CHHATTISGARH : A young IAS officer posted in Mungeli has gone the extra mile to find a solution to the challenge of unemployment in the district. ‘Akanksha’ (meaning aspiration) conceptualised in August 2022 by collector Rahul Deo with a motto ‘Sashakt Yuva, Sashakt Mungeli’, aims at meeting the ambition of local youths to lead a better life through satisfactory employment.
In this pursuit, the IAS officer of 2016-batch endeavoured to link the needs of the employers by helping them find suitable candidates, leading to a win-win situation to both sides.
The initiative has led many youngsters looking for jobs to keep abreast with various options opening up for them and explore emerging careers they can aspire for.
Mungeli administration works as a bridge between employment seekers and employment providers, opening up a productive vista of opportunities for the youngsters.
The district has a vast rural expanse (over 90 percent) with a predominant population of scheduled castes. With nearly half the population in the productive age-group of 14-45 years, the region has achieved a perceptible outcome in meeting the job aspirations of the youth.
The vision of ‘Akansha’ has led to securing placement for over 1600 youths who have been selected by various well-known private companies that visited the district.
“In our campaign, every eligible youngsters aiming for a good career in rural and urban areas and women self-help groups (SHGs) willing to work in any productive fields as livelihood source or others who wish to move forward in the field of entrepreneurship remain the key stakeholders,” said Deo.
Prospective employers visiting the district were pleased to take note on how the enterprising youngsters remain capable of proving their potential, the collector added.
“The ‘Akanksha’ initiative will lay a solid foundation for a number of other career opportunities in future. We got the right candidates for the job as desired by our firm,” said Kailash Jaiswal, management head, Neuritinity Cropcare Pvt Ltd.
The Mungeli model has got replicated in other districts of the state as well. The district collector remains head of the project and his office functions as the common junction for giving instructions, supervising and resolving any queries.
Different departments got involved to give effective support to the initiative. The National Information Centre is the technological solution provider as a lot of work has been done in the digital format. A district call centre helped to circulate and promote the campaign. Google links and QR codes were created and circulated to get maximum entries.
Job aspirants appreciated the move. Dhananjay Sahu, who joined Maruti Suzuki in Ahmedabad as a trainee after being among 23 people selected for the company, is satisfied with his new workplace. “Youth’s aspirations are well addressed despite hailing from such a small district,” he said.
“We are delighted that our district has identified ways to address the issue of youth employment locally,” said Anamika Keshrwani, a local resident, who joined an agency as a counsellor.
“The youth are motivated to perform while seeking jobs with higher focus,” said Sumit Rajput, recruited by Samriddhi Kisan Bio Plantech.