The Hindu Business Line : YSR launches schemes for youth welfare, land development

The Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, holds a stack of fibre from the banana fibre converting machine at the launch of the Rajiv Yuvashakthi programme in Hyderabad on Friday . - P.V. Sivakumar

Hyderabad , Nov.19

THE Andhra Pradesh Government on Friday announced the launch of the Rajiv Yuva Shakthi Scheme, an empowerment programme that seeks to provide one lakh jobs to the youth before the end of this fiscal and will involve an outlay of Rs 321 crore. It also announced another scheme - Indira Prabha - for the landless poor.

The youth empowerment scheme will be later scaled up to provide jobs to about three lakh youth in the next fiscal and will entail a total investment of about Rs 1,000 crore.

After the launch of Rajiv Yuva Shakthi, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy, said the scheme seeks to empower youth through self-employment by providing them with financial resources in the form of subsidies and loans. This is just a humble beginning its scope would be expanded significantly next year.

The scheme will meet the training costs of unemployed youth or the cost of their education.

While the Chief Minister launched the scheme in Hyderabad, it was also simultaneously rolled out across various districts.

About 5,000 educated unemployed youth will be considered for financial aid. Preference will be given to vocationally-trained and qualified persons.

For a project cost of Rs 1,00,000, a subsidy of Rs 30,000 will be provided. In the case of petty business, a subsidy of Rs 7,500 will be provided for a project size of Rs 50,000.

For the Yuvashakthi groups, the subsidy is being offered sector-wise for an overall project cost of Rs 3,00,000.

In the case of industries, a subsidy of Rs 60,000 will be given. Rs 40,000 will be extended to the service sector and Rs 30,000 to the business sector.

Indira Prabha for the landless poor: The Chief Minister, later in the day flew to Sarikondapalem, a village in Bollapalli mandal, about 8 km from Vinukonda village in Guntur district, to launch Indira Prabha, a comprehensive land development programme.

Indira Prabha deviates from the traditional line of thought wherein land will be distributed to the needy and the beneficiary will be responsible for its development.

The village has a modest population of 1,648 from 354 families. Of them, 682 belong to the scheduled castes and 280 to scheduled tribes - the main targets of the project.

This project is based on the experience that vulnerable groups of society, particularly the scheduled castes, have not been able to invest on the wastelands given to them by making them arable. As a result, in many instances, the land was alienated from the beneficiaries, defeating the purpose of its distribution.

This scheme seeks to benefit about 2.72 lakh poor and was launched simultaneously across the State in various districts. This scheme is being implemented with the assistance of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. Aid of about Rs 500 crore will be provided to the State Government in two phases.

Indira Prabha envisages providing 90 per cent of the cost of land development to the beneficiaries as grant, while the remaining 10 per cent will be the beneficiaries' contribution in the form of farm labour. This project seeks to make land a valuable proposition for the owner.

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