Prime Minister
31 March 2015
My Dear Young friends,
With 65% of our population under the age of 35, India is the youngest nation in the world. It is built on your toil and enterprise. You are our competitive advantage- our biggest strength. In your success, lies the success of the nation.
Yet, not enough attention is given to your needs and constraints. Not enough done in empowering you to realize your aspirations. Opportunities to equip yourself with the skill sets necessary for the 21st century are often too few, too expensive or too poor in quality. Even if you manage to get good education, jobs are difficult to come by. Moreover, weak infrastructure and public services have trapped you in cycles of inefficiency, indignity and poor quality of life. The nation seems stuck in the past, while you are straining at the leash to leap into the future. This needs to change.
We have taken several initiatives aimed at empowering you with opportunities and enabling your well being. I write to you to highlight a few:
Skilling & Education: The 21st century has ushered in a knowledge-era. And whenever knowledge has found prominence, the world has looked at India to lead the way. Equipping you for such a knowledge-based society has thus been a priority. Emphasis is being given to develop the infrastructure, technology and support systems necessary to fully harness the same- such as Wifi in all universities by 2017, and broadband connectivity in all schools.
Many of us coming from poor and middle-class backgrounds have had to sacrifice further education for want of money. Through a comprehensive program of student loans and scholarships (Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram), we are laying the foundations for ensuring none of you have to ever suffer the same again. Moreover, with the Pradhan Mantri jan Dhan Yojana you can now easily open a bank account, and get various benefits such as scholarships directly into it.
The rat race of near impossible admission cut-offs often results in even deserving candidates not getting seats in Higher Educational Institutions. To address this we are progressively opening an IIT, lIM &AIIMS-Iike institution in every State. You have other equally challenging aspirations as well. For you, we are setting up a number of specialized institutions in various other fields. The Credit-Equivalent Transfer System is also being rolled out to empower you with the freedom to move between subjects, colleges, as well as into the work force and back. The amended Apprenticeship Act opens up more opportunities for on-the-job training
Diploma certifications tend to be looked down upon vis-a-vis academic degrees. This is wrong and unfair. In addressing this we are consolidating initiatives across several ministries through the National Skills Mission. The focus is particularly on increasing the employability of those of you living in villages. For instance, the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gramin Kaushal Yojana will disburse skill vouchers directly into your bank account. We have also started the Nai Manzil scheme integrating education and livelihood for minority communities.
Sports is integral to a well-rounded education. We aim to encourage an active sporting culture across society, and are putting in place a national mechanism to give professional support to budding talent
Jobs: Alongside enhancing your employability, we are also working on ensuring ample employment opportunities. India has become the fastest growing large economy in the world. We are committed to ensuring this growth translates into Jobs for All. The same is being driven through many initiatives such as such as Ease of Doing Business, Make in India,Tourism and Infrastructure development.
Well aware of how the young of today aspire for the stars; we are going beyond enabling job-seekers to also nurturing job-creators. Many of you have the entrepreneurial drive of creating something new. This can be a risky matter. SETU (Self-Employment and Talent Utilisation) has been set up to support all aspects of your start-up business, from credit to incubation. MUDRA (Micro Units Development Refinance Agency) Bank will provide small business units access to formal credit. And AIM (Atallnnovation Mission) will promote a network of world-class innovation hubs for those of you who want to go into cutting-edge R&D.
Empowerment: In spite of being most impacted by the future of this nation, you ironically have only a marginal say in it. I can only imagine how frustrating this must be. I intend to change this through a governance model centred around jan-bhagidari and people’s participation. The My Gov portal is a step towards this vision, empowering you to have a direct say in my government’s policies.
Social Security: We have set up mechanisms to support you in fulfilling your social responsibilities. As you turn 18, you can enrol into the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana which will provide you an accident insurance of Rs 2 lakhs at a mere Rs 1 per month premium. The Pradhan Mantri jeevan jyoti Bima Yojana will provide a life insurance of Rs 21akhs at Rs 1 per day premium. Additionally, saving a mere Rs 250 per month from your 20s under the Atal Pension Yojana, will ensure you a pension of Rs 5,000 per month after you turn 60.
All the above schemes and programs announced in the budget, will be rolled out in the near future. I urge you to take full advantage of the same.
On the whole, this Government is committed to empowering you in realising your fullest potential. In fact, I am convinced we as a nation must evolve from mere ‘Youth development’ to a model of •Youth-led Development•. You must be the drivers of our hopes and aspirations.
I am confident you can, and you will!
I wish you the very best!
Jai Hind!
Narendra Modi (Source- finmin.nic.in)
Also Read-
PM Letter to Senior Citizens on Budget 2015
PM Letter to Small Businessmen on Budget 2015
PM Letter to Industrial Workers on Budget 2015
