The State government has come out with a draft Karnataka Youth Policy 2012 to reach, engage and empower youth in the age group 16 and 30 to contribute to society and develop their full potential.
The draft policy aims at making the structures and institutions of the State more ‘youth-friendly’, ‘youth-sensitive’ and ‘youth-oriented’. It suggested a monitoring mechanism to ensure implementation of youth-centric policies with a specified time frame. The government has set aside Rs. 25 crore to prepare and implement the policy.
Officials of the Department of Youth Services and Sports and Karnataka Jnana Aayoga prepared the draft policy and submitted it to Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar here on Thursday.
Mr. Shettar said the State has a youth population of nearly 1.9 crore (35 per cent of the total population) and the government has set aside Rs. 4,534 crore in the budget for various schemes related to youth.
Dismal data
The draft noted that close to one-fourth of the State youth continued to be illiterate. Two-thirds of the youth who do not know how to read or write are women. More than 50 per cent of youth have not been able to continue their education after class 10, it said.
Girish Patel, chairman, steering committee, youth policy, said the former Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda took the initiative to formulate the youth policy. He pointed out that the State conducted the national youth festival in Mangalore last January and that the policy is dedicated to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
Sandeep Shastri, chairman, drafting committee, claimed that the draft was prepared after holding consultations with several NGOs, youth organisations and sportspersons. Around 10,000 responses received from across the State via consultation meetings, website and social media, were collated and analysed, which formed the basis for the draft youth policy.
The draft policy considers the youth as the engine of hope, achievement, peace, prosperity, and yearning for innovation. It treated family as the primary institution of socialisation and aimed at developing and harnessing youth potential, talent and capacity.
Minister for Youth Services and Sports Appachu Ranjan, Minister for Revenue and Rural Development K.S. Eshwarappa and Karnataka Jnana Aayoga member secretary M.K. Sridhar were present.
Draft was prepared after consulting NGOs, youth organisations, sportspersons The 10,000 responses received helped shape the draft policy
