UP govt to link degree, diploma holders with employment through skill development

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], August 23 : The Uttar Pradesh cabinet on Tuesday approved the proposal to expand the Chief Minister's Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (Higher Education) to include all graduates under the scheme, said an official statement.
The decision has been taken to as part of an initiative to connect youths holding diplomas and degrees in all streams with employment through skill development, said officials.
Along with this, the amount of the stipend has also been increased to Rs 9,000 per month of which Rs 1,000 will be reimbursed by the state government, while the remaining amount will be provided by the central government and entrepreneurs, where the youth will do an apprenticeship, the official statement said.
The State Government has made a provision of Rs 100 crore for this scheme. Finance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna and Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi informed about the decisions of the cabinet at the Media Center Hall of Lok Bhavan.
They said that at the outset of the Cabinet meeting, the proposal for the prorogation of the Legislature was passed, following which a total of 23 out of 25 proposals were approved by the Cabinet.
Giving information about the scheme, Finance Minister Suresh Khanna said that till now there was a system of apprentices especially for diploma holders, but now in the new system a graduate student in any stream can join this scheme.
This scheme is being implemented with the aim of providing benefits of the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) to diploma holders and graduates of the state in all streams as well as to encourage private institutions. This year 10 lakh youth may benefit from the scheme, he added.
The Finance Minister informed that under this Apprenticeship Promotional Scheme, the state government has made a provision of Rs 100 crore. Under this, students will get a monthly stipend of Rs 9,000.
The government of India will have a 50 per cent stake in this. That is, the Government of India will give 4500 rupees, while 3500 rupees will be given by the entrepreneur, where this training or apprenticeship will be conducted and Rs 1000 rupees will be provided by the Uttar Pradesh Government.
Through the scheme, private sector institutions will be encouraged to employ more and more non-technical diploma holders and degree-holder youths as trainees. By providing additional financial assistance from the State Government, private institutions will be motivated to provide apprenticeships to a large number of youth.
Through this, non-technical diploma holders and graduate youth of the state will get employment for one year, while private and government institutions will get skilled personnel.
The proposal to buy 25 lakh smartphones for the technical empowerment of the youth of Uttar Pradesh was also approved by the Yogi cabinet. Under the Swami Vivekananda Youth Empowerment Scheme, Rs 3600 crore has been provided in the budget for the current financial year.
By providing smartphones free of cost to the youth under various education and training programs like graduate, post graduate, diploma, skill development etc., the government aims to connect them with employment.
The system of nutrition distribution operated by the Department of Child Development and Nutrition for the nutrition of pregnant women will now be distributed through the biometric system. The Yogi Cabinet also approved this proposal. 
Along the lines of the ration distribution system, the Government will now verify the beneficiary through an e-pos machine and provide nutritious food kits to them. This will bring transparency in the distribution of nutrition and it will be ensured that the beneficiaries are provided nutritious food in acceptable quantity. The State Government will bear 100 per cent of the expenditure to be incurred under the scheme.