Government to study other states

Amaravati: The state government is gearing up to fulfil one of its major poll promise of providing unemployment allowance to the jobless youth at the earliest as it has already completed three years term.

With the model code of conduct coming into force after the announcement of election schedule for Nandyal bypoll on Thursday, the government has been forced to postpone its decision on the scheme till August 28, when the results will be declared.

Highlights:

• Nandyal bypoll delays announcement of the scheme
• Sources say the scheme is likely to be announced on Aug 28

According to reliable sources, the government had been planning to announce the unemployment allowance scheme on August 15, but due to sudden announcement of election schedule, the plan has been changed.

As per the official data, about 9.5 lakh unemployed youth have registered their names in employment exchanges across the state and there are 34 lakh youth who are jobless as per Praja Sadhikara Survey.

But, to have a fresh updated data on unemployment in the state, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu suggested in a meeting with officials on Thursday that 15-20 days time should be given to the unemployed youth for registering their names online.

Speaking to The Hans India, a senior official of youth services department said that they had submitted to the Chief Minister details of the unemployment allowance scheme being implemented in 10 states and 4 Union Territories across the country.

“Various states have their own system where amount ranging from Rs 200 to 2,500 is being provided to unemployed youth per month. In Tamil Nadu, an amount ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 600 is being provided for the unemployed youth who studied SSC, Inter and graduation.

Similarly, the Delhi government is providing unemployment allowance from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 for various categories of unemployed youth. Himachal Pradesh is paying Rs 1,000 per month as unemployment allowance.

We want to visit some of the states and examine the implementation methods better,” he said. The governments of Kerala, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Manipur, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Tripura, Puducherry and other states are also implementing the unemployment allowance scheme, he said.

According to sources of the department, the government is planning to implement the scheme for the age group between 18-35 years. On Thursday’s meeting, the Chief Minister opined that once a student graduates, and is unable to find a job, the government wants to reduce the monetary strain during the job search.

“I want to improve employment opportunities for graduates and post-graduates after ensuring adequate training and skill development,” he reportedly said. The next meeting which will be held after two weeks may finalise a draft model on the unemployment allowance scheme, to be implemented at the earliest, it is learnt.

By T Sudhakar