Marking the country’s 78th Independence Day, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday announced a scheme to promote entrepreneurship among the youth of Uttar Pradesh, which he said aims to empower the youth of the state.
Adityanath, who became the first Chief Minister of the state to hoist the national flag in front of the Vidhan Sabha for the eighth consecutive year, spoke at length about his government’s initiatives and the efforts being made to achieve the promises made by his party.
With the aim of setting up 10 lakh micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) units, the state government will provide financial assistance to the youth who are interested in taking up entrepreneurship under the ‘Mukhyamantri Yuva Udyga Vikas Abhiyan Yojana’, he said.
The CM said that our youth are the backbone of the country’s progress. He is a genius and his contribution is essential to build a developed India. The state government is committed to focus on education and employment for the youth.
The scheme aims to create employment opportunities for 50 lakh youth, he said. He said that 10 lakh youth will get employment or self employment in the coming years under this scheme. The CM said that more than 1.62 crore youth have been employed through the investments made so far in the state, 62 lakh youth have been linked with self-employment opportunities under central and state government schemes.
At least 6.5 lakh youth have secured government jobs in the last seven years, he said. “To encourage entrepreneurship, a dedicated start-up fund has been set up to finance new ventures. The government is distributing 2 crore smartphones and tablets free of charge to make the youth tech-savvy,” he said.
He emphasized that the curriculum of primary, secondary, higher, vocational and technical education is being revised in line with the National Education Policy (NEP). “More than 20.5 lakh children are already enrolled in council schools this academic year. To meet the needs of students, Rs 1,200 is being transferred directly to parents’ accounts through direct benefit transfer (DBT) for purchase of uniforms, sweaters, shoes, socks and school bags. By enhancing the educational infrastructure, Chief Minister Avasiya Vidyalayas have been established in every division and plans are underway to establish Chief Minister Model Integrated Schools in 57 districts. He said the state has established 190 new government high schools and 58 inter colleges in previously backward areas.
The CM said that the state’s ambitious concept of ‘One Division, One University’ has now been realized and efforts are underway to achieve the goal of ‘One District, One University’. He called it “successful functioning” of new universities at Azamgarh, Aligarh and Saharanpur. “Other state universities at Moradabad, Gonda and Mirzapur and the University of Agriculture and Technology at Kushinagar are working. Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical University, Lucknow is now ready and will be a significant milestone in medical education. He noted that the Mahayogi Guru Gorakhnath Ayush University in Gorakhpur is also nearing completion and the state’s first sports university is under construction in Meerut.
Emphasizing the state’s “commitment to the welfare of the most backward classes” through Antyodaya, the chief minister said, “Our priority is to ensure individual benefits to every poor, needy and deprived person under government schemes”. Over 56 lakh poor families have been provided housing, 2.62 crore people have got toilets and over 1.86 crore people have got free LPG connections under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in the last seven and a half years. These efforts include providing drinking water connections to 2.65 crore families and distributing free food grains to 15 crore poor, he said.
Adityanath said that improved facilities like housing, land lease and schools were provided to marginalized communities like Vantangis, Musahars, Tharus and Kols. “Life has become easier as these groups, who were neglected for 70 years after independence, have now been integrated into mainstream development,” he said.