Prime Minister
31 March 2015
My Dear Young friends,
With 65% of our population under the age of 35,
India is the youngest nation in the world. It is built on your toil and
enterprise. You are our competitive advantage- our biggest strength. In your
success, lies the success of the nation.
Yet, not enough attention is given to your needs
and constraints. Not enough done in empowering you to realize your aspirations.
Opportunities to equip yourself with the skill sets necessary for the 21st
century are often too few, too expensive or too poor in quality. Even if you
manage to get good education, jobs are difficult to come by. Moreover, weak
infrastructure and public services have trapped you in cycles of inefficiency,
indignity and poor quality of life. The nation seems stuck in the past, while
you are straining at the leash to
leap into the future. This needs to change.
We have taken several initiatives aimed at empowering you with
opportunities and enabling your well being. I write to you to highlight a
few:
Skilling & Education: The
21st century has ushered in a knowledge-era. And whenever knowledge has found
prominence, the world has looked at India to lead the way. Equipping you for
such a knowledge-based society has thus been a priority. Emphasis is being given
to develop the infrastructure, technology and support systems necessary to fully harness the same- such as
Wifi in all universities by 2017, and broadband connectivity in all schools.
Many of us coming from poor and middle-class
backgrounds have had to sacrifice further education for want of money. Through a
comprehensive program of student loans and scholarships (Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram),
we are laying the foundations for ensuring none of you have to ever suffer
the same again. Moreover, with the Pradhan Mantri jan Dhan Yojana you
can now easily open a bank account, and get various benefits such as
scholarships directly into it.
The rat race of near impossible admission cut-offs often results in even
deserving candidates not getting seats in Higher Educational Institutions. To address this we are progressively opening an IIT, lIM
&AIIMS-Iike institution in every State. You have other equally challenging
aspirations as well. For you, we are setting up a number of specialized
institutions in various other fields. The Credit-Equivalent Transfer System
is also being rolled out to empower you with the freedom to move between
subjects, colleges, as well as into the work force and back. The amended
Apprenticeship Act opens up more opportunities for on-the-job
training
Diploma certifications tend to be looked down
upon vis-a-vis academic degrees. This is wrong and unfair. In addressing this we
are consolidating initiatives across several ministries through the National
Skills Mission. The focus is particularly on increasing the employability
of those of you living in villages. For instance, the Deen Dayal Upadhyay
Gramin Kaushal Yojana will disburse skill vouchers directly into your bank
account. We have also started the Nai Manzil scheme integrating education and
livelihood for minority communities.
Sports is integral to a
well-rounded education. We aim to encourage an active sporting culture across
society, and are putting in place a national mechanism to give professional
support to budding talent
Jobs: Alongside enhancing your
employability, we are also working on ensuring ample employment opportunities.
India has become the fastest growing large economy in the world. We are
committed to ensuring this growth translates into Jobs for All. The same is
being driven through many initiatives such as such as Ease of Doing Business, Make in India,Tourism and
Infrastructure development.
Well aware of how the young of today aspire for
the stars; we are going beyond enabling job-seekers to also nurturing
job-creators. Many of you have the entrepreneurial drive of creating something
new. This can be a risky matter. SETU (Self-Employment and Talent
Utilisation) has been set up to support all
aspects of your start-up business, from credit to
incubation. MUDRA (Micro Units Development Refinance Agency) Bank will
provide small business units access to formal credit.
And AIM (Atallnnovation Mission) will promote a network of world-class
innovation hubs for those of you who want to go into cutting-edge R&D.
Empowerment: In spite of being
most impacted by the future of this nation, you ironically have only a marginal
say in it. I can only imagine how
frustrating this must be. I intend to change this through a governance model
centred around jan-bhagidari and
people’s participation. The My Gov portal is a step towards this
vision, empowering you to have a direct say in my government’s policies.
Social Security:
We have set up mechanisms to support you in
fulfilling your social responsibilities. As you turn 18, you can enrol into the
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana which will provide you an accident insurance of Rs 2 lakhs at a
mere Rs 1 per month premium. The Pradhan Mantri jeevan jyoti Bima Yojana
will provide a life insurance of Rs 21akhs at Rs 1 per day premium.
Additionally, saving a mere Rs 250 per month from your 20s under the Atal
Pension Yojana, will ensure you a pension of Rs 5,000 per month after you
turn 60.
All the above schemes and programs announced in
the budget, will be rolled out in the near future. I urge you to take full
advantage of the same.
On the whole, this Government is committed to
empowering you in realising your fullest potential. In fact, I am convinced we
as a nation must evolve from mere ‘Youth development’ to a model of •Youth-led
Development•. You must be the drivers of our hopes and aspirations.
I am confident you can, and you will!
I wish you the very best!
Jai Hind!
Narendra Modi (Source- finmin.nic.in)
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