National Youth Project to speed up skill development activities

India is among the lowest skilled countries, with only 3.5 to 4 percent of its population skilled. The National Youth Project (NYP) has formed a seven-member national executive committee (NEC) to take up skill development activities in targeted states, said NEC Vice Chairman Ashok Sharan.

Addressing NYP office bearers of 15 states, attending a three-day consultation and orientation programme in a village 25-km from here in the lap of 'Queen of the Hills', he said that the NYP chairman Dr.S N Subba Rao, has been integrating the minds of 124 crore Indians through National Youth Integration camp (NYIC) but getting disconnected after the camp.

He said Dr. Rao desired to connect all of them by giving the right direction to make them a part of the nation building process.

Pointing out that it is the responsibility of all NYP members to turn Dr. Rao's dream into a reality, he said that after the empanelment of the NYP by the Union Skill Development Ministry to take up nation-wide skill development activities, ten states were selected in 2015. This assembly is aimed at sensitizing all about success stories and ways to overcome problems, he added.

Though NYP is a vast NGO, but basic lapses of some state units were proving to be a drag, NEC secretary H P Biswas exhorted all to be honest in admitting their mistakes and learning to achieve doables.

He said that the north east states of Arunachal, Assam, Tripura and Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Haryana, Odisha, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan were invited, but some states failed to turn up due to train cancellation.

Highlighting the success stories of the Arunachal unit, vice president Pradeep Kumar said the NYP since its inception in the state in 1999, has developed a youth force of 22,000; has 52 functional units; skilled 54,000 people belonging to BPL category and unemployed youth in 26 trades (annual target to skill is 12,000 to 15,000); converted 22 opium addicts of Anjaw district to horticulturists making the district national role model of NABARD.

He creditted Sharan with the Arunachal NYP unit formation, Biswas said community development through sensitization is taking place.