for the welfare of youth, NYKS is implementing projects in the field of prevention of drug abuse and alcoholism in Punjab and Manipur, National Programme for Youth and Adolescents Development; Jammu and Kashmir Youth Exchange Programme; Youth Initiative for the Publicity of Message of Development and Peace in North Eastern States; Voter Awareness Programme through Election Commission; Environment Protection Awareness against AIDS and Sanitation Programme (Nirmal Bihar).

He said, NYKS provides one time Grants-in-Aid to establish sports specific youth clubs across the country. Gradually, they have become self supporting for promotion and organization of sports activities in their areas and also motivating others for sporting activities. NYKS for supplementing such youth club’s endeavour, facilitates them by providing sports materials to 50,000 youth clubs. These youth clubs now take active part in Panchayat Yuva Khel aur Krida Abhiyan (PYKKA) sponsored Sports competitions at different levels.

The capacity building, leadership and skills enhancement initiatives have empowered rural youth in a manner that they have started generating awareness and taking active part in the process of implementation of sports, recreation, development and social welfare activities and programmes in their respective villages with the spirit of volunteerism, cooperation and self-help. Thus the Ministry is channelizing the energy of youth towards nation building, the Minister added.