MVA budget: Wooing the youth with jobs, scholarship scheme and ‘reservation for locals’

From apprenticeship and scholarship for higher education to educational loans and reservation in jobs for locals, the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government,

From apprenticeship and scholarship for higher education to educational loans and reservation in jobs for locals, the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, in its budget on Friday, announced a bunch of schemes to attract the youth.

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The state plans to start an apprenticeship scheme, under which educated unemployed youths in the age group of 21 and 28 will get a chance to work as an apprentice in a private or government firm for a stipend of up to ₹9,000 a month. While the state will pay ₹5,000, the firm will have to pay the rest. The scheme aims to provide employment to 10 lakh youths in five years, announced deputy chief minister and finance minister Ajit Pawar.

He said the state would soon enact a law to make it mandatory for industries to reserve 80% jobs for locals. “The current economic slowdown has led to rise in unemployment and the state is striving to provide jobs to youths. To make this possible, we have decided to implement the Maharashtra Apprenticeship Scheme that will provide employment as well as self-employment opportunities to youths who have passed Class 10. It will include new industries and service sector such as e-commerce, IT-enabled services, tourism, hospitality, fintech and textile,” Pawar said.

Arvind Goel, newly appointed chairman, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Maharashtra and MD, CEO, Tata AutoComp Systems Ltd, said, “The industry welcomes this as it will create trained manpower in Maharashtra”

Pawar announced that a law will be enacted to ensure 80% reservation for locals in private sector jobs . It means all those residing in the state for 15 years will get priority in jobs. “The government intends to make a comprehensive law by correcting the flaws in the existing policy,” he said.

All government-run Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) will be converted into modern skill centres of international standards in the next three years, with an investment of ₹12,000 crore from private sector industries and the state’s expenditure of ₹1,500 crore. The government has also proposed a scholarship scheme for foreign education for students from minority communities. “It has been decided to implement a new scholarship programme, on the lines of those for the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Vimukt Jati Nomadic Tribes students, to give scholarship to students from minority communities for diploma, degree, post-graduate and PhD courses in foreign countries,” said the finance minister, adding ₹120 crore has been allocated for it. Pawar also said the Annasaheb Patil Economic Development Corporation will provide loans for education of students from economically backward classes, for which ₹50 crore has also allocated.