VIJAYAWADA: The State government is all set to launch the Mukhyamantri Yuvanestham scheme, under which unemployment dole of Rs 1,000 would be given to every unemployed graduate in the State, on Tuesday. By Monday night, 2.08 lakh applicants have been found eligible. The programme, one of the major election promises of the TDP in 2014, is touted to be the first-of-its-kind in the country.
“Uttar Pradesh under Akhilesh Yadav had to roll it back after 60 days. Some other States did try but the scope of their schemes is much less with the dole being anything between `200 and `500 and the number of beneficiaries less than 50,000,” explains Nara Lokesh, IT Minister and the man spearheading the crucial programme.
Given the budgetary allocation of Rs 1,000 crore, he believes money is not a problem and the scheme could be used properly to train the candidates in their chosen fields to find jobs. But then, skill development training has not been made mandatory which raises quite a few questions. How long would a candidate get the dole?
“I believe positive reinforcement is more important. At the end of the day, people want to make more money. My idea is to motivate them and they will pick up from there,” answers Lokesh as we sit down for a chat at his office in the Interim Secretariat.
He reasons that an indefinite unemployment dole wouldn’t discourage the beneficiaries from seeking employment. The scheme has three other parts besides the dole --- skill development, apprenticeship, and self-employment. Though training under skill development programme isn’t mandatory, the government is keen that candidates take it up.
“Apprenticeship is where companies can tie up with the government. The Centre will give Rs 1,500-Rs 2,500, the State will chip in with Rs 1,000. This reduces the expenditure incurred on training for the companies. Their cost comes down. My view is let us use our Rs 1,000 contribution for mobilisation,” says the minister, exuding confidence that this will help companies looking for trained manpower. Citing the example of Flex, the global electronics major, he points out that they want skilled workforce as they gear up to open their facility in Andhra this month.
“If we open up our system to them, it will become easier,” he adds. A win-win deal for all.
Yuvanestham is not without its fair share of problems. The Aadhaar and Praja Sadhikara Survey based scheme has had initial hiccups after the government invited registrations online.
“It is a new programme. There are always challenges, teething issues with data etc. Six lakh people have tried to apply. A lot of the ineligible try. The major grievance has been education related. It is seeded with Aadhaar. Once they upload their certificate, the education department verifies with the university and says yes or no. We have resolved 74,000-odd grievances and 25,845 are pending.
They will be resolved soon. It is the largest scheme of its kind. Tomorrow, certificates will be given to all the eligible and the amount will be paid on Oct 3 and 4. We have also integrated the data with PF and ESI so that those already employed cannot apply,” Lokesh clarifies.
Even before the launch of the scheme, speculation has been that it won’t last for more than six months -- which means until only elections.
Scoffing at any such suggestion, Lokesh points out, “It is an indefinite programme. All speculation that skill development is mandatory or that it will be folded up within six months is wrong. They even said the scheme will not be launched on Oct 2! We are doing it.”
The scheme is a continuous one and candidates can apply any time, he adds. Interestingly, the government had anticipated 10 lakh applications basing on the Smart Pulse Survey. But as of Monday, the number of applications is much less.
The survey indicated that there are 10 lakh unemployed youth aged between 22 and 35.