Allowance for jobless youth in Andhra

In a clear indication that the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) was getting into poll mode, the Andhra Pradesh state cabinet yesterday approved the muchawaited monthly allowance scheme for unemployed youth.

Under the ‘Mukhyamantri Yuva Nestham’ scheme, more than 12,20,000 youth will get a monthly allowance of Rs1,000 per person.

The cabinet meeting in Amarvati yesterday finalised the modalities of the scheme, which was promised by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu during elections in 2014.

Briefing the media after the cabinet session, Minister for Information Technology Nara Lokesh said that the registration for the scheme will start from August 3 or 4 and the monthly allowance deposited into the beneficiaries’ bank accounts.

“The scheme will cost Rs6,000,000,000 per month and Rs80,000000,000 per annum to the exchequer,” Lokesh said.

According to a recent comprehensive social survey, there were about 12,00,000 unemployed youth in the state.

Both men and women aged 22 to 35, who are graduates or completed polytechnic courses, will be eligible for the allowance. “The beneficiaries will be imparted technical training under the skill development training programme,” the minister added. Beneficiaries will have to link their Aadhar card to the scheme.

The cabinet also decided to fill more than 20,000 vacancies in government departments. Recruitment in government jobs and the unemployment allowance were among the major demands of Andhra Pradesh youth, who are reeling after the formation of Telangana state in 2014, as it deprived them of job opportunities in the latter’s capital of Hyderabad. Lokesh said that in the last four years, 721 companies with an investment of Rs1.49 trillion had started up in the state, providing employment to half a million people.