To generate employment opportunities among the rural youths, both men and women of the six gravely left wing extremism (lWE) affected districts of Jharkhand will be imparted training in various trades with a minimum of 50 percent representation of women under the scheme 'Roshni'. The programme conceived by Ministry of Rural Development, will also ensure jobs to at least 75 per cent of those imparted training in the organised sector at higher than minimum wages.
"Roshni', to be funded jointly by the Centre and the State in the ratio of 75:25 is being implemented in Jharkhand through public-private and public-public partnership which are to run skill development programmes in the six districts of the State — Chatra, Gumla, Palamau, Garhwa, latehar and West Singhbhum," said Special Secretary (Rural Development) Paritosh Upadhyaya.
Placement-linked, market-driven, fully-residential skills training will be provided in fields such as BPO and hospitality industry; information technology enabled services as well as construction, mobile repairing, nursing and beautician courses. The programme is exclusively been launched for the rural youths between the age group of 18-35 for those who have been identified by the various training agencies imparting training through participatory identification of the poor (PIP). Where PIP has not been completed one needs to be in the current BPl list of the district administration, he added.
"The scheme will provide customised and fully residential training to the rural youths with a duration ranging from three months to one Year," said Paritosh Upadhyaya. Training programme will soon be started by the end of this month as formal approval has already been granted by the Centre, added he.
Special skills feasibility study is being done in the six districts among the rural youths to identify them for a particular trade. Special guidelines have been issued by the Centre to take special efforts so that people from primitive tribal groups are on the priority list of the organisations imparting training in the States. "Approval for the training of 22,194 youths has already been granted by the Centre those would be identified by the agencies imparting training to the youths with the consultation of gram sabha and gram panchayats," said State Programme Manager Vinay Kumar.
Not only that, the agencies training the youths will also have to keep a tab on those who have been already trained for at least one year so that they do not get misguided by rebels, added Kumar. Several training strategies will be used for diverse groups of youths, ranging from school dropouts to those with college education. Entry level training will be imparted among the primary school dropouts, higher skill certification for class 10th and 12th dropouts, advance skill certification for 12th pass undergraduates, and one year course will be imparted among the unemployed graduates, he added.
"There is a provision to ensure 75 per cent placements to the trained youths defined as continuous employment for three months at higher than minimum wages," Kumar said. Six districts each from Jharkhand and Odisha, five from Chhattisgarh, two from Bihar and one each from Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have been chosen for the scheme, which will be implemented at a cost of Rs 100 crore over the next three years. 'Roshni' will provide placement-linked market driven skill training to the 50,000 youth all over the Country in the next three years.