CHANDIGARH: Addressing the Regional Editors and Journalists Conference here on Monday, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) and MoS PMO, Dr Jitendra Singh said that many of the major initiatives of the Modi Government in the last two years have primarily been youth centric and this has a special relevance for youth in the border and peripheral States like Jammu and Kashmir and Northeast.
In both Jammu and Kashmir as well as Northeast, the critical issue is mass exodus of youth to other parts of the country and abroad. This is primarily motivated by reasons of seeking higher quality education or employment, Singh said.
As for education, in the last two years, Singh referred to a series of higher education institutions announced for Jammu and Kashmir which include AIIMS, IIT, IIM, etc. In addition, there have been special scholarship schemes under the Prime Minister’s package and recruitment drives for youth. Similarly, in Northeast he mentioned the recent inauguration of IIIT at Guwahati by Narendra Modi and the proposal to set up Brahmaputra Study Centre in the Guwahati University. Through the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), which is also being dealt by him, Singh referred to a number of path-breaking and youth-centric decisions taken in the last two years which include the introduction of self-attestation of certificates, abolition of interviews for junior level posts and single page form applications, etc. All these have a special significance for youth in peripheral States where even getting a certificate attested from Gazetted Officer becomes an onerous task, he said.
Schemes like Startup India, Singh said, can be game changer for the border states where the youth get misguided to take course to violence or anti-social activities. The most fascinating thing about Startup India is, he said, that it not only provides three years tax holiday but also offers three months of exit period. Referring to various initiatives in Northeast, Singh said, because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s higher priority to these States, the DoNER Ministry has succeeded in making headways which had not happened in the last several decades. For example, he said, not only Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh have come up on the rail map of India, but very soon, most of the rail tracks in the region will be converted to broad-gauge. He also referred to the historic rail track from Tripura to Bangladesh which is being partly funded by the Ministry of DoNER. Similarly, he mentioned the introduction of new air flights hitherto neglected destinations like Aizawl, Dimapur, Silchar, etc.
Referring to achievements in other departments handled by him like Space and Atomic Energy, Singh said, very few people are aware that the running cost of the Mangalyan is hardly about Rs. 6 or 7 which is less than the fare of an auto-rickshaw. As for Atomic Energy, he referred to the joint proposal yesterday at the BRICS Summit between Modi and Putin for setting up Kudankulam 3 and 4.
Earlier, describing the job of media reporting in border states as a very sensitive one involving both risk and responsibility, Singh said, media persons also have the advantage of moulding or preparing public opinion. It is in this context, he said, media can play a special role in bringing the misguided youth in States like Jammu and Kashmir and Northeast back to the track and acquainting them with the fast pace livelihood and growth avenues available to them under the present regime headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Singh complimented the present generation of media persons who are expected to stick to strict timelines and also do real-time reporting. Singh said, this difficult situation also offers them the opportunity to be the torch bearers of nationalist pride and social awakening.
Frank Norana, Director General, PIB, conducted the proceedings of the session.